Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria, has concluded plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Saudi Arabia for the training of its investigators.
This is just as the AIB is optimistic of expanding its functions to road, rail and marine with the recent draft bill sent to the Nigerian Senate.
Speaking at a news conference after a training organised by the AIB in collaboration with the United States National Transportation Safety Board under the Safer Skies for Africa Project, the AIB commissioner, Akin Olateru, said the MoU with Saudi Arabia in the area of training would focus on looking beyond the Cockpit Voice Recorders and Flight Data Recorder in accident investigation.
He explained that Saudi Arabia had some expertise the bureau wanted to tap into to improve its accident reports, adding that the Ministry of Justice had cleared the AIB to sign the MoU.
Olateru said the MoU would be signed this month, noting that the signing would have been done before now, but for the hajj exercise.
“It is not everything you see on the CVR and FDR; you need to look beyond that sometimes, and that can cause you to actually make your report much better. Each country has its own, so we look at each nation and see what benefits to us,” Olateru said.
He emphasised that AIB Nigeria had gained credibility since 2017 in accident investigation, which attracted many countries of the world to seek it assistance in the area of power training, setting up their own bureau, among others.
“Currently, we have signed MoU with France, Republic of Benin, São Tomé and Principe, and in the next one month, we will be signing with Saudi Arabia. These are great nations.
“But to me, you must have something sellable, something they see in you that they have admired before they can sign MoU with you,” he added.
