The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, National Agency for Science and Engineering (NASENI), Dr. Bashir Gwandu has called for stronger collaboration between the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Kaduna and his agency for the take-off of the permanent site of Aeronautics and Air Vehicle Development Institute (AAVDI), an Institute under NASENI.
The NASENI boss, who made the call on Wednesday when the new Commandant of AFIT, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) S.L. Rabe paid him a courtesy visit at NASENI headquarters in Abuja, congratulated the new AFIT boss on resumption of duty.
The Commandant said his visit to NASENI was to congratulate the EVC on his appointment as well as open discussions on the collaboration for the establishment of NASENI Institute in Kaduna.
He expressed the readiness of the Institute to strengthen ties with NASENI to develop AADVI and fast-track the on-going work on made-in-Nigeria helicopter, including through the trainings of AFIT staff unskilled vocations such as welding and others by the agency.
In his remarks, the NASENI boss, who said that he had been visiting NASENI Institutes to see what some of them are doing since he assumed office, said: “Surely, our work with the Air Force and the military establishment are areas that I want to focus on because there are some of our key projects that AFIT is championing and that cooperation is very important to us in particular and to the country.”
According to him, the main reason for having the helicopter and the AAVDI is for Nigeria to be self-reliant in aviation technology as there will be manufacturing of components for the helicopter and other aircrafts that NASENI can produce.
Gwandu further clarified: “We can train people to learn to produce the components. Like I said, we have been looking at different components of aircrafts in particular and how we can penetrate that industry.
“We produce a lot of titanium in this country, as we know the body of aircrafts in particular uses composite materials, which do not work with aluminum as we all know because of corrosion. One of the key projects I am working on is getting a team to work on Titanium.
“I have companies that I am talking to courtesy of your colleague at NASENI. We will work with what we have to produce some of the parts. We have Institutes like HEDI in Kano that produce hydraulics that is needed in aviation. We are trying to form a team that we can train in different areas of aerospace such as satellites, down to aircraft aviation.
“One of the key projects we’ve discussed on Airbus is the MRO in Abuja. Instead of taking all our aircrafts out, we want to establish an MRO here so that we can do it here. Why Abuja is important is because it is centre of Africa. The distance to anywhere from Abuja is not more than five hours. It is the most central location and also not much rain activities as much as it is in other places”, the agency’s added.
On training on aircraft parts and systems including Avionics, Gwandu said the agency was interested in developing the earlier mentioned areas, adding that “we are just starting and we have to start from somewhere. We have to do something fast or else we will find ourselves lagging behind. Most of the advanced countries are making money mainly from high-tech that we do. We need to be there and compete with them. That is the thinking.”
Already, the AFIT has provided land/space for the construction of NASENI’s Aeronautics and Air Vehicle Development Institute, including other necessary infrastructures for the smooth take-off of the projects; and also to provide counterpart technical team during aviation equipment installation and test-running.
The AFIT is also to provide training on helicopter piloting, maintenance of helicopters and development of Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul (MRO) plans; provide counterpart technical team required for hangar development and testing as well as provide technical team for avionics and reverse engineering of Dynali helicopter.
On its part, NASENI will work with AFIT on prefabricated structures/homes in areas where there is deficiency, provide technical team with respect to setting up AFIT’s Laser Cutting machine and automation systems.
The agency will also provide counterpart technical team required during skills acquisition programmes, hands-on training workshop, seminars, conferences and other trainings as well as provide AFIT recommended science kits.
It would be recalled that on December 21, 2021, a presidential order was given for relocation of the NASENI Made-in-Nigeria helicopter project to AFIT and also the establishment of the AAVDi within AFIT.
Photo Caption
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Dr. Bashir Gwandu (left) explaining a point to the Commandant, Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Kaduna, Air Vice Marshall S. Rabe, during his working visit to NASENI headquarters in Abuja on 19 July, 2023.
