Nigeria needs advanced satellites to cut $2bn annual capital flight- Expert
By Ijeoma Olorunfemi
A Space Engineer, Prof. Spencer Onuh, has stated that Nigeria needs to acquire more advanced satellites to reduce capital flight on data and imagery sourcing, which costs the country over two billion dollars annually.
Onuh said this on Tuesday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, reflecting on the impact of the National Space Programme over the past 25 years.
He explained that satellite data is very expensive, with government institutions spending significant sums to acquire data and imagery from other countries.
“We have the challenge of capital flight on data and imagery because our satellites were designed with specific resolutions.
“These institutions are looking for a certain level of resolution which our satellites don’t have the capacity to provide, hence they go outside Nigeria to get them.
“Military standard is sub-one metre, and our own house resolution is 2.5 metres, it is a big challenge.
“Nigeria is losing 2 to 3 billion dollars annually on data, because data is expensive.
“If you are looking for data for town planning or the military, you need imagery from sub-one metre, 30cm, or 50cm resolution satellites,” he said.
According to Onuh, agencies seek such resolutions because they provide better value for their needs, and the demand for higher-resolution data is increasing rapidly.
He added that acquiring satellites with higher resolutions is capital-intensive but would save the country significant costs in the long run.
Onuh identified another challenge affecting Nigeria’s space programme: cloudy skies and environmental conditions, which make obtaining imagery with existing satellites difficult.
“We will need a Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite to solve the issue of cloud cover.
“We need to monitor our weather, which is becoming a major challenge this can be addressed with a meteorological satellite.
“If Nigeria is planning another phase of satellite design and manufacture to address the issue of cloud cover, we need to consider these factors.
“We also need to replace our communication satellite, which will soon be deorbited and may begin to decay in performance,” Onuh said.
He urged the Federal Government to commit to revolutionising the space programme, emphasising that it would benefit the entire country. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Benson Iziama
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