Harold Olusegun Demuren (born 31 May 1945) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

. He was

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the

Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is the civil aviation authority of Nigeria. the Director General of NCAA is Captain Muhktar Usman. Capt. Musa Shuaibu Nuhu was Director General till December 2023. Capt. Chris Najomo is the current act ...

from December 2005 to March 2013.

Education

He attended

Ijebu Ode Grammar School Ijebu Ode Grammar School (JOGS) is a boys-only secondary school located in Ijebu Ode local government area of Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria. Founded on 20 January 1913, the school is one of the oldest schools in Nigeria. Houses *Gansallo (G ...

from January 1958 to December 1964 where he obtained Cambridge Higher School Certificate (HSC) and

General Certificate of Education The General Certificate of Education (GCE) is a subject-specific family of academic qualifications used in examination board, awarding bodies in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Education in the Crown dependencies, Crown dependencies and a few ...

(

GCE Advanced Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

) in 1964. In 1965, he won a Soviet Union Government scholarship to study

Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

in the

former USSR The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

. He obtained a Diploma in

Russian Language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

at the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, Moscow, USSR (1965–1966). He proceeded to Kiev Institute of Aviation Engineers,

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in former Soviet Union where he obtained

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(M.Sc.) in 1972 and then to

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT),

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, USA for his

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

D.Sc. in Aircraft Gas Turbine & Jet Propulsion Engines (1975). His research work was on the aerodynamic design, manufacturing and testing of high-temperature, high-pressure ratio transonic turbine blades for advanced gas turbines and jet aircraft engines for the United States Air Force and United States Navy at MIT. Gas Turbine and Jet Aircraft Propulsion Laboratory (1972–1974) and also a Joint experimental investigation with the Turbo-machinery Group of

von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics The von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI) is a non-profit educational and scientific organization which specializes in three specific fields: aeronautics and aerospace, environment and applied fluid dynamics, turbomachinery and propuls ...

at Rhode-Saint-Genèse,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Research Institute (1974–1975).

Professional career

He was recruited from the United States to join the Federal Ministry of Aviation, Nigeria in 1976 as Senior Airworthiness Surveyor and was made Assistant Director, Airworthiness in June 1989. On the creation of the defunct Federal Civil Aviation Authority in 1990, he was appointed Deputy Director Air Transport, Economic Regulations and Licensing. He became the Director Safety Services in 1991. In August 1995, he was "forced" into retirement because of his strict adherence to safety after a government "restructuring" exercise. After retirement, he worked as Aviation Consultant and later formed Afrijet Airlines in 1998. Afrijet Airlines became one of the biggest Cargo Airline in the country by 2005, servicing various cargo destinations on the Continent. The airline also had strategic alliances with foreign partners including MK Airlines UK and Panalpina World Transport (Nigeria) Limited which expanded cargo aircraft operations and freight services from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

(

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, etc.) to

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

(

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

and

Port Harcourt Port Harcourt (Pidgin: ''Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa)'' is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is locate ...

) and to other major African cities including

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly ) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea in the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko (, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a population of approxim ...

, etc. In addition to operating cargo services from Nigeria, the airline also operated passenger flights in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

and

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. He was the Managing Director/Chief Executive of

Afrijet Airlines Afrijet Airlines was an airline with its head office in the NAHCO Building on the grounds of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Nigeria. It was established and started regional cargo operations in 1999. Its main base was Murtala Moh ...

until he was appointed

of the

in late December 2005. His appointment was later confirmed by the Senate of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

in February 2007 in accordance with the Civil Aviation Act of 2006 that stipulates the tenure of 5 years for the Director General of NCAA.

Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority

In late 2005, there was a loss of confidence in air travel and apathy in the aviation industry as two fatal air disasters in a span of 7 weeks left the nation mourning. The two incidents were

Bellview Airlines Flight 210 Bellview Airlines Flight 210 was a scheduled Nigerian domestic passenger flight of a Boeing 737#737-200, Boeing 737-200 airliner from Lagos to Abuja, operated by Lagos-based Bellview Airlines. On 22 October 2005, the aircraft nose-dived and cras ...

that killed all 117 people on board on October 22, and Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 that killed 105 of 108 passengers, including 61 students from Loyola Jesuit College on December 10, 2005. Following these tragic events, the Federal Government sought Dr. Demuren to head the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority as its

in late December 2005 to revamp, reposition and restore confidence in domestic air travel. After his appointment, Demuren immediately took on the challenge of reforming the Nigerian Aviation sector and restoring the lost confidence to the Industry drawing up a strategic short, medium and long term plan anchored on Safety, Security and Satisfaction (consumer) in that order of priority. Dr. Demuren introduced a safety reform Agenda which enthroned professionalism, integrity and transparency in the conduct of Aviation business.

Christmas Day bomber

In December 2009, Demuren was first to provide vital information to the public on facts leading to Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab's failed attempt as the " Christmas Day bomber". These included how Farouk bought his ticket in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

KLM Airlines KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

, proceeded on December 24 through the normal screening and check-in process, and had his US visa scanned through the

Advance Passenger Information System Advance Passenger Information System or APIS is an electronic data interchange system established by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). APIS governs the provision of a limited number of data elements (identification details from the pa ...

which returned a "no-objection". Demuren also defended the Nigerian Airport security system by promptly providing information and footage, demonstrating the advance security and technological solutions deployed in Nigeria. The global community was astonished at the degree of detail and depth of the information provided by a so-called third world country in contrast to its reputation for chaos and mediocrity.

Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport (, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands, and is one of the major hubs for the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipal ...

, Amsterdam Airport, Farouk's transit port, was unable to detect any irregularity during the security screening process. Following this incident and in order to enhance safety and security,

Murtala Muhammed International Airport Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) () is an international airport located in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, and is the major airport serving the entire state. The airport was initially built during World War II and is named after Murt ...

, Lagos, became one of the first worldwide to deploy

full body scanner A full-body scanner is a device that detects objects on or inside a person's body for security screening purposes, without physically removing clothes or making physical contact. Unlike metal detectors, full-body scanners can detect non-metal ...

s and explosive detection systems.

US FAA Category One Certification

On August 23, 2010, under the leadership of Dr. Demuren and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Nigeria attained American

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

International Aviation Safety Assessment (FAA IASA) Category One Certification. This allows direct flights from Nigeria to Continental United States (USA). Prior to his appointment in 2005, there were no direct flights between Nigeria and USA. There are now several direct flights between Nigeria and U.S. destinations including

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with services to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

having begun in November 2011.

President of ICAO General Assembly

On September 28, 2010, Demuren was elected as the President of the 37th General Assembly of

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

(ICAO) held in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada from 28 September to 8 October 2010. The appointment was unanimously endorsed by all the delegates of the 190 contracting states of the ICAO. His emergence made history as the first time an African was elected to preside over the ICAO General Assembly, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

global aviation agency. The assembly passed landmark policies on global Aviation Safety, Aviation Security and the Environment for the Industry. It was at this notable assembly that the historic Climate Change agreement was reached.

Dana air crash

Following 6 years of perfect record in aviation safety, on June 3, 2012, Dana Air Flight 992 crashed in the Iju-Ijesha neighborhood of Lagos resulting in loss of 153 people on board. The air accident investigation kicked off right after by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) of Nigeria with support from the

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

(NTSB) of the US. The

flight data recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated nam ...

(FDR) was sent for analysis to the United States with a team of investigators from the AIB. A joint committee made up of politicians from both the Senate and House of Assembly of Nigeria was set up by the federal government to investigate the crash. While investigation was still going on, there were several controversial reports that came up from allegations blaming the age and maintenance records of the aircraft to inadequate levels and contamination of fuel used. On February 11, 2013, the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' released a report which showed that the NTSB found the cause to be human error.

End of an era

On March 11, 2013, the federal government decided to take action on the action from the politically motivated committees which recommended that due to the age of aircraft and lack of maintenance causing the crash, the DG of NCAA should be removed. The statement released cited 'unsatisfactory response to stakeholders'. Following the announcement, various stakeholders all across the aviation industry voiced their grievances as to why a national hero who have kept the airspace safe for over 7 years and helped Nigeria attain category 1 amongst other accomplishments was unfairly treated.

Notable achievements

*2014 FSF-

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

Aviation Safety Lifetime Achievement Award - Nov 2014 *2014 African Aviation Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding services to African Aviation Development – Jun 2014 *2011

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

African Aviation "Personality of the Year" – Nov 2011 *2010

Flight Safety Foundation The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is a non-profit, international organization concerning research, education, advocacy, and communications in the field of aviation safety. FSF brings together aviation professionals to help solve safety problem ...

"Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety Award" - Nov 2010 *1st African to be elected President of

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

General Assembly - Sept 2010 *Obtained U.S. FAA Category 1 Certification for Nigeria (6th

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n Country) - Aug 2010 *Led Nigeria to successfully complete the

Universal Safety Audit - 2006, 2008 & 2010 *Led Nigeria to successfully implement the Document Tracking System, Flight Standards Group Portal, Flight Tracking Software, Inspector's Training System, Licensing Examination Portal, and Aeromedical Portal among others between 2008 & 2010. *Led Nigeria to successful completion of the Aviation Security Audit of

and

Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is an international airport serving Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. It is the main airport serving the Nigerian capital city and was named after Nigeria's first President, Nnamdi Azikiw ...

by the United States

Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within and connecting to the United States. It was created ...

(TSA) - 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 *Fellow of the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest Aeronautics, aeronautical society in the world. Memb ...

– 2008 *Fellow of Nigeria Academy of Engineering – 2008 *Fellow of the Chartered Engineers (UK) *2008 ''

This Day ''This Day'' is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd., and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the chairman and edit ...

'' Awards "Regulator of the Year" - 2008 *Launched the

E-ticket An electronic ticket is a method of ticket entry, processing, and marketing for companies in the airline, railways and other transport and entertainment industries. Airline ticket E-tickets in the airline industry were devised in about 1994, an ...

/ Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) regime which revolutionized the Air travel industry in

– 2008 *Strived for the rapid passage of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Autonomy Bill into Law - 2006 *Implementing the Cape Town Convention replacing Old-Age

Aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

- 2006 *Re-established confidence in the Nigerian traveling public and international community after the tragic Air disasters of 2005 *Introduced a new Civil Aviation Safety Regulations that ensured Safety Oversight of all aviation activities in Nigeria in compliance

Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs). *Laid the foundation of the National Civil Aviation Policy for

*Longest-serving Director General of

(NCAA) – Dec 2005 to Mar 2013 *1st and only African Member in the Board of Governors of

– 2003 to Present *President,

(FSF) Afrijet Airlines Afrijet Airlines was an airline with its head office in the NAHCO Building on the grounds of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Nigeria. It was established and started regional cargo operations in 1999. Its main base was Murtala Moh ...