Capt. Evarest Nnaji - Odengene
A businessman political, an aviator, Group Chairman OAS Helicopters…
It is my Birthday!!
I love you all❤️
Happy Father’s Day to you all..
Happy Easter to you all
On this joyous occasion, may your hearts be filled with hope, love, and blessings. May the spirit of Easter bring you renewed faith, strength, and happiness.
Happy International Women’s day to all the wonderful women around the world.
This was my contribution on celebration some years back to celebrate all women”reported by newspaper written by Captain Evarest Nnaji, the MD/CEO OAS Helicopters.
CAPTION: FEMALE PILOTS TAKING OVER THE COCKPIT ✈️💪
Aviation has been a man’s game for decades — despite women’s significant contributions from the beginning. But now aviation leaders say they want to ensure more leading roles for women.
The “boys club” of aviation is a result of many decades of neglect, ignoring or diminishing women’s contributions, creating artificial hurdles and sending mixed-messages to young girls, especially in advertising.
The fact is that women have played a pivotal role in the growth of aviation from the beginning, and particularly during times of war. They have piloted, helped build and maintained aircraft, even helped build the systems that keep aircraft flying safely.
In time past, aircraft piloting was more of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and concepts, but technology has twisted and turned that around. With nimble fingers and a well organised mind, electronics computers have put flying in the hands of anybody with basic education as well as articulate mind and the passion to fly.
Many people know of Amelia Earhart, whose mysterious disappearance while crossing the Pacific Ocean continues to garner speculation, but other women who accomplished great things in aviation are, sadly, less well known
Willa Beatrice Brown was the first African American woman to earn her pilot’s license in 1938 and a commercial pilot’s license in 1939. She was also the first African American woman officer to serve in the US Civil Air Patrol and the first woman in the US who was qualified both as a pilot and as an aircraft mechanic. She even helped found the Cornelius Coffey School of Aeronautics. In her spare time on the ground, Brown was also the first African American woman to run for Congress. This suggests lots of capabilities amongst women that would require encouragement.
Over the past ten years, the number of women successfully gaining their ways into the cockpit around the world, and in Nigeria too, is overwhelmingly encouraging. This can be attributed to the fact that the factors that had hindered ladies into the cockpit have been completely eliminated with modern day science and greater awareness in the society.
With hydraulic system enhancement and computerisation of flight controls, flying no longer requires so much of physical human power; you now need more articulate and multitasking minds to excel in the modern day cockpit. In the hierarchy of attributes required to fly an aircraft in our modern world, male special attributes like higher physical strength now occupies nowhere; conversely, multitasking ability which is regarded to be found more in women is in the upper echelon of the hierarchy. Ladies are also considered to have less societal pressure and are naturally endowed to be much calmer; these also occupy a higher space in the hierarchy of attributes. Human intelligence which sits atop all the attributes is shared equally by both gender. Therefore, male pilots can no longer, realistically, be said to have better chances to cockpit in the modern time aviation world.
In the Nigerian society, given the nature of boldness with which our women have embraced the challenges to measure up to the current world order, be it business, politics, art and fashion etc, the only identified inhibiting factor that might militate against having near equal number of gender in our cockpits over the next twenty years, would be the cost of training and self-limitations. But that has also, always, been a factor to both gender. At the moment, it costs as high as $100,000 to $200,000 to train an initial pilot up to commercial flight. And very few families can afford that cost in our society, especially with the current economic downturn. But this is again where women have advantage if one considers that aviation investors are more likely to invest in initial training of female pilots than male; reason being that research has shown that ladies when drawn on an agreement to serve the sponsoring organisation for a given period to offset training costs, are more likely to do so than their male counterpart without resorting to rancour which have over the years discouraged investors from sponsoring initial trainings for pilots.
There is push back from all corners in the past to helping women develop and grow in Aviation, both out of a concern for equality and for economic reasons. Airlines now realise that they are going to run critically short of the “manpower” they need to grow, and are making a priority of recruiting and training more women to take charge. Considering these factors, business aviation like every other highly technical commercial adventure where consistency and reliability is key; as well as a commercial enterprise where income and return to investment is also a critical success factor, women in our modern world stand the brighter chance of taking their full share of the aviation cockpit.
Motivating factors for pilots are second to none if one considers that an average captain earns as high as $10,000 per month in the industry today. Of course you cannot earn that high in your first year as pilot but it is something that can happen within a few years as a pilot, all things being equal. It is also a highly dignified profession capable of rubbing away completely any iota of inequality or lack of self-esteem, especially for women in our third world environment.
