At the beginning, air travel was esoteric in Africa and it was awe inspiring and seemed very elusive.

The great Nelson Mandela wrote in his book, ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ that he was apprehensive when he saw the first black pilot in his life in cockpit of the aircraft that was flying him. It was in Ethiopia. He said he was really sceptical about the pilot taking them safely to their destination. That was the power of aviation then.

Here in Nigeria it was not less a mystery. That was why encomiums are pouring ceaselessly on the man who became the first indigenous pilot in Nigeria. His name is Captain Robert Emmanuel Hayes. He turned 90 years recently and celebrated with family and friends in London where he lives. But here in Nigeria, the good wishes he receives were unabated. Bob Hayes was the man who ‘opened’ the eyes of Nigerians; that Nigerians, like others, can command aircraft in the air. Hayes was Nigeria’s first indigenous airline captain who paved way for the first crop of Nigerian pilots.

At a time whenNigeria’s preeminent political leaders were engrossed with the desire to liberate the country from colonialism,and when it was taken for granted that anyone in the cockpit of an aircraft must be white, Capt. Hayes nurtured the idea to be a pilot.

That could be described as tall dream then and a slippery fantasy. At that time flying was a British monopoly. It was the time of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), which metamorphosed into the West African Airways Corporation (WAAC).

But in 1955, Bob Hayes became the first Nigerian to be certified a pilot, five years before independence in 1960.

Born on May 13, 1935, in Benin City, present day Edo State, Capt. Hayes attended St. Patrick Catholic School, Sapele, Delta State and Government College, Warri (now Government College, Ugheli) also in Delta State. He picked up interest in flying while watching the Royal Marine officers on duty in Sapele in the 50s and desired to join the Royal Air Force.

The dream evolved and became awake when he visited Lagos as a teenager. He went to the Civil Aviation Department in Lagos where he met with the Director of Aviation Services, Wing Commander Coleman. He told Coleman about his interest to join the Royal Air Force. At that time, Commonwealth countries’ citizens could join the Royal Air Force. However, Coleman advised him on the possibility of being a civil aviation pilot because at that time, the government already had a plan to train young Africans as pilots.

After series of interviews, three Nigerian students on scholarship, Robert Hayes, Joseph Ajakaiye and Samuel Ohioma, left the country on August 9, 1953, to Britain to train as first set of Nigerian pilots. They trained at the Flying School, Hamble, Southampton.

In May 1955, at the age of 20 years, Capt. Hayes became the first Nigerian to get certified as a pilot with the Commercial Pilot License and returned to Nigeria in June 1955 to join the West Africa Airways Corporation (WAAC.)

Between 1956 and 1960, the young Nigerian pilots in WAAC were allowed to fly as co-pilots on the local routes, along with the British and Europeans pilots. They were flying the B170, B114 and B104 aircraft.

In 1962, Robert Hayes and Rufus Orimoloye were sent for the Senior Commercial Pilot License training where they were made to fly the DC3 aircraft. While in training, they were promoted captains. When they returned home, they were asked to go for further training on F27 aircraft which the country’s airline, Nigeria Airways, had acquired.

The Nigerian pilots were able to start flying the international routes eventually in 1962 when the Nigeria Airways was formed. Captain Hayes also became the first Nigerian pilot to fly into New York and served as acting managing director of the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways. Many pilots at that time passed through the supervision of Captain Bob Hayes. He retired in 1990 after attaining the mandatory 35 years in service.

He was the first Nigerian pilot to attain that age in service. He worked on contract as a training captain and examiner, thereafter. Captain Hayes flew for 40 years in control and four years on contract consulting for Nigeria Airways.

The former Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, described him as one of Nigeria’s greatest aviators.

“Capt. Hayes is one of the greatest captains Nigeria has ever had, a very brilliant and professional captain, a pacesetter who never breached standard operating procedures. He was a great inspiration to us who were his juniors,”Demuren said.

Recently when he marked his 90 years birthday he spoke about his life, his experience as a pilot and his experience as one of the pioneers who indigenized aviation as precursor of the industry today.

