The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air War College, Makurdi, has concluded the Air War Course 11 of 2025, which commenced on 15 January and formally ended after nine months of intensive academic and practical engagements.
A total of 29 senior officers participated in the course, comprising 19 from the Nigerian Air Force, two from the Nigerian Army, and two from the Nigerian Navy. Others included two officers from Botswana, two from Cameroon, and one from Morocco. The programme featured nine modules, designed to deepen participants’ knowledge of joint operations, strategy, and air power application in modern warfare.
At the graduation ceremony, Commander PC Onah of the Nigerian Navy emerged as the Best Overall Participant in Order of Merit. Group Captain JC Mbam and Wing Commander EA Okeke of the Nigerian Air Force were awarded Second Best and Third Best respectively, while Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Ngoun-Goun of Cameroon clinched the Best Allied Participant award.
Commander Onah’s research project, titled “Human Capacity Development and Operational Readiness: The Nigerian Navy Air Arm in Perspective,” offered strategic recommendations, including the design and adoption of bespoke career progression software for the Navy’s Air Arm, a review of the Nigerian Navy Aircraft Operations Manual, and collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources for crew training initiatives.
A seasoned helicopter pilot from Benue State, Commander Onah has distinguished himself through several remarkable achievements. Notably, he became the first Nigerian Navy pilot to ferry a helicopter from the Leonardo Helicopter facility in Italy to Nigeria, landing in more than 21 cities along the route. He also facilitated the inclusion of key naval aviation bases—Naval Air Base Ojo, Naval Flying Unit Port Harcourt, and Naval Air Station Effurun—into the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency’s Aeronautical Information Publication, significantly boosting operational integration within the national airspace system.
In addition, Commander Onah is a certified flight instructor and certified flight instrument instructor, holding both Nigerian and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Airline Transport Pilot licences. These qualifications place him among the most accomplished military aviators in the country.
His success at Air War Course 11 underscores the Nigerian Navy’s growing reputation in military aviation and demonstrates how professional excellence, intellectual rigour, and innovation can advance not just a service branch, but the Armed Forces of Nigeria as a whole.
