The Nation
By Toba Adedeji, Osogbo
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi on Saturday honoured the first-ever female combat helicopter pilot in the Nigerian Air Force, late Flying Officer, Tolulope Arotile.
Arotile bagged the posthumous award of Ooni during the Royal African Young Leadership Forum (RAYL) 2021 held in Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
She contributed significantly to combat operations against insecurity in the northern states of Nigeria. Two years into her career, Arotile had acquired 460 hours of helicopter flight, which was an outstanding performance for a combat pilot. She saw action against the Boko Haram terrorists, several paid tributes to her skill and bravery. In the fight against ISIS.
Arotile died on 14 July 2020 as a result of head injuries sustained in a road traffic accident at the Nigerian Air Force Base in Kaduna State, when she was inadvertently hit by the vehicle of a former Air Force Secondary School classmate who was trying to greet her
This news originally appeared in The Nation.
