Kwara’s 1st female pilot: Dad sold only car to educate me

Daily Trust: What was it that sparked your interest to become a pilot? Victoria Ladidi Kollo: My childhood was fun. This is not to say that I grew up on a bed of roses, or with a silver spoon. Things were tough. However, God gave my father the grace and strength, even during his turbulent […]

Daily Trust: What was it that sparked your interest to become a pilot?
Victoria Ladidi Kollo: My childhood was fun. This is not to say that I grew up on a bed of roses, or with a silver spoon. Things were tough. However, God gave my father the grace and strength, even during his turbulent times to see me through. My father has always been my support and the driving force to my success. 
Paper kites and planes were things I always wanted to see flying in the sky as a little girl. I had no idea what an aeroplane was, always thought of it as an unusual ‘big bird.’ As I grew older I became aware of what that ‘big-bird’ was and my interest to becoming a pilot was stoked. Even though I had my first degree in Sociology, I wasn’t satisfied and always nursed the dream of becoming a pilot. I confided in my dad but his finances was a far cry from what I needed to fulfil that dream. He has a very good friend, Mr. Akin Eric Garuba, who works at Capital Airline who along with my father, helped me achieve my dream.

DT: How were you able to finance your education?
Kollo: Growing up was tough and my father always made huge sacrifices to make sure he paid my fees. The welfare of his children is priority. He even had to sell his only car just to ensure that my education was not aborted. Even when things were rough, he would go the extra mile to ensure that my educational needs and those of my siblings were met.

DT: What was the most challenging part of your training?
Kollo: Learning how to land an aircraft. This aspect of training is very technical and a little distraction or incompetence could lead to a crash. Initially, fear and other negative factors would creep into one and make one feel incompetent. I was encouraged and made up my mind to excel.

DT: Did you feel intimidated by male colleagues?
Kollo: No. I felt great and honoured. My male counterparts always encouraged me. Seeing a female in a profession wrongly perceived as the reserve of intelligent and privileged males, is no small matter. That made me stronger. I really wanted to make a difference. So I work harder. Don’t forget, able-bodied and intelligent men in the same training course with me gave up and could not complete the training.

DT: As a pilot, what question do you get asked the most?
Kollo: People always ask if I’m not afraid of piloting a plane. I believe such questions arise due to our unique environment where people are equipped with a wrongly-perceived mentality about piloting. I am not scared and don’t get scared.
Though I did at the initial stage of my training but I got familiar with the environment. Piloting a plane is not really different from driving an automobile. One gets nervous and scared at the initial stage of learning how to drive an automobile but later adapts. Piloting is a normal part of my world right now.

DT: What do you love about your job?
Kollo: My job is almost no different from that of a mother tending to her child or a doctor in caring for his patient. The joy a mother receives in tending her young or the joy experienced by a doctor after a successful surgery is inexplicable. The key words here are trust, safety and satisfaction, amongst others. Just like a mother protects her young and a doctor his patient, so is the job of piloting. When people put the safety of their lives in your hands and you deliver the required results, I believe that is success. I do not think any other thing supersedes such an experience.

DT: Who is your aviation hero?
Kollo: My aviation hero is Captain (Mrs.) Chinyere Kalu, Nigeria’s first woman commercial pilot.

DT: What is in your pilot bag?
Kollo: My pilot’s flight bag is personal to me. But since you asked, there mostly are basically professional gadgets.  These are things we cannot do without on a daily basis while flying. Some things I have to carry by law and others because of their necessity. The list is long and depends on you as a pilot to equip yourself with the intricate gadgets. However, these may include operating manuals for aircraft being flown and for the flight crew, pilot’s documentation and license (such as my international passport, aviation license, medical certificate, etc), iPad, Ray Ban sunglasses, Bose headset for noise cancellation, and spot GPS tracker among others.

DT: What is the one thing you miss when travelling?
Kolo: I always miss my family.

DT: As a young pilot, has your age been a plus or minus for you?
Kollo: A very big plus, actually. We all know what it takes to get an education in Nigeria. Many are denied the privilege to study at early age even in public institutions due to the economy. The government has not been fair in their dealings with the youth. Their policies have been very unfavourable to the common man. They forget that the bedrock to any developed economy is education. Little wonder the economic and political terrain is filled with youth who have to lie about their age to get a job or feel among. For me, I would say I am privileged and wish other youth – mostly females – are given the opportunity to soar and live their dreams.

DT: What were you fantasies about flying and airports as a child?
Kollo: I never really had any serious fantasies as a child. Mind you, I am from a very humble background, without the luxury of getting anywhere near the airport let alone dreaming of getting on an aeroplane. But I did wish to be one of the privileged few to be on a plane when I grew up. The cartoons we also watched as kids helped. I always played the lead character in my head.

DT: How have these changed now that you are in the profession?
Kollo: Nothing has changed, because as I said earlier I never really had any serious fantasies as a child. More so, fantasy are quite different from reality. I never took my childhood fantasies serious, so I have nothing to compare right now. I am just a lady who is privileged to be a pilot, and I love it.