By John Ikani
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N1 billion for the establishment of African University of Aerospace and Aviation to be located in Abuja.
The minister of aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, stated this when he led the management team of the aviation ministry on a visit to the executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Abuja yesterday.
Sirika said N1 billion had been budgeted for the take-off of the university which would be dedicated to research and development in civil aviation and aerospace technology.
The minister noted that aerospace and civil aviation had been expanded with new frontiers that need the attention of experts so that Nigeria would begin to play a role and participate effectively.
‘’An example is the development of drones or unmanned vehicles that are now taking over the space delivering cargo, delivering mails, delivering things and very soon delivering human beings.
“This is a new frontier in civil aviation that needs to be developed, we started with Brazil in the area of civil aviation, today Brazil is producing aircraft, and we aren’t producing a pin. So I think we should be able to have this university that is dedicated to aerospace and aviation in addition also production of high level manpower,” he said.
