The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and Nigerian Institution of Space Engineers (NISEng) have said the deployment of space assets will address security challenges like kidnapping, banditry and terrorism.
They disclosed this at the weekend at the 7th annual lecture and 6th conferment of fellowship awards in honour of retired Brig. Gen. Michael Agu, the pioneer chairman of the NISEng. The lecture, organised by the institute in Abuja, was to recognise the great contributions and achievements of Agu towards the growth of space engineering in Nigeria.
The Director General of NASRDA, Dr Halilu Shaba, said the country needed high-resolution satellite that would aid in pinpointing hotspots of insecurity activities. Represented by Dr Sadiq Umar, Director of the Centre for Satellite Technology Development (CSTD), Shaba also said the country had lots of ungoverned areas where insecurity was thriving.
“We have broadband connectivity, Direct-to-home connectivity; it means we should use communication assets and our remote sensing facilities to curtail these security challenges,” the DG.
He said Nigeria Sat X is a remote sensing satellite with low resolution and could pinpoint where problems are and solve them. He said, “We are working in collaboration with relevant agencies, the Presidency to acquire a high-resolution satellite that can pinpoint, show where problems are and give us pre-knowledge, movement of bandits, terrorist.’’
He added that the country also required a Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite that could see through the clouds even at night.
According to him, without security, the country cannot grow; and there would be food insecurity and a lot of challenges. The President of NSE, Tasiu Gidaari, while declaring the event open, said there were lots of issues bedevilling the nation. He said top on the list was the infrastructure deficit that crippled development, among other issues. Gidaari stated that space assets ensured weather forecasting, environmental monitoring, secure data transmission and cybersecurity among others.
