Our Management

About Me

The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT), was established in the late 60s and located in the historical city of Zaria.However; little or no information is available on what informed the choice of the city at that time.

On the other hand, a remarkable story came out from a church in Wusasa, one of the adjoining towns to Zaria. On whether the story led to many young men and women from Zaria and its environs to choose aviation as a career is debatable.

At the church, scores of little children were advised to present to the church whatever they deemed fit in their hearts. The presentation commenced and children were filing out with their gifts to God. One boy sauntered forward with a smile. He placed on the Altar a handmade caricature of an aircraft.

The congregation went into silence. Consternation took over. Prayers were offered. This boy, later in life became the Managing Director of Nigeria Airways.

Similarly, in this same Zaria, one little boy on his way to school every morning is always filled with excitement. His journey was always punctuated with the sound of aircraft in the sky. He gradually developed so much love for the aeroplane that he decided he will pursue a career in aviation. To chase this dream he made it a duty to collect and read notes from students of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in same town.

This boy is today, the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the apex aviation regulatory authority in Nigeria. He is Captain Muhtar Shaibu Usman.

He was born on 5^th December, 1956, in the famous city of Zaria, in Kaduna State. He started his elementary education at Government Secondary Technical School, Soba and finished in 1972.In 1973, he proceeded to Government Technical College where he passed out in 1975 after obtaining Federal Craft Training Certificate.

This is where the allure of aviation kept beckoning. The young Usman got admission to Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT), Zaria, in 1975 to pursue a course in Aero Electronics and Telecommunication where he obtained a Diploma certificate.

The determination to get to the pinnacle of his chosen career drove him to acquire many other professional education which are as follows – City and Guilds,Radio,TV,Electronics (1977),Commercial Pilot,Multi – Engine and Instrument ratings, Burnside – Ott Aviation Training Centre, Miami USA,(1977), B – 727 Flight Engineers’ rating,Miami,USA, (1980),Flying Instructors’ rating, Oxford Air Training School,UK,1982 and Airline Transport Pilot License, New York,USA,1992.

Others are Aircraft Accident Investigation,USA,(2006),Safety Oversight Inspectors’ course, Singapore,(2007),International Society of Air Safety Investigators’ Seminar, Singapore,(2007),Helicopter Accident Investigation,USC,USA,(2007),ICAO Organised Accident Investigation Seminar,Nairobi,Kenya,(2008)Communication,Navigation,Surveillance/Air Traffic Management Course (CNS/ATM),PAN AM Academy,Miami,USA,(2008) and Aircraft Accident Investigation Course,Cranfield University (2009).

In addition, the Director General attended Airport Operations Course, Singapore (2009), ICAO Course on ECCAIRES database and exchange (2010) and Safety Management System Course, SCSI, USA, (2010).

Against this background, it shows that Capt. Usman is a versatile aviator and a complete professional whose experience has spanned three decades.

During his career, he worked as a Flying Instructor at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT), Zaria from 1981 – 1985.He proceeded to the Nigeria Airways Ltd, Lagos between 1985 – 2004 where among other assignments he flew the B 737 Aircraft. As a Fleet Captain’s Assistant, he assisted in fleet technical and operational administration.