The liquidation of the national carrier, Nigerian Airways, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, remains a sore point for all employees of the airline. They always remember with nostalgia, the good old days, and the apparently limitless opportunities the airline offered.
Indeed the defunct national carrier was the pride of the nation, owned 100 per cent by the government of Nigeria.
One of the best the airline could produce is Capt. Robert Emmanuel Hayes, popularly known as “Capt. Bob Hayes,” the first Nigerian pilot at the time the airline was managed and dominated by foreign pilots.
Born on May 13, 1935, in Benin City, Capt. Bob was recently honoured with a reception tagged, “An evening in honour of First Nigerian Pilot” co-hosted by two veterans of Nigeria Airways – Chief Anselm K. Mohammed and Capt. Benoni Briggs.
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The reception, which was held at A. K. Mohammed’s Ikeja GRA residence, brought together former employees of the defunct Nigeria Airways who are now senior citizens as they all reunited in honour of Capt. Hayes. He was described as a trainer par excellence, someone who motivated many Nigerian aviation professionals who are still doing the industry proud.
It was also an opportunity for those he previously trained and impacted in the service of Nigeria Airways to recall with nostalgia the contributions of Capt. Bob to their professional development.
Among those in attendance were a former Minister of Aviation and one-time MD of Nigeria Airways, AVM Anthony Okpere, Capt. Toju Ogisi, Capt. Bayo Sanyaolu, Air Vice-Marshal Abdullahi Dominic Bello, Capt. Bayo Sanyaolu, Sir Arumemi Johnson (founder of Arik Air), Capt. Godfrey Ogbogu, Capt. Fola Akinkuota (former MD of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency).
Capt. Ogisi described Hayes as an aviator who gave all the young pilots of the airline direction.
“He was our teacher, and motivator; he gave us direction. He knew a lot to be able to teach us and guide us. Indeed, because of Capt. Hayes, the aviation industry today is safe,” he said.
Okpere noted that the reception brought him face-to-face with people he had not met in the last 32 years, after retiring from Nigeria Airways.
He stated that Capt. Hayes was one of his role models and that the renowned pilot touched many lives and contributed immensely to the growth of aviation in Nigeria.
“We need to live and touch lives and that is exactly what Capt. Bob Hayes did in the Nigeria Airways that made pilots in Nigeria be regarded as some of the best in the world. He trained a lot of people. This is why I think it is not the OON he should have gotten if not because we have our priorities misplaced,” he said.
As the former veterans of Nigeria Airways reminisced about their days with the defunct national carrier, they expressed mixed feelings about the plan to establish another carrier. They advised that the right thing must be done toward refloating the national carrier.
To Capt. Hayes, the move was a welcome development, even as he expressed sadness over the liquidation of the defunct national carrier.
“I never expected this, but I thank the good Lord that this opportunity has come, and I hope it is the beginning of many good things.
“I think the industry is making some tremendous progress, and I believe there is a lot of future in aviation and I am glad that I was part of it in the early days. Of course, I was able to monitor the progress of the industry and hopefully, there are better days in the industry,” Hayes said.
According to him, the plan by the federal government to establish another carrier named, Nigeria Air, was commendable.
“We were very sad when we lost Nigeria Airways. But now that it is being proposed to set up a new airline, I think this is one of the best things that will happen to the country.
“Most countries in Africa now have national carriers and I think it is about time Nigeria, the biggest country in black Africa, should of course take its lead in the comity of nations in this industry. Nigeria deserves that, and I am looking forward to that,” he said.
AVM Okpere also reiterated that Nigeria Airways shouldn’t have been liquidated.
“I recall one evening when they decided to wind up Nigeria Airways, I sat with the late Admiral Aikhomu and I saw people bulldozing one house in the GRA here that was sold off with the captain’s belongings inside. Meanwhile, that captain was on a flight, on a national assignment, so to say.
“As far as I was concerned, and I still stand by my words, Nigeria Airways shouldn’t have died. They had a probe, and I am sure you are aware of the probe. They know all the people who brought Nigeria Airways to its knees.
“I worked there quite alright, and I was equally probed but I beat my chest. Thank God in the midst of aviators and people in the industry, I carried my head up high.
“When Nigeria Airways was sold off, all the workers were left in the lurch; a lot of them were not paid, and some died before the Buhari administration came to pay.
“I believe it was wrong. Now in floating a new airline, I don’t know the politics behind it, and I don’t know the consultation they made. They have started a new one but how far they would go, I don’t know,” he said.
Career progression
Capt. Hayes got fascinated with aviation right from a tender age and was always interested in books about aeronautics.
At that time, the government was planning to train young Africans as civil aviation pilots. On August 9, 1953, Capt. Hayes, as well as Joseph Ajakaiye and Samuel Ohiomah, left the country for the Air Service Training College, in Southampton, United Kingdom, to train as the very first set of Nigerian pilots.
After two years of intensive training and examinations and at the tender age of 20, Robert Emmanuel Hayes became the first Nigerian to get certified as a commercial pilot and returned home.
He returned to Nigeria in June 1955 to join the West Africa Airways Corporation (WAAC). Between 1956 and 1960, the young West African pilots in WAAC (Nigeria, Ghana (Gold Coast), Sierra Leone, and Gambia) were employed to fly as co-pilots on local routes only, along with the British and European pilots.
They flew the B170, B114 and B104 aircraft. In 1956, Rufus Orimoloye who had been training in the United Kingdom, returned and joined Robert Hayes, who until then, was the only Nigerian pilot flying with WAAC.
In 1962, Robert Hayes and Rufus Orimoloye were sent for Senior Commercial Pilot licence training, where they were trained to fly the DC-3 aircraft. While in training, they were both promoted to captain, and shortly after that, they returned home. They were immediately dispatched for further training on the F27 aircraft that the country’s airline, Nigeria Airways, had just acquired.
Following the formation of Nigeria Airways in 1962, Nigerian pilots were finally able to start flying international routes. Captain Bob Hayes became the first Nigerian pilot to fly into New York.
He was not only flying but was deeply involved in the training of many Nigerian pilots working with the national carrier at the time. He retired in 1990 after attaining the mandatory 40 years in service, flying actively for 40 years, and accumulating 21,000 flying hours.
In 2001, Capt. Bob was conferred with the National Award of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
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