The Director-General, National Space Research and Development Agency, Dr. Seidu Mohammed, said on Thursday that the use of satellite technology by African countries could help them solve their common problems.
Mohammed said this at the 6th Governing Board Meeting of African Regional Centre for Science and Technology Education in English in Abuja.
He said that such close collaboration amongst African countries could help them solve common problems such as desertification, flooding, erosion and food insecurity.
He added, “We to need to remind ourselves that desertification is a common problem all over Africa. We need to remind ourselves that coastal erosion is a common problem; flooding is loose, staring at us.
“With the climate changes all over the world, Nigeria went through enormous flooding problem in 2012 that have never been so. We have never recorded this in the last 50 years. And that shows, we the need to talk about space science as technology as a special tool to enable Africa solve its problems.
“It also reminds us of the enormous task we need to do in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.’’
Mohammed also urged ARCSSTE-E member countries to contribute their quotas, especially in the areas of finance and development of human capability towards solving the common problem of the region.
He said unless the region started talking together and taking responsibilities will not make the desired progress.
He said, “When it belongs to nobody, nobody takes responsibility and there wouldn’t be progress; but if it ours, the onus is on us to make firm commitment and we cannot do this if we don’t contribute financially.
“No matter how little and this is the only way that we can be said to have started. We believe that about 50 per cent of world food aids come to Africa yet about less than the world population.
“We have enormous resources all over Africa and we deserve to have information on some of these things through resources inventory and several other projects we are normally done using space science and technology.
“We need to have more and more capabilities in terms of predicting our weather, looking at how we can improve food security in Africa and all these are within the purview of space science and technology. If we continue to complain, people will not take us seriously.’’
Stakeholders in space technology from English- speaking African countries were present at the event.
The countries include Ethiopia, Sudan, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Gambia, Namibia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Cameroun.