Rigorous enhancement professional trainings; ranges of safety awareness; system functionalities; geographical and climatic condition as well as highly technical communication precision etc, trainings and retraining associated with the art, positions aviation pilots men and women to live out their lives fulfilled anywhere in the world. In conclusion, where financial resource is not a factor and excellence is desired; and boldness resides in the mind, distaff is most desired in the cockpit for the safety, reliability and consistency in our current aviation world where glass ceiling has already been shattered and history is being made on daily bases.
Commercial aviation investors crave for more stability in their ever challenging operations, ladies are generally more cool headed, a not-easy-to-find amongst male pilots, especially nowadays; so, ladies are more likely to get pilot job position if the opportunity is placed between two equally qualified male and female. So opportunities for female pilots in Nigeria is matchless and highly probable.
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY to all the wonderful women around the world.
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/03/07/female-pilots-taking-over-the-cockpit/?amp
Happy Valentine's Day to all my wonderful people 💕.
Today is a celebration of love in all its beautiful forms, whether it's romantic, platonic, or familial. May your day be filled with joy, warmth, and the company of those you hold dear. Remember to spread love and kindness wherever you go, not just today but every day.
"
2024 A Year of Renewed Hope and Endless Possibilities!
As we stand at the threshold of another year, let us embrace the promise of new beginnings and the boundless opportunities that await us.
May this year be a canvas painted with moments of joy, achievements beyond imagination, and experiences that enrich our lives.
Let us carry forward the lessons learnt, the resilience gained, and the bonds strengthened in the past year. Together, let's forge ahead with determination, kindness, unity, and shaping a future that shines brighter for all.
Here's to a year filled with unwavering hope, unwavering determination, and unwavering success.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Harmattan haze, happy holidays!
It’s a holiday season, Christmas and New Year time! Also Harmattan period, our own Winter! It comes with haze, poor visibility and flight delays. For those of us in aviation, it means you may not be able to take off just when you want. In our industry, the wisdom of poor visibility is stay on ground until it’s clear enough to fly. At such times, even birds the masters of flight don’t fly, they wait.
So, at this period there are bound to be flight delays, but like a patient bird, please wait at your airport lounge and enjoy whatever you can find around to occupy your time, coffee, snacks etc or read a book, grumble not! Better late than sorry, they said. Safe trip and happy holidays.
Odengene Air Shuttle (OAS) Helicopters is proud to announce the acquisition of a new Leonardo AW-139, marking a significant milestone in our efforts to enhance offshore operations. This state-of-the-art addition strengthens our commitment to safety and efficiency.
“It is also necessary to share with you the short story behind its acquisition and timely delivery to Nigeria. At agreement, OAS consented to provide the aircraft within six months of contract signing. But due to financial and technical capacity we and our technical partners have mustered and deployed in the industry over the years, this aircraft through the manufacturers, Leonardo, was procured and delivered in Nigeria within three months (90 days). A feat not common nowadays with Saudi Arabia multiple aircraft back-orders running in upper tens.
“We are aware of the oil and gas industry scope and desire to expand their operations in Nigeria at this critical business moment in our country, and we think it might be necessary to inform you that we have the capacity to provide you, on short notice, this type of oil and gas worldwide most reliable workhorse, straight 7-ton, helicopter – AW-139,” the company said.
The AgustaWestland AW139, now known as the Leonardo AW139, is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer, AgustaWestland (now part of Leonardo). It is marketed at several different roles, including VIP/corporate transport, military use, offshore transport, fire fighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical service, disaster relief, and maritime patrol.
On Lagos International Airport Terminal, my take is that the building is dead too old for repairs. The Minister should take the Bull by the horn and do to old Terminal what we would do today to any old vehicle purchased in the 70s; demolition the damn thing to the foundation and erect a modern Terminal that befits the giant of Africa without any waste of time and resources.
No amount of repairs can make the Terminal useful in today’s modern aviation.
The feasibility of Seaport in the southeast!
By Capt. Evarest Nnaji
As we take seriously, the need for a realistically more robust economic activities cm development of Southeast Nigeria where potentials of Ndigbo could be harnessed and deployed towards the end of attaining the full economic potential possibilities and economy of scale befitting of a people whose ingenuity and can-do spirit permeate all spheres of business endeavour, there is the need to firstly identify realisable paths to which focus should be placed in order to achieve the aim of industrialization and commercialization of the zone and in record time without frustration.
