Nigeria, China to establish advanced technology to curtail natural disasters

The Nigerian Government has re-emphasized its commitment towards ensuring a safe haven for its citizens especially during natural disasters, hence the need for the establishment of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), which will guarantee effective monitoring and provision of relevant data.

Director General, National Space Research and Development Agency, (NASRDA), Dr Halilu Ahmad Shaba, stated this when he played host to a team of scientists from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, China (SHAO) at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

According to him, the Federal Executive Council in 2017 had mandated the Space Agency to intensify efforts towards seismic activities within the country by ensuring that relevant data on natural disasters are made available to policy makers for effective implementation.

“The Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) project is primarily aimed at monitoring Geodynamics phenomena in Nigeria and the sub-Saharan Africa such as earthquake, volcanic eruptions among others” he said

The NASRDA boss, who described the visit as timely especially at a time when the country is in need of accurate space related data for effective policy formulation and implementation, stated that the choice of Toro in Bauchi state as the site was because of its stability and strategic location in the global map for carrying out such purposes.

Dr Shaba commended the efforts and contributions of the experts and reaffirmed the Agency’s support in all procedural ramifications for the success of the project which he said, “will go a long way in projecting Nigeria by giving her its rightful position among committee of nations.” 

He urged the team of experts to consider capacity building especially for indigenous engineers and scientists as an integral part of the Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU), so as to create a long-lasting legacy.

The NASRDA boss also charged the members of the MoU implementation committee on the need to commence work immediately to guarantee the speedy completion of the project.

The Acting Director, Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics, CGG Toro, Dr Joseph Dodo, said the idea of establishing the VLBI is strategic because of its capacity to carry out earth observation research and a proper monitoring of translation and rotation of the African Pole.

He said the project will be contributing to the global network of Space Geodetic Systems for understanding of the global reference frame and the earth tectonic.

Dr Dodo, while giving a background of the CGG, its activities and possible areas of collaboration with SHAO stated that the VLBI has the capability of tracking satellites and other space missions.

The leader of the visiting team, Professor Jingling Li, who said the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory is under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, expressed his willingness to work with NASRDA through CGG, stating that the materials for the execution of the project were assembled in China waiting for shipment to Nigeria within the shortest possible time frame.

He promised that the project will be executed in good time so that Nigerians can have access to real time data that will aid in effective planning, monitoring and implementation of people-oriented policies and programmes.