EXCLUSIVE I wanted to be a doctor, not pilot
– Air Marshal Abubakar
Daily Trust: The NAF’s role in the war against insurgency is a crucial one. Exactly how does it key into everything over there at the theatre, especially since Boko Haram is said to be degraded? Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar: There are quite a number of missions organised to sustain the current state of stability and relative security that we have in the North-East. One of the missions that we carry out on daily basis is the ISR (Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance) mission. You cannot fight what you don’t know or what you cannot understand. You need to know the disposition of the enemy. The kind of equipment they have, how it is going to threaten stability and peace, and so on. All these are very fundamental questions we need to ask and that is why our focus has always been ISR, because in every conflict in any military operation, you need to have intelligence if you are to succeed.
Currently, we are flying a lot of ISR missions on a daily basis. We have both day and night missions. In fact, like I observed recently, those ISR pilots are doing an exceptional job. Some of them fly up to eight hours. Sometimes they depart at midnight and make their overhead throughout the night. ISR is very important and we are engaged in that.
DT: Apart from ISR, what other ways does the NAF come in at the North-East?
Air Marshal Abubakar: There is the logistics re-supply. You need to re-supply all the sectors that are there in the North-East, whether it is ammunition, spare parts, or military equipment that are broken down. It could also be evacuating a wounded person or supplying medical facilities. These are all operations and missions that we are conducting on daily basis.
In addition to that, of course, as outcome of those surveillance missions, we also organise intervention missions as a follow-up to intelligence that has been picked by the ISR aircraft. You might see some SUVs or some vehicles or Boko Haram attempting to come into Sambisa Forest and they are maybe, harbouring at a point. That intelligence will reveal them and that is when we would send fighter aircraft on our intervention missions. Then, if there are calls also, we conduct close air support operations which require coordination between the air and land elements, so that we are able to make sure we deal with any threat facing the ground troops conducting their own operation. This side of operations requires close coordination with land forces, and that one is equally going on.
DT: How extensively is the NAF employing new tech, in terms of surveillance, intelligence-gathering missions, attacks, and so on?
Air Marshal Abubakar: We are using our cameras on some of our platforms. They are the best in the market, twenty years ahead of what is ordinarily found in most places. So, in terms of tech, we are doing a lot and seeing the results. Sometimes we share these results with the public, just to reassure Nigerians that the Federal Government is doing everything humanly possible for security.
DT: Acquisition of aircraft, particularly the Super Tucano, has been greeted with much enthusiasm. What does that type of aircraft bring to the table, especially in terms of the campaign in the North-East?
Air Marshal Abubakar: Actually, we’re yet to acquire the Super Tucano, but we’re in the process of doing so. But certainly, acquiring such an aircraft will be a gamechanger in many respects. It has modern equipment, it can be employed in close air support, offensive and ISR. It can also be used for advanced training of pilots. It will certainly add a lot of value to what we are doing, not only in the North-East, but also in the South-South. It is much easier to use, and it can actually carry precision gadgets, and ammunitions, which would make it easier for us to engage the enemy effectively.
DT: On the NAF aircraft, numbers and capability are important. How would you describe the level of capability and numbers right now?
I think what we have is quite adequate for the threats we are facing. If you ask me whether we want more, I would say yes, we do if we can get. But it is also important to know that you cannot have all that you want. No country has all the equipment they want. All that is important is to understand what you have, what you require and try to see how you can make the best of it. That is exactly what we are doing in the NAF.
DT: The NAF has quite a number of training institutions. How many of them are looking at developing a truly Nigerian aircraft?
We are into Research and Development (R&D) and are making substantial progress. We are training and retraining and building capacity of our researchers, to be able to add value to what is already on ground. The whole idea is for us to have a situation where we can develop our own aircraft. But you know developing an aircraft is not something that is finished in a day. It comes with a strategic plan, and the NAF, I must say, has been working to ensure that we have that plan. We have an R&D policy that was enacted, I think, in 2012. We have the Air Force Research and Development Centre. We are training and retraining officers and men. We have officers that have read up to PhD level and quite a number that have Masters. We are building capacity which, ultimately, will lead to a situation where we would be able to produce our aircraft and also address some of our maintenance challenges.
DT: You are an experienced helicopter pilot. When was the last time you flew one and do you miss flying regularly?
I think when I flew last was in 2011 or 2012. I flew, up to the rank of Air Vice-Marshal, and I miss it dearly. I wish I could have the opportunity to still fly. I hope when we have enough serviceable aircraft, and if I find myself in the operational area, I will take some time to fly.
