By HAMZA SULEIMAN

The 54 students sponsored by the Borno government to study Aeronautics and Engineering-related courses departed Maiduguri on Friday for Isaac Balami University of Aeronautics and Management (IBUAM), Oshodi, Lagos State.

Mr Lawan Wakilbe, the Borno Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, congratulated the students and urged them to take their studies seriously at the farewell in Maiduguri.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the students were expected to undergo 5 years of intensive field training covering Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, System Engineering and Professional Pilot training.

Wakilbe, who expressed optimism about the students’ abilities, said out of 1,200 candidates who applied for the sponsorship, and subsequently subjected to a competitive exam process only 54 made it with two from the local government.

“It is indeed an amazing fit and I congratulate you. To whom much is given. Much is expected. The state is investing heavily in you,” the commissioner said.

According to him, the initiative is aiming to bridge the educational gap in a highly global and competitive aviation profession.

“What we expect from you is to be dedicated, focused, and disciplined. Most of you are from modest and humble backgrounds by implication you cannot afford this tuition.

“Now that public funds are invested in you, we expect you to take this as a great opportunity, struggle to aspire to be the best, and for you to be the best.

“The state government has spent a lot of resources in sponsoring people for postgraduate studies in China, India and Malaysia.

“When we did that, many questioned the reason today, anybody who looks at the state University Teaching Hospital with that massive edifice, the first thing that will come to your mind is, where are the personnel that will handle the facility”? He asked.

The commissioner further announced that Gov. Babagana Zulum has already sent 104 students to China for studies, adding that the students were also expected to come back with first-class and World-class knowledge to man the University teaching hospital.

Wakilbe stated that the state government would be spending close to N60 million annually on each of the 54 students without any contribution from their parents.

“We are paying approximately 30,000 dollars per person, per annum for tuition, accommodation, transportation, feeding, and every aspect of what you require, including N50,000 for our upkeep. Your parents are not expected to spend any amount of money on you.

“Those of you in Aerospace engineering, your own tuition is double that of those reading regular engineering, but at the end of it, all of you would be engineer pilots,” the commissioner added.

Wakilbe, therefore, enjoined the students to emulate Mr Isaac Balami, who was a son of a teacher from a modest and humble background but has excelled after being sponsored by the state government.

“In his own testimony, when he visited the governor (Zulum), he said he went through a lot of odd and manual jobs to make up for a scholarship scheme given by the administration of his Excellency, Sen. Ali Modu-Sharif Isaac, Balami went to Aviation College Zaria.

“He (Balami) suffered, he strived, he’s successful today. He owns the first Aeronautic University. A private University in Nigeria. The scholarship made Isaac Balami great.

“If Isaac Balami hadn’t had that scholarship, he couldn’t have achieved this. This is to tell you it is a very good thing to invest in human capital development,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the students, Muhammad Umar, thanked the state government for giving them the opportunity, saying they fully understood the responsibilities that come with such privilege and promised not to disappoint the state. (NAN)