By Babajide Okeowo
Qatar Air on Friday, November 27, 2020, set a new record with an inaugural flight to Abuja, Nigeria. The flight was even more memorable as the co-pilot of the inaugural flight was the first Nigerian female Boeing 787 pilot, Adeola Ogunmola Sowemimo.
Abike Dabiri, Director-General, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM shared this heartwarming news via her official Twitter handle.
“Today, Qatar Air operated its inaugural flight to Abuja, Nigeria. And our own Adeola Ogunmola Sowemimo was on the right seat as she assisted Captain Khan Sameer Ali. Adeola is the first Nigerian female Boeing 787 Pilot and the first Nigerian female Pilot to fly for Qatar Airways” she tweeted.
Sowemimo, was born in Ogbomosho, Oyo State. She started her aviation career at the US-based Sunrise Aviation Academy where she graduated in 2011.
She made history in 2019 when she became the first Nigerian female pilot to work for Qatar Airways in the Middle East, a region which is challenging for women hoping to become pilot.
She is also the first female Nigerian to fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for Qatar Airways and the first Nigerian female pilot to fly the Boeing 767 Aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean putting her in the same league with Kenya’s Captain Irene Koki and Ethiopia’s Captain Amsale Gulau.
The announcement by Abike Dabiri as expected has set the cyberspace on fire with some Nigerians praising the exploits of Adeola.
Margaret Ikpeme could not hold back her joy while praying for God’s protection on the young Nigerian.
“Mightily proud of our lady pilot, proudly Nigerian. God’s protection over you. Amen and Amen’ she wrote.
Other Nigerians however expressed sadness that Adeola exploits is a loss to Nigeria as it would have made more sense if she was flying a national carrier
According to Wordshot Amaechi “This is actually a shame! We are celebrating another airline coming into our country, and our national flying as their pilot. Why can’t we have an airline like Qatar Airways that our pilots can fly? What do we really have in this country we can be proud of? he tweeted via his @IamWordshot handle.
It's a crying shame Nigeria is celebrating @qatarairways flying into our country with our national as co pilot. Why can't we have our own airline our pilots can fly? What do we really have in this country we can be proud of? Is it refineries that gulp billions and refine no oil?
— Wordshot Amaechi (@IamWordshot) November 27, 2020
