Nigeria’s 1st female fighter pilot bags top honours at Ghana military college

Trailblazing Nigerian Air Force officer, Flight Lieutenant Kafayat Sanni, has added another historic feat to her growing list of firsts.

Nigeria’s first female fighter pilot, Sanni, emerged as the Best Allied Student and clinched the Best Assistant Commandant Paper award at the prestigious Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) in Accra.

The awards were presented on Friday during the college’s graduation ceremony, attended by top military brass and dignitaries across Africa.

Flt Lt Sanni first made national headlines in 2019 when she was decorated as the NAF’s first female fighter pilot after completing advanced training in the United States. Since then, she’s flown combat aircraft like the Alpha Jet and trained younger pilots as a certified instructor on the Super Mushshak.

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Her latest achievement at GAFCSC is not just a personal win; it’s a resounding statement about Nigeria’s growing influence in regional military excellence and the Air Force’s commitment to gender inclusion and elite talent development.

It also speaks to the NAF’s ongoing drive for excellence under the leadership of Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, whose tenure has prioritised capacity building and strategic human capital investment.

Sanni’s rise continues to inspire a new generation of women in uniform and proves that when it comes to flying high, the sky is just the beginning.

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