The Nigerian Air Force Air War Course 11 of 2025 has ended with Commander PC Onah of the Nigerian Navy clinching the award for Best Overall Participant in order of merit.
The course, which commenced on 15 January 2025 after participants assembled on 13 September 2025, lasted nine months and covered nine intensive modules. It featured 29 participants drawn from the Nigerian Armed Forces and allied nations, including 19 officers from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), two from the Nigerian Army (NA), two from the Nigerian Navy (NN), and international representatives from Botswana (2), Cameroon (2), and Morocco (1).
Other top performers were Group Captain JC Mbam, who placed second, and Wing Commander EA Okeke, who came third. Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Ngoun-Goun of Cameroon was named Best Allied Participant.
Commander Onah’s winning research paper, *“Human Capacity Development and Operational Readiness: The Nigerian Navy Air Arm in Perspective,”* made far-reaching recommendations, including the design of bespoke career progression software for the Nigerian Navy Air Arm, a review of the Navy’s Aircraft Operations Manual, and collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources for specialized crew training.
A native of Benue State and a helicopter pilot in the Navy, Onah has carved a reputation as one of Nigeria’s most accomplished military aviators. He is the first Nigerian Navy helicopter pilot to ferry a helicopter from Leonardo Helicopter in Italy to Nigeria, completing a route that covered more than 21 cities.
He was also instrumental in the inclusion of the Naval Air Base Ojo, Naval Flying Unit Port Harcourt, and Naval Air Station Effurun in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency’s Aeronautical Information Publication, a move that strengthened operational integration with the national airspace system.
In addition, Commander Onah is a Certified Flight Instructor and Certified Flight Instrument Instructor, holding both Nigerian and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Airline Transport Pilot licences.
Observers note that his achievement at Air War Course 11 adds to his already impressive career record and underscores the Nigerian Navy’s growing reputation in military aviation. His career trajectory exemplifies how professional excellence, intellectual rigor, and operational innovation can converge to advance not just a service branch, but the Nigerian Armed Forces as a whole.
