A Nigerian first female student pilot, Teslimat Abiola Nurudeen, a 500-level student of the Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering of Kwara State University has made history by becoming the first undergraduate from the institution to complete a solo flight at the Ilorin International Airport.
The historic moment occurred on April 20, 2026, when the young aviator successfully piloted an aircraft alone in a 24-minute circuit flight around the airport after months of rigorous training, including ground school, simulator sessions and supervised flights, reports The Nation.
Prior to this feat, Teslimat had her six-month SIWES programme at International Aviation College, Ilorin where she further honed her skills.
Exceptional Effort
The Vice Chancellor, Professor Shaykh-Luqman Jimoh, described the achievement as exceptional and praised Teslimat for combining academic work with intensive pilot training.
He added that her success would inspire more students, especially young women, to pursue careers in Engineering and Aviation.
The Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Professor Abdulraheem Toyin Abdulbaqi, and the Head of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering Department, Dr. Taofiq Omoniyi Amoloye also commended the student, describing the feat as a record-breaking milestone for the university.
Present during the reception were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Professor Moshood Mahmud Jimba; the University Bursar, Mallam Muhammad Abubakar; and the student’s father and Deputy Director, Work, Engineer Idris Nurudeen.
Congratulating her, Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said: “The news that Teslimat Abiola Nurudeen, a final-year student at Kwara State University @KwasuOfficial, has become the first undergraduate from the university to complete a solo flight is exactly the kind of harvest we envisioned years ago.
“On April 20, 2026, she flew a 24-minute circuit at Ilorin International Airport.
“When we established KWASU and the International Aviation College during my tenure as Governor of Kwara State, our goal was human capital development. It was about equipping the next generation of Kwarans and Nigerians with the skills to compete in the most specialised sectors of the global economy”.
“Seeing a young woman from the Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering take to the skies today validates the difficult but necessary decisions we made to prioritise education and specialised infrastructure.
“The journey ahead must now be about returning Kwara to this culture of excellence. We must not just focus on building for today, but for generations that will follow.”
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Source: The Frontiers
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