Over the years, Ndigbo, home and diaspora, have been pregnant and in deep hunger to unleash their potentials and develop their homeland. Many have great hopes that someday, there will be good and conscientious leadership with the capacity to engender an overarching economic plan capable of pooling the business ingenuity of Ndigbo together to build a Japan-of-sort economy in West Africa on the strength of the attested resilient spirit of industry for which Ndigbo are known all over the world. This expectation has never been more apparent in no other time in history than now.
As this expectation is ripe in every mind, to prime our spirit, Ndigbo must be aware of a deep pitfall, a clear and present danger capable of draining our energy and causing debilitating frustration and which must be avoided like a plague.
This plague is the fallacy and misleading presumption that Ndigbo must have a seaport before the southeast could become an industrial or commercial hub. This lie sown in our minds, and which no one knows when it was sown, has been in the narrative over the years prompting deceptions, every now and then, of the possibility of one seaport or the other in Igboland, especially the often touted Onitsha Seaport. A cursory look at the Google earth map will show you that there is no part of Southeast anywhere near the Atlantic Ocean.
Onitsha Seaport:
River Niger, like all seven rivers of Africa; Nile, Niger, Senegal, Congo, Orange, Limpopo and Zambesi, are drying up due to global warming. In fact, you can walk across the river Niger (not swim) during the Dry Seasons nowadays. High water levels can only be guaranteed during the rainy seasons, and that can only sail floating badges, not ocean-going ships. Therefore, ocean going ship making it to Onitsha is never ever going to be possible, even with the suggested dredging of the river Niger; because dredging cannot introduce more water when the source flow is now so tiny. The only possible means to introduce huge water flow will be to dig the Niger riverbed down to a point where the Atlantic Ocean could flow back up to Onitsha.
Before we go further, let me be clear that our conversation here is about seaport for ocean going ships. Ships from Asia, Europe, USA etc that can only sail to West Africa and Nigeria through the Atlantic Ocean. I am not arguing the present port at Onitsha where floating badges that carry less than 18 containers of cargo from Lagos ports berth, 18 trailers can do that by road; that kind of deception will not help the Southeast; and that is not what I am discussing here.
Onitsha located along the edge of the river Niger at the lower boundary of Anambra and northern part of Delta State, is situated at 62 meters MSL (main sea level). That means to excavate the floor of the River Niger from Onitsha point to where it comes to par with the Atlantic Ocean, you would have to dig deep down to 62 meters. Then, to have the Atlantic flow back up to Onitsha, experts say you would need to dig deeper down to another 50 meters. Furthermore, to guarantee dept enough for ocean going ships to freely navigate, there would be additional 50 meters, making the total dept required to 162 meters from the current floor of the Onitsha end of the river Niger. Experts also report that due to the curvature needed to ensure that earth will not cave into the dug trench and to enable ships pass each other in the Onitsha to Atlantic Ocean channel, the width of the channel would have to be at least 1,600 meters. From Onitsha, following the natural tracks of the river Niger through lower end of Delta State, River State and Bayelsa State, to the Atlantic Ocean, measures 210 km. The question here is, even if we found the political will for such project, can Nigeria find the money to dig 162 metres dept and 1,600 meters wide from Onitsha, 210 km long, to the Atlantic Ocean to have a seaport at Onitsha?
Again, at the Bayelsa State and Delta State end to the Atlantic, there are labyrinths of oil and gas pipelines crisscrossing the entire region where the entry to the ocean will be needed. Can such critical national assets be destroyed to enable ships sail to the Onitsha seaport?
In addition, the height of the just completed second Niger bridge is too low such that no ship can pass under it, this indicate that the designers of the bridge were equipped with the above information; that no ocean-going ship or vessel will ever go to Onitsha.
There are great cites and societies around the world without seaports doing just fine, Southeast Nigeria can be like them. We need not be fixated on seaport; it is a distraction that can lead to frustration, especially as we have the possibility of a much better modern means to move goods and services across the globe and should focus on it. In USA, the cities of Las Vegas, Phoenix Arizona, Dallas, New Mexico City etc, in Europe, Milan in Italy; Munich in Germany, Austria etc, have no seaports but they are doing great, none availability of seaport has not hindered their development or make them inferior to any other city.
In modern air travel, it is proven that there is nothing you cannot move by Air Freight. The only difference could be in packaging. Giant industrial materials are disassembled and packed in smaller units or compartments and shipped by Air Cargo. A full luxury bus of 42 passengers seating capacity can drive into an Anthonov air cargo plane nowadays, and within 24 hours be delivered at the other end of the world. The only thing you may not see is the iron-body ocean shipping containers, but the same amount of goods are packed in pallets and by air cargo shipped effortlessly across the globe in our today’s world.
