Seven aviation professionals among graduands at Babcock’s 20th graduation ceremony

Caption L-R: Emmanuel Soji ISOLA - First Vice President/Sabre CWA, Victoria Damilola AJALA/Graduate, Abdul Rilwan Moyosore/Graduate, Oluwadamilola Alexandra BANJO/Graduate, Benedette Ujunwa NNAJI/Graduate, Olalekan Ademola FASMIRIN/Babcock Liason Officer

Seven aviation professionals in Nigeria were among the 2,077 graduands from the Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State at its 20th graduation ceremony held on Sunday.

The aviation professionals were enrolled for an 18 months course by Sabre Network West Africa, the leading airline distribution solution provider in the Airline and Travel Management Course about two years ago.

Sabre Network had partnered with Babcock University to pioneer the Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in aviation studies for professionals in the sector.

Speaking on the graduation ceremony and partnership with Babcock University, Gabriel Olowo, president, Sabre Network West Africa, said that the company had been desirous over the years to fill the gross manpower shortage especially, in commercial aviation where airline wealth is generated.

Olowo stated that management ineptitude due to poor commercial knowledge had led to the collapse of many airlines, not just in the country, but on the continent, stressing that such courses would lead to improved performances by airlines in Nigeria.

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The Aviation Round Table president also expressed delight with the number of aviation professional graduands at the university, assuring that the number would continue to climb regularly.

He said: “There exists a big vacuum of commercial men in the airlines and even in regulation as they are almost gone into extinction, hence the initiative to produce the next level of management executives for the sector.

“A pioneer effort like this will face its cycle of growth, but the start-up has been very encouraging given the cost of an MBA programme at a first class university like Babcock and the present state of the Nigerian economy.”

He emphasised that Sabre intended to strategically collaborate in future with more discerning tertiary institutions in the country and beyond for such aviation courses.

Also commenting, Emmanuel Ishola, the first vice president, Sabre Network, said that the company in collaboration with the university wanted to fill the present vacuum in the system by pioneering training of professionals for the industry, especially at the managerial level.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.