25/09/2016
Why Nigeria Should Invest In Satellite Technology – Onu
By Chika Mefor
— Sep 25, 2016 6:08 am | Leave a comment
In this interview with CHIKA MEFOR, Dr Spencer Onu, director and chief executive of the Centre for Satellite Technology Development (CSTD), Abuja, an activity centre of National Space Research and Development Agency (NASDRA), spoke on the key roles of satellite technology in the modern world and why Nigeria should embrace it.
When was Centre for Satellite Technology Development established?
The CSTD was established in 2003 by the then director-general, Prof Ajayi Boroffice. After our engineers and scientists were trained, they are able to work in a know how technology transfer in China and United Kingdom. On their return, the Centre was formally established. The Centre has a mandate to design and manufacture different satellite payloads. Payloads are where the money is. It comprise: communication satellite, earth observation satellite and navigation satellite. It is the mandate of the Centre to design and manufacture these satellites in Nigeria. Anybody who wants to purchase any satellite do that through the NASDRA and from there the director-general will now instruct us on what to do.
What benefits are the satellites to Nigeria?
Satellite for us now are in two categories: there are the money spinners satellite and the money savers. The money spinners are the communication satellite and the navigation satellite. These are satellites that can give you quick returns on investment. Money spinners are communication satellite like your GSM, ATM machines and the Internet banking services, even your internet phone. They all use communication satellite. A lot of capitals are coming in Nigeria through it. Apart of Glo, there is no indigenous communication company in Nigeria where we can say that everything they earn stay in Nigeria here. Those foreign companies, whatever they earn from ATM machine, from data they subscribe to, a substantial amount is transfered to their mother company. These are money spinners. That is the reason a lot of companies are investing in communication satellite. Private companies overseas invest in satellites. This is why Nigerian government should encourage space entrepreneurship so that they can go to these area and assist the government in providing the necessary infrastructure for this sector.
The money savers satellite is the earth observation satellite. In most countries of the world, earth observation satellites are provided by the government. It doesn’t mean that there can’t be private investors. It has a short life span; five, six seven years while that if communication satellite can last up to 15 years. That’s is why it is a strategic national infrastructure which the government consciously provide because it knows that by providing that, a lot of spin off will come out of it. To buy a satellite image, for an are that will take 30 seconds to snap, that costs about $12,000. It is quite expensive. How many farmers in this country can afford this? That is why when the government provided earth observation satellite, we provide them those images.
When you are planning your town or cities, you need those images to help you plan. Even to determine the rate to charge each household. Lagos State is using it. Recently, Nasarawa State is using it. Kogi State has come on board but they have not finalised the project yet. This will help them in planning and also in tallying generated revenue.
In terms of defence, our images have been used to combat the insurgency. Also in the fight against oil bunkering and pipeline monitoring. Even in the health, sector, there can be doctors who establish it. For example, I am in Abuja and want to diagnose a patient in a remote area, all you need is a visa and a camera. All you need to do is to have it sent and will diagnose correctly. Or the doctor has done the diagnosis but needed a second opinion. It can send abroad for other doctors to look at it and I can see what they are viewing and we discuss it live. I don’t need to pay to go abroad. That is how all this things work. So the earth observation satellite is key for sustainable development both for government and for individuals., developers, farmers, construction companies. It is a money saver.
Even in agriculture, you need to know which area is better for the growth of a particular type of crop, and again, when can you grow it. Satellites are now used to predict the best soil type for a particular type of crop. What we are doing is to sensitize a lot of people by dialogues, organised every year by this agency where the media, state government and stakeholders come together so that they will take this message back.
How can the government encourage space entrepreneurs?
The government should create a good environment for the sector to strive. They do it for other manufacturing companies. There is tax relief, and providing adequate security for the various infrastructure. They can even partner with such companies. We need a new set of entrepreneurs, what we call space entrepreneurs. When we did our CSTD Week, a professor from United Kingdom suggested that we need space entrepreneurs who will look at the spin-off of the technology and take it to the market. They are the people who will interface between the space agencies and the people. We have knowledge here. We have built a lot of capacity. Our staffs are working on research and development. They are developing and designing a lot of components hardware. It will be put in our incubation centre for entrepreneurs to come and access the market for the product. If it is marketable, they will buy it over and launch into the market. We believe that the space technology has the capacity to affect employment positively. It can also affect our economy positively in the sense that a lot of capital will be generated internally and externally because we will sell our images abroad.
Now what stops a Nigerian to start up a company that will deal on satellite images. We don’t have any. That is why NASRDA had to establish one. But a private company will be much more effective because they live on their profit. Those are the areas we expect private investors to come in. We should start thinking of manufacturers who will be manufacturing our components in Nigeria. What happens in United States is that small scale companies are turning the space industry around. It is not left for NASA alone. We need such in Nigeria and I believe that there are Nigerians with such potentials and capacity to take it up and make it work. I believe the space agency will want to collaborate with them and will do whatever necessary to make them succeed.
What can government do to ensure the growth of space and science technology?
Right from secondary school, mathematics should be taken as an important subject and students encouraged to be serious in learning it. Mathematics is the key to science, technology and engineering. It is the key. For us in science and technology, the government needs to refocus and increase funding for science and technology. For the past seven years, the funding had been abysmal. For the first time last year, when the current honourable minister came in, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, that was when they committed substantial amount to science and technology and I believe that it is the beginning of turning around of diversification in Nigeria.
The necessary infrastructure for the success of Nigeria space programmes is the Assemble Integration and Test (AIT) centre. It is the heart beat of any space programme. It is where you design, build, integrate and test for products to come out. That facility, the government has already approved it. They have started the building and have promised that before 2018, it will be ready. We are asking that the government should make it a reality.
What is the Center doing on its part to advance space knowledge acquisition?
We are already discussing with schools abroad. After our CSTD Week, I went to Landmark University and very soon, we will be signing an MoU with them. We have an MoU with UniAbuja and some of our staff are already drafted to lecture and that has helped them to get partial accreditation in engineering. We already have a centre and collaboration in University of Nigeria ( UNN).