Moreover, if for instance you have funds to import one container of goods into Nigeria at one time, you could only do just four containers (4 times) in 12 months; that is at three months for one container of goods into Nigeria by ocean freight. While as you can import the same amount of goods twice every month by air cargo. That means 24 times in 12 months. So, even if you would make 30 percent profit from the ocean container goods, due to the cheaper cost of shipping, if you make 15 percent profit on the air cargo shipped goods, you are still going to make more money at the end of the year since you would have done 24 rotations of the same amount of goods - speed!
In Enugu, there is a 3-kilometre runway International Airport, within the city, that can take any cargo airplane in the world. From Enugu airport, the farthest part of Asia, Japan, is only 7,019 nautical miles (13,000 km). Beijing China is 6,090 nautical miles (11,280 km). The farthest of the West is Vancouver in Canada, which is 12,000 kilometres from Enugu, to name but a few. A Boeing 777 cargo or passenger airplane has a nonstop flight range of 17,205 kilometres. So, from the Southeast you can reach the entire world on a nonstop flight with many models of modern aeroplanes.
In Igboland, there is still Owerri airport; Anambra airport and Ebonyi airport. So, we are all set to launch our development if we can all focus our mind on this modern means of movement of man and materials and go further to acquire the expertise required for the full indoctrination of our people in the activities of aviation for we cannot afford to rely on other people to provide for us this basic means by which our economic development would be driven.
Hence, my commendation for the organisers of this event; Aviation Career Meet, at this prestigious university, Coal City University Enugu.
Aviation industry offers innumerable opportunities to any society that avails it. Careers in the industry offer training and expertise in divergent areas for men and women alike and the opportunity to excel anywhere in the world, if properly trained. I am quite delighted this university is partnering with another international institution in USA to bring to the Southeast the level of trainings and degree programs that will be a without-which-not to power the region’s aviation manpower development that will propel its desired development and industrial drive. Aviation being the best and the only viable means to fast track the imperative development of the Southeast, will suffer a serious setback if forward thinking investors and institutions fail to move in now to begin urgent trainings and orientations of our young ones into the industry. The industry is open to trainings in things about the airport and facilities; aircraft flight operations and maintenance, like pilot trainings; aircraft engineers; cabin crew etc. You also have Flight Operations Management; Flight Dispatchers; Material and Logistics Management; Ramp Services; Airline Safety Auditors; Air Cargo Operations and Management, as well as Aircraft Maintenance Planners; Airline Technical Records and Document Control; Aviation Equipment and Spares Store Management etc. These and many other opportunities abound in the industry.
In conclusion, the way forward for Southeast to fast track the desired mega economic development capable of attracting their best brains, human and material resources, and provide our pride of place in the West African market, is to invest in the development of the existing airport infrastructure diligently and deliberately to the best possible international standards. This will mean also, to train and assimilate the young ones in the modern aviation credentials and encourage the regions potential investors to invest in the industry so as to have a permeable and strong foothold that will stimulate a booming economic activity and guarantee the future of the region’s economy.
Presented by:
Capt. Evarest Nnaji
At The Aviation Career Meet – Coal City University Enugu on the 24th August 2023
My brief meeting at ‘Aviation Career Meet’ held at Coal City University, Enugu. Reported by Leadershipscorecard.
Aviation Our Only Chance Of Developing The South East Region — Captain Evarest Nnaji, Odengene
The Chief Executive Officer, Odengene Air-Shuttle Services (OAS), Captain Evarest Nnaji (Odengene) has stated that the only chance the South East Region has in achieving its economic potentials is by exploring the opportunities available to it in the aviation sector.
Captain Nnaji stated this on Thursday at ‘The Aviation Career Meet’ held in Enugu.
The aviation guru who was also the keynote speaker and the special guest of honour at the event said the region has to focus on the aviation industry as the possibility of having a seaport is a tall dream that’s near impossible.
He said that getting Onitsha River to be at par with the Atlantic ocean will involve a lot of work which the cost implications will scare any government away from embarking upon.
The OAS Boss further stated that the physical national assets (oil and gas) under the sea that will be destroyed in effort to dig the River Niger are enormous and no one is ready to spoil any of those assets.
He said that the second Niger bridge is a testament that the possibility of digging the River Niger and allowing a ship come in is foreclosed because those that designed the bridge knew that no ship is coming through it and the heights provided in the design says it all.
After enunciating this sad reality on the possibility of having a sea port in the South East, he encouraged the region to look towards the aviation industry, adding that some other countries of the world are existing without a seaport and they are doing well.
