As Cross River State builds a new aviation narrative around Cally Air, one name deserves to be brought back into the spotlight: Captain Cassandra Idagbo.
Not because she needs rescuing from obscurity. Not because she must be given a position in Cally Air. And certainly not to rewrite history to fit today’s political currents. Rather, it is because before the state began speaking with renewed confidence about establishing its own airline, one Cross River woman had already broken a major barrier: she became the state’s first female pilot.
Known to many as “Cassie Duke,” her path to the cockpit wasn’t inherited. The daughter of the late Chief Charles Effiom Duke—a respected cultural icon—she grew up in an environment rooted in community and service. Though fascinated by aviation as a child, she first earned a degree in French and entered the industry as cabin crew before taking on the rigorous flight training in the United States that earned her pilot wings.
Now, as Cross River expands Cally Air, an airline needs more than aircraft; it requires institutional memory, human capital, and relatable pioneers. While Captain Idagbo holds no official role in Cally Air, her story holds tremendous symbolic and practical value. Beyond a corporate title, her experience could be harnessed to shape the state’s broader aviation future—whether through mentoring young girls, guiding state scholarship initiatives, or shaping aviation forums.
A state’s history shouldn’t reset with every administration. Captain Cassandra Idagbo didn’t wait for Cross River to build an aviation identity before she took to the skies—she entered the cockpit first. As the state charts its future in the air, it must honour the pioneers who laid the groundwork and ask: how many more Cassandras is Cross River ready to inspire?
