Nice to see all your comments, its good to share ideas. For someone aspiring to be a helicopter pilot there are a couple of ways to start your journey of a thousand miles. Begin with a bold step.
Firstly, Usman I can refer you to Landover Aviation Training School in Lagos, they have a short training program this July on Helicopter Landing Officer Course. You will learn how to direct a helicopter landing and disembark the passengers. With the certificate you can look for a job in the oil industry and or with operators in Nigeria and begin to actualise your dream. Just start from there and get in touch with helicopters and their pilots, watch the spinning rotors, hear the engine sound, watch it hover, lift and taxi. Enter the field! It is high time you stop dreaming, wake up and begin to actualise it before it fades away. You can visit the school and make enquiries I saw their advert two weeks ago and just decided to share it with you.
Secondly, if you are looking for sponsorship, getting a degree is not a bad idea. If an operator like Bristow invites you for an interview you will simply mess yourself up because you require a very sound knowledge of Mechanics, Aerodynamics and calculation to scale through.
For those who argue about relevance of degree in flying, the truth remains that aviation is very dynamic; it changes like British weather. In those days with your O'Level you can still get your sponsorship and forge ahead but now in the helicopter industry your degree is essential for sponsorship but if you are self sponsored, your CPL, IFR, turbine Transition and 1000 hours will make a way for you. In this case, degree may not be necessary but you must possess the relevant qualifications, skills and attitude.
Thirdly America still remains the best country in the world for pilot training. As a permanent resident or citizen, you can easily get a student loan, go to any school of your choice out of thousands of flight schools therein. Then you do your internship after graduating from the flight school with just 300 hours. You will be able to log up to 1000 hours during this period and you can either continue your career as a Flight Instructor (during your internship you must work as a Flight Instructor) or look for job with the Operators in the Gulf of Mexico; of which Bristow (Air Logistics) is the major operator with over 100 helicopters. So don't limit your mind on Nigeria alone, Bristow is in over 13 countries spread across the globe. God will surely help you achieve your dreams. Good Luck.
