Air Peace earmarks N70m for infrastructure upgrade at Chukwuemeka Ojukwu University 

Louis Ibah

Air Peace Airlines is to invest in the establishment of a Centre for Nonviolence and Peace Studies as well as in the upgrade of infrastructure at the Chukwuemeka Odumegu Ojukwu University (COOU) in Anambra State. 

Chairman/CEO of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, who decried the rise in incidence of violence among Nigerian youths and ethnic groups in recent years, said the investment was part of the airline’s Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) policy of supporting projects or academic researches geared at ensuring the peaceful and harmonious co-existence of Nigeria’s various religious and ethnic groups.

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Onyema stated this at a speech delivered after being conferred with an honorary Doctorate degree of Business Administration of the COOU, which was held in Igbariam, Anambra State, on Saturday.

Onyema who described education as holding the key to the socio-economic prosperity of any country said the airline would invest about N70 million in upgrading various infrastructure that would boost the quality of learning at the university.

He urged Nigerian youths to desist from engaging in acts of violence or criminality and instead pursue knowledge and skills acquisition that will either make them entrepreneurs or guarantee them useful employment in the future.

“The greatest plague to Nigeria’s development is violence and ethnicity and at Air Peace we want to assist curb this menace,” Onyema said.

“We want to help education. Our centre for Non-Violence and Peace Initiative will support research and learning on how to manage conflict and end the pull down syndrome, which has stunted our development and growth over the years in Nigeria,” Onyema added.

The Air Peace boss said in the last four years of its operations in Nigeria, the airline had contributed greatly in creating jobs for Nigerians. According to him, the airline had grown its fleet size to 37 aircraft flying into several local and West African routes and had created 4,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs to Nigerians.