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Nigeria
is on its way to enter the space age
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Barely
two years after unveiling its space programme, Nigeria is set to launch this September 28 its first
satellite into orbit to boost its information technology capability.
Nigerian
Man on the Moon?
When
Nigeria’s space programme was launched in July 2001, the Nigerian government promised to support
it with US$22.3 million every year for the next three years.
The
space programme has, however, come under strong attack from critics. Largely made up of public
affairs commentators and opposition parties, the critics said President Obasanjo should concentrate
on improving social infrastructure and provision of basic amenities like potable water, electricity,
good roads and other such facilities rather than embarking on a grandiose project such as a space
programme. They contend that it is intended to mask an ambitious defense programme, while
others argue that they suspect that its focus is on placing a Nigerian on the moon, which they say
is irrelevant to the country's social needs.
But
President Obasanjo has said that he is neither interested in a space defense programme nor planning
to launch rockets into space or even land a man on the moon. "Rather it is an adaptive
programme intended to make use of what space research has already established in areas such as
remote sensing, weather forecasting and satellite communication," he said.
Nigeria's
science and technology minister at the time, and who is on his way back to the ministry, Professor
Turner Isoun added: "The basic element of our policy on space management is to exploit space
technology to solve our socio-economic problems. We are not into space for space exploration and we
are not planning to go to Mars or Jupiter. We are trying to exploit space technology for remote
sensing and broadcasting."
Professor
Ajayi Boroffice, who heads Nigeria's Space Research Development Agency (NSRDA), said that critics
have failed to distinguish between space exploration and space technology. He said: "The
criticisms can be traced to the fundamental error of equating space exploration to space
technology."
So
far, Nigeria has committed more than US $11 million to the take-off of its first space satellite,
says science and technology minister, Professor Turner Isoun.
The
money for the satellite, which will be known as Nigersat-1, includes the cost of launching the
satellite, overseas training of 15 engineers for the project, insurance and engineering modeling.
The
government has, however, refused to react to speculation that discussions are on-going with
England-based Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (which built Nigersat-1) to contract the company
to build a second, more powerful and more expensive satellite to be named Gemini. It is speculated
that Gemini will be aimed more at telecommunications applications and its funding is expected to be
shared between the group in England and the Nigerian government.
Hopes
for Nigersat-1
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Nigeria’s
President says the programme will ‘make use of what space technology has already established.’
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The
Nigersat-1 satellite is cheaper than the traditional satellite, which normally costs more than $300
million, says Boroffice, who added that the satellite is a remote sensing satellite with ground
resolution of 30 meters and a radius of 600 kilometers.
Prof.
Isoun said the satellite would be relatively cheap. "The amount involved is not really big, we
are talking in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 million dollars," he said.
"It
will be important in mineral exploitation, pipeline monitoring, monitoring of environment,
monitoring of our boundary and identifying underground water resources that could provide water to
the rural populace," he said.
Isoun
is right. Nigeria is rich in mineral deposits such as crude oil, natural gas, limestone, uranium,
gold and bitumen, but getting the right information about the quantity and quality of each mineral
has often been a problem, and the acquisition of the satellite is expected to help in this regard.
In
addition, the satellite could assist in identifying underground water that could be tapped to
provide potable water for Nigeria’s rural dwellers, most of who do not have access to good water.
The
satellite is also expected to help in curbing the vandalization of oil pipelines. Oil pipeline
vandalization is today a major threat to Nigeria’s oil industry upon which the country’s economy
revolves.
The
satellite is also expected to help in the area of environmental conservation, particularly in the
monitoring of coastal erosion, oil pollution and desertification, all of which are rampant in
Nigeria.
In
addition, the satellite will help in checking cross border banditry involving criminals who come to
wreak havoc on Nigerians from neighboring countries.
At
the same time, Presidential Adviser on Information and Communication Technologies, Tajudeen Oyawoye
added that the "acquisition of a space satellite by Nigeria will make access to telecom and
infotech facilities cheaper and less cumbersome."
History
of Nigeria’s Space Programme
Nigeria
has had interest in space technology since 1976. But it wasn't until 1996, when a national remote
sensing center was established, that the project began to take some shape.
The
space programme, however, received a major boost in May 1999 when President Obasanjo, upon being
sworn in as President, set up the NSRDA with Boroffice as its first Chief Executive.
The
first real attempt to acquire a satellite three years ago failed because of disagreement between the
Nigerian government and the Chinese firm contracted to handle the project.
Nigeria
began to make headway in 2001 when it contracted Surrey Satellite Technology Limited to design,
manufacture and launch a low earth orbit micro-satellite for earth observation. A team of Nigerian
engineers and scientists were also sent to Guilford in Surrey to participate in the collaborative
programme.
"We
have sent some Nigerians to Surrey, England to acquire capacity training and skills for satellite
technology," Isoun said. "We have already entered into a contract with Surrey Space
Technology Limited in the United Kingdom and we have gone there to visit them. That would enable us
to build the first Nigerian satellite to be called Nigersat-1."
In
addition, 15 Nigerian engineers that will form the core of professionals to handle the space project
were sent for training in the U.S. And only recently, a $3.7 million satellite technology
development center was established in Abuja.
To
finance the space project, Government increased the allocation for the Science and Technology
Ministry in the 2002 budget to $28 million, which is the highest allocation the often-neglected
ministry has ever received in Nigeria's history. It is generally known that the bulk of the money is
meant to fund the acquisition and maintenance of the space satellite.
Officials
of Surrey Space Technology Limited will help to maintain the satellite, and to some extent, its
running for some time.
Abiodun
Raufu is a Nigerian journalist with 17 years of experience and holds a Master’s
Degree in political science. Your emails will be forwarded to him by contacting the editor at:
ScienceTech@islam-online.net.
