At a time it is widely acclaimed that one of Nigeria’s biggest needs is to get purposeful leadership at the helm of affairs in several sectors in the country, the stewardship and commitment so far displayed by the Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, is highly commendable, despite long years the aviation body has spent struggling with corporate war entanglement, among other challenges.
For a better appreciation of Yadudu’s sterling roles in FAAN, it will only be rational to assess his administration from the time he took over the mantle of leadership on May 20, 2019. When Yadudu assumed office, the aviation agency was faced with various degrees of challenges ranging from safety issues in Nigerian airports to poor personnel and project management.
Being a former Director of Airport Operations, several industry observers rated his entrance as a final answer the system needs to get fixed; they described him as a round peg in a round hole aligning with the clarion call by stakeholders for a leadership headed by a technocrat within the system.
Without wasting time, Yadudu upon assuming office, swung into action with his primary vision to move the aviation sector to the next level to be at par with the rest of the world in terms of performance and functionality and this he has strategically implemented by improving personnel, facilities, structures, procedures and processes; all aspects of airport operations and management.
Firstly, the FAAN boss who parades tier one professional certifications in Avionics, Airport Safety Management Systems, Airport Security Management, Air Transport Systems Management, amongst others, has put his diverse knowledge into improving safety at Nigeria airports.
One thing many Aviation stakeholders unanimously agree he has done well, was to strengthen the existing security at airports amid new and emerging security threats to airport operations. Earlier this year, when an intruder breached security at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) by attempting to climb an aircraft, the MD swiftly took responsibility, placing the officers involved on suspension. After which, he has, in partnership with relevant agencies, overhauled the security architecture at the airports across Nigeria. The safety and security currently enjoyed at the the nation’s airports were attributed to many factors; not excluding the state of airports both at the airside and landside.
He paid stern attention to ensuring FAAN carry out its statutory duties with due process practices in line with government policies which are also in conformity with global best practices in the international aviation industry. No wonder, the FAAN of today, according to one commentator, is not far from its mission; ‘To develop and profitably manage customer-centric airport facilities for safe, secure and efficient carriage of passengers and goods at world-class standards of quality.”
Keeping to his promise to improve services rendered by FAAN, especially with respect to robust capacity building and s
personnel development, Yadudu stepped up the game and this is evident in the high productivity recorded by the aviation group today. “He has a lot of interest in Human Capital Development, which wasn’t really all-encompassing in the past. Possibly because of the cost of training; out of station or even offshore, a top staff of the Authority volunteered on a social media post recently. His frugal and prudent management of resources has seen him device a cost-saving but highly effective continuous in-plant training. This has been going on in batches and cuts across all cadres and departments of FAAN. This all-inclusive trend, is greatly appreciated amongst staff as this is a departure from what was obtained in the past. During a recent meeting which the MD held with some management staff, some of the senior staff in attendance particularly hailed a recently- concluded course which they attend
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