The emergence of civil aviation as critical public sector in Nigeria: an industry from grass to grace

Transport and aviation sector play critical roles in the economy of any nation at both local, regional, and continental level. These are in the form of job creation and multiplying effect on other sectors. This study distinguished the sector as the opener of any national aspiring economy thereby creating opportunity for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), globalisation, simplification of trade, tourism and the overall national development. The paper adopted a descriptive research design to make description, summarization and report the situational activities and nature of the development of transportation and civil aviation sector in Nigeria. Relevant literature was carefully selected and review was done using a “Systematic Review Approach.” It exposed the fundamentality in transport and aviation development history that engenders infrastructural development, safety and security assurance which is the hallmark of transportation business. It concluded that the emergence of transportation and civil aviation changed the dynamics of business activities and urban development in Nigeria. The paper illustrated a different perspective of the earliest mode of transportation, emergence of civil aviation in Nigeria and its contribution to national development. It recommended the prioritization of transport and aviation infrastructural development in the annual and supplementary budget of Nigeria, and training and retraining of aviation personnel to close the gap of manpower deficit and among others.