Known in some circles as the Airplane Girl, Nigerian aircraft technician Aanuoluwapo ‘Annie’ Ojewunmi counts herself as very lucky.
“In Nigeria, it’s mostly guys who are encouraged into STEM careers. According to UNESCO, in Nigeria, only 25% of women in tertiary education pick up STEM subjects,” the 24-year-old tells Runway Girl Network.
Ojewunmi’s mother works in the arts, and her father in the commercial world. Neither has a STEM background. “But they wanted STEM careers for their children,” explains Ojewunmi, who plies her trade at Nigerian airline Air Peace and serves as a mentor to young engineers.
“My mum had an intuition that I was to be an engineer, although my dad wanted me to be a doctor and still teases me for ignoring him. My two brothers have a background in the medical field and software development, and my younger sister is a food engineering student.”
Engineering encompasses a spectrum of industries and applications, so why did Ojewunmi choose aerospace?
“I grew up under an airport flightpath. I was inquisitive and my older brother encouraged me so that I became fascinated. I wanted to know about planes, how they worked, what they did,” she says.
Happy to admit that engineering is demanding, Ojewunmi confides that she struggled for a while at school and doubted her chosen path for a while. “But then an internship at Arik Air convinced me that aviation was where I wanted to be.”
There have been more challenges, but since then it’s generally been good.”
Facing up to the tedious specter of gender bias has been among those challenges. “The first time I encountered it was during my internship,” she recalls. “I was scheduled on a training flight and someone challenged my supervisor, doubting my eligibility for the trip. I know if I was a guy, they never would have asked that question.”
Ojewunmi’s specialties include NDT, here exemplified by ultrasonic inspection of a starboard 737-300 landing gear leg. Image: Aanuoluwapo ‘Annie’ Ojewunmi
Right now, Ojewunmi specializes in wheel and brake maintenance and associated non-destructive test (NDT) techniques. Her longer-term goals include a masters, perhaps in aircraft propulsion, and work overseas. She acknowledges that the latter is likely to throw up challenges based on gender and race.
“I’m not white and I’m preparing myself to encounter racism. In fact, I’m a minority in a minority, because I’m a black woman. Mentally I’m prepared, but racism takes different forms, and I realize I’m going to have to face it and move on.”
Ojewunmi’s career continues to progress despite her belief that infrastructure, training opportunities and technology in Nigeria could be improved. Her desire to learn more and experience the latest technologies are major motivators for working abroad, but there is more to the ambition.
Ojewunmi at work on a horizontal stabilizer. Image: Aanuoluwapo ‘Annie’ Ojewunmi
Already Team Lead in the Young Aerospace Professionals Initiative, a mentorship program for engineering students and young professionals, Ojewunmi is keen to cast herself as an aerospace ambassador for Nigeria, bringing back her experience and sharing it for the good of the country’s next generation of aerospace engineers and wider MRO community.
Mentoring has been among Ojewunmi’s career highlights to date. “I love that my life can be of use to other people, that I can help them,” she says, passionately. “There have been other highlights, including flights and being in the cockpit, but impacting the careers of others through the mentorship program is most special.”
Asked what advice she would give to a 16-year-old Annie considering an aviation engineering career, Ojewunmi responds: “I’d tell her to be strong and courageous, because it’s not an easy journey and I almost quit along the way… she deserves to be in the room with the male engineers.”
Acknowledging that teenage Annie’s father would have preferred her to have become a doctor, and the importance of the support offered by family and friends, Ojewunmi says: “He still talks about me not becoming a doctor, but also quietly admits how proud he is that I’m an engineer.”
Aanuoluwapo ‘Annie’ Ojewunmi, aircraft wheel and brake technician, Air Peace. Image: Aanuoluwapo ‘Annie’ Ojewunmi
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All images credited to Aanuoluwapo ‘Annie’ Ojewunmi