“Ndigbo must understand this and take aviation very serious as the alternative way to develop their place.
If you look at the fact that we have an airport with a 3km runway inside the city of Enugu State, this place can be the hub for huge international flights, carrying cargo and there’s nothing you can’t bring in by air.”
Chief Nnaji stated that there are aeroplanes in the world today that can take off from Enugu today and land in any part of the world and vise versa.
On the issue of cost, he said with the amount of turnover Air fleet gives when compared to using ship and cargos for movement of goods, it gives more profit annually.
He also encouraged the students present at the event to think about taking up a carrier in the aviation industry, because it offers them a better and brighter opportunity of earning descent salaries while revealing that an American University is ready to partner with Coal City University to offer a degree programme in aviation.
I have not had the privilege of meeting Nasir El-Rufai in person, but the report making rounds on how he withdrew his interest in ministerial appointment shows he is not a desperate politician. When it doesn’t work or it’s not worth it, let it go.
Nigeria schedule passenger airlines in serious trouble!
At the current official Dollar to Naira exchange rate of about N780 to US$1, the chances of any schedule passenger airline in Nigeria to stay alive and in service beyond a period of 10 years from startup is gone. Exactly 7 years ago, August 2016, I wrote a publication warning that no airline can survive in Nigeria at a seat ticket price of about $100. The average airline ticket for a 1 hour flight within Nigeria was sold at about N29,000= at the then official exchange rate of N300 to US$1.
As an industry insider, my hope had been that our economy would develop, in record time, to a point where the average Nigerian can afford to pay the Naira equivalent of $250 per seat ticket for a one hour flight within Nigeria; the realistic cost with which airlines can survive and be profitable anywhere in the world. With the current official exchange rate of N780 to a dollar in Nigeria, that hope appears a mirage; vis-a-vis the survival of Nigeria schedule passenger airline as a sustainable business. See the publication on the link below
http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/05/new-lift-for-airlines-in-nigeria/
Happy Easter to you! May this special day be filled with joy, love, and laughter.
May you be surrounded by family and friends, and may you enjoy all the blessings that come with this wonderful holiday. Let this be a time of renewal and hope, as we celebrate new beginnings and the promise of spring.
May your heart be filled with peace and happiness, and may you feel the warmth of the Easter season in everything you do.
Have a truly blessed Easter!
www.oashelicopters.com
I wish to inform you!!
It is with sadness, that I received the news of the brutal assassination of Barr. Oyibo Chukwu, the Enugu East, Labour Party Senatorial Candidate. Without doubt, this is too painful to bear.
I express my deepest sympathy and condolences to the immediate Family of Barr. Oyibo Chukwu, the good people of Enugu East senatorial zone for whom he staked his life seeking to serve, the Enugu state Labour Party family who have just lost a great asset, and the entire Enugu people who are traumatized by this mindless murder of one of their very best.
It is my conviction, that relevant Security agencies would work relentlessly, to earnestly expose the masterminds of this heartless killing and bring them to justice.
While I urge the blood sanguinary beings of our trying time in Nigeria to stop the killings and seek God’s face, I would also wish to encourage the security agencies, to do more, to rise above the challenges of these extraordinary times, to dispatch more proactive intelligence in order to nip such dastardly blood letting in the bud.
I urge the masses of our people, not to be discouraged or demoralized by this ugly incident, but to maintain their abiding faith in God, remain even more determined in their resolve to vote out leadership misfits and vote in responsible and responsive Leadership in the upcoming elections.
May the gentle soul of Barr. Oyibo Chukwu and the souls of all the innocent lives wasted alongside, through the mercy of Christ Rest In Peace.
Capt. Evarest Nnaji
(Odengene)
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!
On this day, I want to remind you that you are loved and appreciated, whether it be by your significant other, your family, your friends, or even by yourself. Valentine's Day is not just about romantic love, it's about celebrating all forms of love and connections that bring joy and meaning to our lives.
Love is a powerful force that connects us to each other and to the world around us. It can bring us happiness, comfort, and strength during difficult times. It's important to remember that love is not just something we receive, but something we give as well. By showing love and kindness to others, we can make a positive impact on the world.
So, whether you are spending today with a special someone or enjoying some quality time with yourself, take a moment to reflect on the love and connections in your life. Appreciate the people who have been there for you through thick and thin, and make an effort to spread love and positivity to those around you.
Remember, you are valued and cherished, and your presence in this world makes a difference. Wishing you all a happy and love-filled Valentine's Day!
www.oashelicopters.com