Meet Grace Garba, Nigeria’s First Female Air Warrant Officer

Sadique Abubakar, the chief of the air staff (CAS), has approved the promotion of Grace Garba, a master warrant officer, to the rank of air warrant officer (AWO).

Ibikunle Daramola, an air commodore and director of public relations for the Nigerian Air Force, announced this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said with the promotion, MWO Garba becomes the first female senior non-commissioned officer (SNCO) to be promoted to the highest rank in the non-commissioned officers’ cadre in the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

Explaining that the NAF now has its first female fighter pilot, Daramola said: “The promotion demonstrates the commitment of the current NAF leadership in paying adequate attention to the empowerment of female personnel to realise their full potentials.

“Similarly, for the first time in NAF history, another female pilot is on the verge of completing training to become the first female helicopter pilot in the Service.

“It is expected that the promotion of MWO Garba to AWO would serve as a motivation and spur other airwomen in the Service to strive for excellence and aspire for such rare elevation.”

Born on February 14, 1966, in Garkida, Gombi local government area of Adamawa State, Garba joined the NAF in 1986 as a member of Basic Military Training Course (BMTC) 10.

She holds a certificate in nursing from the School of Nursing, Maiduguri and another in midwifery from Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital.

The officer holds a certificate in public health nursing from School of Health Technology, Kaduna and an advanced diploma in public administration at the Federal University of Technology, Yola.

She is currently the regimental sergeant major (RSM) of the NAF School of Medical Sciences and Aviation Medicine (NAFSMSAM), Kaduna.

She will be decorated with the new rank on October 15.