Nigeria has spent millions of dollars acquiring satellites under the aegis of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA). But, how have these satellites been deployed, bearing in mind the security situation in Nigeria? On Pages 39 to 43 of the book entitled, Nigeria’s Space Journey (NSJ) by Adigun Abiodun, we learn how satellites can be used for peace-making and peace-keeping in Africa.

On page 42, Abiodun particularly writes on the herdsmen-farmers’ conflict in Nigeria. He states “.… by using the capabilities of earth observation satellites, appropriate and regulated solutions can be found for the herdsmen and the communities concerned. In the case of Nigeria, for example, both the federal and state governments should work together and use satellite acquired data to generate maps of land use practices within their jurisdictions. Such maps should be used to regulate pastoral activities within these jurisdictions.…”

Beyond herdsmen-farmers’ conflict, Abiodun in NSJ reveals that satellites can be deployed for peace-keeping and peace-making to:

(a) Identify sources of conflict before they develop into a major crisis

(b) Monitor and verify compliance with terms of the agreement arrived at by combatants

(c) Locate buried landmines and subsequently de-mine the entire African landscape

(d) Monitor and identify mobile units and terrorists that transfer firearms across border

(e) Track movements of refugees fleeing from conflict zones so as to locate them as well as provide them with essential support

(f) Resolve the conflict that often develops among contiguous states that share water resources of the same drainage basin

(g) Arrest the depletion of Africa’s living and non-living resources, both on land and on the oceans around the continent

(h) Arrest the degradation of Africa’s marine environment and landscape.

From all these, you would see that NSJ is a book with a Nigerian and African flavour. The contents are related and relevant to Africa. It’s not an attempt to transplant some western world-view on Nigeria or Africa.

Well, I think NSJ - which is borne out of over 40 years working in the space industry - should, perhaps, have been entitled “Trials and Travails of a Space Technocrat: A Nigerian Experience”, because it is in a large part about a Nigerian returning home with good intentions, frustrated along the way, and having his programmes or ideas hijacked.

This is a book to be read by all the leaders of the political parties. NSJ is not a book, as could be expected, of a Nigerian attempt to land on the moon or even on Planet Mars. It is about how space science and technology can affect the life of the common man, for good and for prosperity.

Dr Abiodun served as the chairman of the United Nations Committee on the peaceful use of outer-space. He is the founder of the Africa Space Foundation.

•COINCIDENCES is a periodic column published on selected Wednesdays. The next appearance will be on October 10, 2018. The columnist, Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth, is based in England, Britain, but can be reached via e-mail through atogonub@yahoo.com or info@newsexpressngr.com

Update news