Aviation Admin
At the end of the second World War the RAF and the U.S. Airforce withdrew from Nigeria, creating a vacuum in the support and administrative services to civil aviation. But these responsibilities were soon vested on the Public Works Department (PWD). The Department continued to maintain the aerodromes and its director became responsible for the co-ordination of all aeronautical facilities.
The Department of Post and Telegraphs (P & T), using obsolete war- time equipment, provided radio services. Air Traffic Control was still based on RAF war time methods and needed to be reorganised. The aerodromes had very poor fire cover, PWD's labourers turned fire fighters were simply too ill-trained and ill-equipped for the job.
By now the aerodrome system in the country had expanded considerably There were now 31 aerodromes in the country namely: Agbabu, Apapa, Azare, Bauchi, Benin, Bida, Calabar, Enugu, Gusau, Ibadan, Ikeja, harm, Jos, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano City; Kano South, Lokoja, Maiduguri, Makurdi, Marufe, Minna, Nguru, Oshogbo, Port Harcourt, Potiskum, Sokoto, Tiko, Yelwa, Yola, and Zaria.
Clearly the PWD and the P & T did not have the infrastructural and administrative capabilities to meet the tough challenges posed not only by the increase in aviation activities but also by the departure of RAF and U.S. Airforce. The country was, therefore, in dire need of a civil aviation administration body But the colonial administration could not afford setting up full-fledged~ civil aviation authorities for respective countries. Instead, in 1948 it named Squadron Leader H. C. Brilliant as the Controller of Civil Aviation for West Africa. Assisted by three other British Officials, Brilliant, a retired RAF officer was mandated to advise the WAATA as well as individual West African governments. But he did not have executive authority in any of the countries.