“My name is Robert Emmanuel Hayes. I was born on the 13th of May 1935. My father was a UAC Factor when he first came to Nigeria. And he became one of the top United African Company textile managers in UAC, but eventually he pulled out of the United African Company (UAC). He set up his own company, Hayes Green & Bryden, which I believe is still functioning today in the country. My mother was Dora Hayes, she passed on in 1990. I grew up as a young boy attending the Primary Catholic School in Sapele and finished up my secondary school education in Government College in Ughelli. I decided to become a pilot from my very, very early years in Government College, Ughelli, when I ran into a magazine which was then known as the London Illustrated.

“It was there I saw photographs and a lot of stories about the Royal Air Force. And I got fascinated and that galvanized a lot of my interest into flying. Usually, when I was very young, I used to go to Benin from Sapele. I would take a trip to Benin and go to the airport, you won’t believe this, and just watch aircraft. I would stay there for hours, until I would see an aircraft land and take off. And I thought, one of these days, I am going to be a pilot. And I never looked back. Eventually, I spent 40 years of my life flying. I finished up in grade 1 in Cambridge School Certificate, 1953. While I was on holiday, when I was in class four, I met a friend who introduced me to chief Bode Thomas. And when I met him, he said, young man what would you like to do when you leave school? So, I said, Sir, I want to be a pilot. He said why? I said because I was told that you were in the Royal Air Force when you were in England. For that reason, that is why I have actually made every effort to meet with you,” Hayes narrated.

According to him, Bode Thomas thought about it and said, “Young man you are very adventurous. I don’t know what to tell you but I will recommend you to a friend of mine who is the director of civil aviation in Lagos.”

“The rest, of course, became history because I met with Wing Commander Coleman as a result of that introduction. And he told me, we are contemplating going to train Nigerians,” he recalled.

Captain Hayes said he was excited and took Coleman on and said he would like to be one of the Nigerians that would go for the training whenever the opportunity arose.

He said, “Well in that case, you have to go for a competitive scholarship award. True to his words, an advert came out in the Daily Times, calling for Nigerians for scholarship for flying. I applied for the scholarship through the secretariat. After the advert, 33 candidates were selected to attend the interview in the secretariat. Fair enough, I believe, three candidates were successful. They are Joseph Ajakaye, Mr Ohioma and myself. We got the scholarship back then with two other Ghanaians from Accra, making the five of us who were now sent to Arm Service Training in Hamburg, Southampton.

“I spent 18 months, among the class of 19, I was the first to qualify as a pilot. Immediately I qualified, I was sent back straight to Lagos and I was then sent on after meeting with Wing Commander Coleman. When I left the flying school, I was brought into West African Airways, which was my first professional employment. Later, West African Airways folded up and it became Nigeria Airways in 1958. I started off as a second officer and then a first officer and finally got promoted as a captain in 1962.”

“As far as I was concerned, I was a Nigerian, I was a black man. The expatriates took umbrage against Nigerians flying with them. And as a matter of fact, they will not even allow me to eat with them on the same table when we were flying. I mean it was that bad. When the time came for me to fly, I had no problem. It was a natural thing that happened to me. And I did not let my country down because I was able to make the grade.

“The first flight I did was from Lagos, Kano, Maiduguri. At that time, we were carrying kolanuts to Khartoum.We felt absolutely elated. It was a sense of achievement that we now had our own country, our own airline outside West African Airways. I was the most experienced pilot even at 1975. I now have just over 21000 hours of flying. I don’t think anyone in the country has that record,” he said.

What an experience! Even in his country he was a victim of racism. But Captain Bob Hayes doggedness and determination paid off and ushered in those Nigerians that came after him, like Captain Dele Ore and Captain FolaAkimkuotu. This is to say a Happy 90th birthday to Captain Bob Hayes. (THISDAY)

•L-R: Chief Mrs Chileme Hayes, Captain Bob Hayes, Mrs Nosen Hayes, Mrs Elizabeth Dikko, Mr Victor Hayes, Mr Ernest Hayes