NIGCOMSAT-1: Gone too soon

It was launched with such great fanfarereserved for very special ocasions.

For many Nigerians seeking to launch the nationinto the world's fast growing Information Communication Technology(ICT) world,it was time to roll out the drums.

And to accord the activtity the honour it deserved, Alhaji Umar Yar'Adua, then President-elect, was among the Nigerian contingent that witnessed the launch of Africa's first communication satellite, code-named Nigcomsat-1, held in China on May 14, 2007.

Nigcomsat-1 was designed, built and launched by the Great Wall Industry Corporation at a cost of more than 226 million dollars.

Its principal objectives was to fast-track Nigeria's development and bridge the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world.

Prior to the conception of the idea of a communication satellite, Nigeria had launched an ambitious space technology roadmap that was to climax with the design, building and launching of an indigenous satellite by Nigerian engineers from a launch pad in Nigeria by 2025.

Other programmes captured in the roadmap included sending a Nigerian to space, the design and launching of various satellite with specific mandates, as well as making Nigeria a major player in the global space industry.

The programmes, according to former Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Turner Isoun, ``were developed based on the knowledge that being an active player in the global economy will no longer be determined by the natural resources at your disposal, but by how sophisticated you have advanced technologically''.

Isoun noted that Nigeria, by launching the programme, had registered her determination to advance her economy and fast-track her development process through the application of space science and technology.

Prof. Robert Boroffice, Director General, National Space Research and Development Agency, while supporting Isoun's position, had explained that space technology had the answers to the many problems confronting Nigeria.

``The satellite in orbit is facing the earth, hence it has immense potential of identifying and proffering solutions to man's numerous problems,'' Boroffice explained.

He was optimistic that the nation's ambitious space agenda would not only be achieved, but surpassed, going by the support government had given the sector.

Between 2002 and 2007, for instance, government had invested more than 400 million dollars to design, build and launch two satellites, Nigeriasat-1 and Nigcomsat-1.I

soun had told Nigerians that the satellites would turn around the fortunes of the country, while themassive investments would be recouped in fewyears.

According to him, the programmes will alsoreduce the cost of telephony and internet services, enhance communication services in rural and under-served areas, and raise the status of Nigeria in the comity of nations.

So for the highly expectant Nigerians, the reports last month that the Nigcomsat-1 was missing in orbit was indeed shocking.

After the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting on Nov. 19, Dr Alhassan Zaku, Minister of State for Science and Technology, had told Nigerians that Nigcomsat-1 had packed up after its batteries failed.

Zaku's explanation effectively rested the controversy generated by the lost of signals from the satellite.But for experts, the development had exposed the country's incompetence and unpreparedness to venture into high technology.

Mr Chukwuemeka Obasi, Coordinator, Nigeria CyberWorld, an NGO, while reacting to the Minister's explanation on Nigcomsat-1, said that it was a clear testimony of Nigeria leaders' little knowledge of satellite operations.

He also faulted the Minister's claims that the satellite was packed in orbit, just like one parks a car.Details of the project shows that the ill-fated satellite was built to last 15 years, but failed after 18 months.

``That development proves critics of the programmeright,'' Obasi said, and recalled that many had spokenagainst investing so much in that project.

While faulting the investment, the critics had said that investing in satellites at a time Nigeria was the leading nation with the highest maternal and infant mortality rate in the world was a ``misplaced priority''.

They also spoke of the declining state of education in the country especially when global organisations, including the World Bank, had written off the quality of graduates produced by Nigerian universities, and suggested thatthe funds should have been better channeled there.

Other arguments by the critics included the absence of the culture of maintenance and critical mass of experts in the field of space technology.

The choice of China as the designer, builders and launchers of Nigcomsat-1 also attracted criticisms.A university don, Prof. Adesina Adegoke, said that it waswrong to engage China without asking of their pedigree onsatellite.

``Now the satellite has failed. We saw it coming and alertedthe authorities, but no one listened,'' he said.Ahmed Rufai, Managing Director, Nigcomsat Ltd, has however assured Nigerians that all hope is not lost yet.

Rufai said that the satellite is 100 per cent insured, meaning that government'sinvestments would be fully recovered.According to him, the satellite will be replaced.

To the optimists, Rufai's explanation is soothing, but critics haveexpressed the fear that Nigerians may have to wait for at least three years for a new satellite to be designed, built and launched.

According to Mr Peter Adegoke, an ICT expert, ``a minimum of three years'' is required to build and launch such an ambitious satellite.

``It is sad that Nigeria's dream of effectively launching itselfinto the space has now been dashed,'' he told journalistsin Abuja recently, adding that disappointed Nigerians will have to live with that for sometime.