The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has matriculated 1,641 students for the 2021/2022 academic year.
Addressing the students in Kaduna, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, stressed the need for innovative drive towards achieving meaningful development in Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the nation at large.
Amao said by being innovative and focused, the students and staff would be value added agents to NAF facilities and engagements, translating to more development to Nigeria at large.
He said that NAF had partnered with the Osun Government to build Africa’s first and largest aviation city in Ido-Osun.
He added that AFIT staff and students’ innovation would add value to the planned aviation city.
Amao urged the staff and students to remain focused and hardworking, to reap the benefits in the future.
He congratulated the students and the Commandant whom he commended for giant strides on his leadership of the Institute.
“The Institute wears a new look as the buildings are renovated and many wear a facelift, I encourage you with the maxim that says the reward for hard work is more work,” Amao said.
Earlier, Commandant of AFIT, AVM Muhammed Yakubu, said the Institute ran a tripartite system, offering National Board for Teaching Education and National Universities Commission’s accredited courses as well as military technical programmes.
He restated the Institute’s zero tolerance for drug abuse, cultism, indecent dressing, theft, examination malpractice and sexual harrasment.
Yakubu urged the students to build an acceptable character that would become an asset to them when searching for jobs or when they set up as entrepreneurs.
He also urged them to be law-abiding and disciplined by refraining from actions that could jeopardise the Institute and their families into disrepute.
Yakubu restated the Institute’s reward for exceptional performance, pledging to waive complete tuition fees of the next academic session for the overall best student in each faculty.
Also, Provost of the Institute, Prof. Muhammed Dauda, said AFIT had undergone several transformations with the purpose of generating, disseminating and applying knowledge through conduct of research, training and result-oriented utilisation of innovative research findings.
He said that the enhanced roles and objectives conferred considerable potential on AFIT to contribute strategically towards technological development of the Nigerian Air Force specifically and the country in general.
Dauda noted that AFIT, being the first in Nigeria to be classified as a “Polytechnic University”, offered both Diploma and Degree academic programmes in addition to its traditional military programmes.
“Operating this unique structure of the institute requires a lot of tact and discipline, as various regulatory agencies are keen to determine if this is worthy to be replicated in other institutions or it should be halted ab initio,” he said.
Dauda called on the students to take attendance in higher education Institutions as a unique opportunity to test their preconceived ideas about the world by judiciously using their time in achieving greatness in both character and learning.
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