Halilu Shaba, director-general of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), says Nigeria’s satellite is outdated but still functioning by ”grace”.
Nigeria has been hit by kidnapping, banditry, communal clashes, attacks on government facilities, and killings.
Despite efforts by security agencies to control the situation, the security threats remain potent.
Speaking on satellite operations and national security when he featured on a Channels Television’s programme, Shaba said Nigeria has only one satellite and that it is not enough to serve the country.
He said the satellite was installed in 2011 and should have been changed because it has a seven-year life span.
“We have only one satellite (built in 2011). It has a seven-year life span and the life span is supposed to have expired in 2018. In our culture of satellite industries, you build a new satellite that is supposed to have replaced that one before you; we have not done that,” Shaba said.
“We are living on grace because normally based on the fuel of the satellite, you imagine that it is going to last for seven years but since 2018, the satellite has been functional and it is still giving us the necessary data.”
Shaba said though having more than one satellite and changing the old one is a priority, the country’s dwindling resources have made it difficult to achieve that.
