The Director General and Chief Executive, National Space Research and Development Agency, (NASRDA), Dr Mathew Adepoju has stressed the need for the government and relevant stakeholders to harness the resources that abound in the blue economy for national development.
Dr Adepoju made this statement during a presentation by the Space Agency to the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, and its agencies and parastatals in Abuja.
According to him, the enormous resources that can be found anywhere in the world are in the blue economy, hence, there is a need to map out strategies on how to explore the marine ecosystem for its potential benefits to Nigerians.
Dr Adepoju said the lofty idea can only be achieved using image intelligence and frequency analytics which are space based technologies that can be adequately deployed by the Space Agency because of its constitutional mandate.
In his presentation, Director, Mission Planning and Satellite Data Management of NASRDA, Dr Godstime James gave an overview of the activities of the Space Agency, with a focus on some of its achievements. According to him, the main purpose of the collaboration is to have a space-technology driven blue economy that can accelerate the pace of national development.
The NASRDA boss identified three key parastatals that engage in marine activities and the modalities designed by the Space Agency on how to improve their respective service delivery to Nigerians, thereby boosting their revenue inline with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
For the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, he stated that the deployment of space capabilities can help in the area of cargo handling optimization which leverages geospatial data and automation to stream line cargo loading and unloading processes; as well as vessel tracking and coordination using geospatial intelligence to monitor vessel movements.
For the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, he said the deployment of satellite capabilities through NASRDA can help the Agency in improving it’s regulatory oversight through the automated vessel tracking system, the all-powered compliance audit system and the predictive risk modeling system.
While on the National Inland Waterways Authority, (NIWA) Dr James suggested the deployment of satellite capabilities that can enhance revenue generation through the digitization of skiff registration, enhanced monitoring of sand activities as well as effective river mapping and aerial surveys.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser on Technical Matters to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Professor Busayo Fakinlede described the collaboration by the Ministry’s Agencies and Parastatals with NASRDA as the right step towards the right direction especially in the business of nation building.
He appreciated the role NASRDA is playing in proferring solutions to the myriad of challenges confronting the marine ecosystem especially in the provision of relevant data that can help effectively monitor the sector.
According to him, the incidents of accidents and insecurity on our waterways have become a major challenge that requires result oriented collaboration with relevant stakeholders like the Space Agency in order to minimise their occurrence and ensure effective monitoring of the sector for economic benefits.
He further stated that Geotechnical survey is an integral part of the blue economy because it helps the system to harness and manage resources effectively.
Prof Fakinlede stressed the need for a sustainable relationship between NASRDA, Milky Way, and the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy which according to him will expand the potential of the sector by yielding benefits that can guarantee the growth and development of the country.
Below are pictures from the function:
Daniel Abdullahi
Media and corporate communications.
