Nigeria has the potential to be a great country. This assertion is true and even truer with the successful development by the National Space Research and Development Agency of a satellite technology that has the capacity of tracing the movements of bandits and other criminal elements disturbing the peace of Nigeria and even neutralising them. The development of this technology came at the right time considering the security challenges confronting our country.
The management of the present NASDRA under the leadership of Dr Halilu Ahmad Shaba must be commended for their timely intervention through satellite technology of the security challenges of Nigeria. This goes to show that given the chance, institutions in Nigeria are becoming stronger in fulfilling their mandates just as NASDRA has done.
The agency has also shown that it is willing to collaborate with other governmental agencies charged with the responsibilities of securing the country to live up to their constitutional responsibility of maintaining the peace in the spirit of achieving goals for the general development of Nigeria.
With the readiness of the NASDRA to collaborate with other relevant agencies in protecting lives and properties, I think we should consider empowering NASDRA to develop a SPACECOM project. This is entirely about the formation of a combined space security command that involves agencies like the security agencies collaborating with NASDRA in the formation of command that would be charged with the usage of the developed space technology in fighting insecurity in our country. Examples of countries that has formed and deployed their space programs for security through the space commands are Russia and the United States of America.
Space programmes used to be a luxurious show of technological strength between the United States and the former Soviet Union. Developed nations started to see the potential of the space programmes in addressing real life issues and improving the conditions of living on earth. Nigeria should not be an exception.
Nigeria by following suit and committing huge but scarce resources to the exploration of space for socio-economic gains and national pride is beginning to reap its fruits through NASDRA. Currently, it is on record that Nigeria has three functional satellite stations orbiting the earth, delivering important data and contributing to the socio-economic development in various sectors of our national life. From an analysis, technology companies are doing a lot, varying from backend programmings to payments platforms, software developments, robotics and internet of things, artificial intelligence and many more which are spinoffs space explorations and commercial activities.
However, NASDRA given the mandate of overseeing space activities in Nigeria, dominates satellite launches in Africa with 10 launches, space policies and operations among others, and operates through sub-centres and laboratories throughout the country.
Meanwhlle, the fundamental goals of Nigeria space programme were to sustain development and security, disaster and environmental monitoring, scientific research development, human capacity development and security intelligence.
The agency recently succeeded in developing a 10-metre digital elevation stimulation map and vegetation density map for Sambisa forest, using the Nigeria SAT-X to assist the Nigerian military in combating the dreaded Boko Haram who at some point overran several towns in Nigeria.
NASDRA is the principal space intelligence team collaborating with the Nigeria military and foreign military aids agencies corroborating to eliminate Boko Haram from West Africa. Therefore, with its development of this space security programme it is actually meeting its goals and mandate.
Musa Musawa,
Abuja