DT: Did you always want to join the Air Force or did you have another choice of arm of service during your NDA days?
Actually, I wanted to be a medical doctor and not even a pilot. The whole idea of becoming a medical pilot changed overnight when I went to the International Airport in 1979 and saw one of the Air Force airplanes landing. That was when I had a change of heart.
DT: Can you please take us down memory lane on the first time you flew solo?
I think I went solo in 1980. For every pilot, it is a very exciting moment to see your instructor walk out of the aircraft and leave you alone and you have to take off, fly and land. Initially one gets a little bit apprehensive because you now know that everything is in your hands. But knowing that you have been doing the same thing while he was there will make you look at it as a challenge. That is how I looked at it when I had the opportunity and it went well. I took off, landed and celebrated.
DT: Which aircraft, specifically, would you say is your personal favourite to fly?
I think the Mi-35 helicopter gunship is about the best. When I finished my primary flying, I was billed to go for the undergraduate pilot training in the United States for the fighter aircraft. But as destiny would have it, along the line, there was a fire incident at the American Embassy in Lagos and that changed everything.
I think one of the most exciting aircrafts, for me, is the Mi-35. It is a very rugged aircraft. Once you are in there, you are very sure that the systems would function the way they are supposed to, as long as you have the right training.
DT: Has any of your children expressed interest in following in your footsteps in the Air Force, or becoming a pilot?
None of them has, in regards to joining the Air Force, but my eldest son is also a pilot and is flying with Air Peace. He flies the 737. My third son is also interested in flying, but I have tried to discourage him because you can’t have everybody in the family flying.
Flying is quite demanding and sometimes you might have some medical issues that would stop you from flying. Even my first son, I encouraged him to get a degree, so that at least he has something to fall back on if, for any reason, he doesn’t want to fly again or perhaps for medical reasons.
For the Air Force, unfortunately, nobody has indicated any interest to join, so I am on my own. These days you allow children to have a choice, give them the opportunity to look at what they are really interested in and go for it. That is what I have encouraged them to do.
DT: When you have a few moments to yourself, what do you do?
I don’t know if I ever have such moments at all. I hardly sleep more than five hours. Mainly I sleep for four hours, since July 2015. Sometimes I switch off to take a rest. I usually think of how we can have those good old days when we were growing in secondary school, given pocket money, uniforms, soap and the society was very quiet and stable. But unfortunately today we are facing so many challenges in terms of security. It is really unfortunate. I am praying and hoping that one day we will have a situation where we will have total peace and stability that we used to have in the 70s, even in the early 80s.
We are hoping that every citizen of this country would be able to live through those beautiful days. That is what we are doing in the Air Force. We are falling back on that memory, to make sure we create schools that are very conducive for people, especially girl-child education. An illiterate society is very easy to destroy because most of the people do not understand the basics. They can be destroyed without firing a single bullet by denying them education.
The Air Force Secondary School in Kaduna, which is a day school, will be converted to a boarding one. Among others, we are also working on schools in Kaura Namoda and Maiduguri. I believe that is our contribution to our personnel and education in general in the country.
DT: Recently you had to give an address, re-affirming the loyalty of the NAF to the Federal Government. What is your take on military personnel hobnobbing with politicians for political reasons?
That issue has been grossly taken out of context, in my opinion, because I saw what was released. What is there is very clear. As for the Nigerian Air Force, it is a professional service and has been constitutionally defined, and we are not going to operate outside our role. Ours is to make sure that we protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria, create a secure environment for all Nigerians to pursue their aspirations without any fear, and to make sure we create the kind of stability that is required that will bring in prosperity and development. If you look at these aspirations, put it side-by-side with what people are saying, you will see they don’t go together.
For us in the NAF, we are a highly professional service and will remain a service that creates in the minds of Nigerians, a sense of ownership of that same NAF. That is why it is called the Nigerian Air Force. Every citizen should be very happy that this is ours, and the only way you can do that is to first and foremost, ensure that you have a professional service, which we have been working on.
I want to thank the president and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, for creating the enabling environment for the Air Force to function effectively. I also want to acknowledge the contributions of the National Assembly that has appropriated resources for us and other ministries such as Ministry of Defence and Finance, also the Accountant-General of the Federation, and of course the Central Bank that has played a very crucial role in ensuring that remittances of monies required for spare parts are done expeditiously. I believe all these contributions from different areas has made it possible for us to really function and add value, not only in the North-East and South-South, but in Nigeria as a whole.