Aviation professionals urge girls to aspire to greatness

Mrs Yewande Cole, Head of Ground Operations, Value Jet, on Tuesday advised young girls to aspire to greatness, irrespective of their career paths or field.

Value Jet is a Nigerian carrier that operates scheduled flights to cities within Nigeria.

Cole gave the advice at the Amelia Earhart Day celebration, organised by the Zonta Lagos Club 1.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and also set many other records.

“Women have started breaking the records in aviation and this is because we have female pilots and engineers in the country.

“This celebration is just to encourage the young girls that they can be anything they want to be in life if they aspire and pursue their dreams,” she said.

Cole commended Zonta for putting the programme together to encourage girls to pursue their dreams.

“What Zonta is doing is really good because this is a better way to encourage the young ones to venture into the aviation industry.

“A lot of people perceived aviation as a field dominated by men but that is not the case now,” she said.

Earlier, Mrs Segilola Guobadia, a past President of Zonta Lagos Club 1, said the Amelia Earhart Day was part of the various programmes organised to support young girls to become great in the society.

“Zonata is all about girls and women empowerment and we organise programmes in various sectors just to encourage young ones to be the best they can.

“We will continue to support women and the girl child by building a better world for them,” she said.

Also, Mrs Kate Nnanna-Ibemgbo, the Coordinator of the event and also an airspace inspector, said the aim of the event was to educate and encourage young girls to look to careers in the Aerospace world.

She said: “For 85 years, Zonta International has given out fellowship awards and celebrated the most famed Zontian Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic.

“We continue to do this by educating and encouraging young girls to look to careers in the Aerospace World.”

NAN reports that the all female panelists included a pilot, an air flight engineer, air traffic control, aeromedical personnel and air hostesses.

NAN reports that Funmilola Oluwafemi, a Space Bio-Scientist, was presented with a certificate of Zonata International Fellow 2022 at the event.