“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
― Nelson Mandela
It was Raymond Albert Croc of McDonald fame that says, “Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get". As a corollary, Capt. Musa Shuaibu Nuhu did not become Director General of Nigeria's apex regulatory authority by a stroke of luck rather his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari was a fitting tribute to a stellar aviation career spanning over 36 years; beginning in 1984 as co-pilot B737 at the defunct Nigeria Airways. Among others he was in the Presidential Air Fleet for 16 nourishing years, with a total flight time of 12,000 hours+ and Plc Jet Multi-Engine of 9,000 hour+.
Hence, his appointment did not come as surprise to aviation stakeholders and key players in the aviation industry. Prior to this, he was the immediate past Nigeria's representative on International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council with extensive international and trans-oceanic experience. Captain Musa Nuhu formally received the baton of leadership as the 7th Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Monday-16th March, 2020. No one envied Captain Musa Nuhu as he assumed office amid this deafening crisis; in the dawn of a contagious once-in-a-lifetime fatal pandemic. His first ever meeting was on COVID-19 issue which is a manifestation of his knowledge about the onerous task before him and that he needs to hit the ground running; the czar really hits the ground running beyond words and rhetoric.
Under his watch, the Authority acting in synergy with all key players took armloads of measures (issuance of letters, Advisory Circulars, and participation in series of virtual, including physical (at the onset) meetings that have been held in all fronts so far) to protect passengers and the public from the global health emergency. So far, no fewer than 41 Advisory Circulars (AC) relating to tackling spread of the pandemic have been issued by the Authority giving directives to operators. Prominent among these landmark measures were ordering all operators to issue Health Declaration Forms to their passengers including crew members aboard aircraft before arriving Nigerian airports, placing restrictions on travellers coming into the country from thirteen (13) erstwhile worst-hit countries (China, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America). This travel restriction was later extended to Sweden and Austria.
As a matter of expediency, the Federal Government and NCAA closed down Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano; Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu; and Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa to all international flights. However, Lagos and Abuja airports were to later follow suit effective Monday, 23rd March, 2020. This is to mitigate and prevent further spread of the pandemic.
See attached below