Predictably, Nigerians claimed not to be surprised by what NigComSat described as the 'de-orbiting' of NigComSat-1 which was launched into space from China. Predictably, also, people view the satellite's misadventure as a manifestation of the chronic wahala that attends every Nigerian 'misplaced' endeavour. But was it really misplaced? Should we be concerned all the days of our lives with basic agrarian/food and shelter pursuits while the world is staking its place in space? We can't condemn OBJ's government on this matter. It was a vision of bigger things for Nigeria. Whether it was properly executed is another matter. As Nigcomsat Ltd. said in a recent press release, what befell Nigeria is what befalls any third world country that is desirous of moving up. India's first attempt in space with INSAT-1A which was built by Ford Aerospace of USA was launched on 10 April 1982 and failed on September 6, 1982, staying barely five months in orbit. But India persevered. One year later, it launched INSAT 1-B which promptly suffered the same fate. INSAT-1C which was launched in July 1988 also failed one year after launch. But by 1992, after a series of 'misadventures', India was ready to launch its first indigenous satellite. The same experience was the lot of Indonesia and Japan. Of note is that they all stuck with it. They are all reaping the dividends today. One major grouse with NigComSat has been the cost, a whopping $256million (gleefully converted by critics as N40bn). Another is the choice of technical partner, China, which many consider not quite advanced in space matters. We do not claim to know the rationale, but sometimes governments work based on willingness of the other country to do a deal. Isn't it possible that the cost from say the US could have been prohibitive? And even if it wasn't, how sure are we that the West is willing to share the secrets of its space technology with the rest of the world? But those are purely conjecture. What's important is that we have gone to space, and rather than lose the effort and all the money already invested we need to do more. Let's look at the bright side: Nigeria remains the first country in Africa to own a communications satellite, and among the first 45 nations in the world to have a satellite in space. That's a no mean achievement. Additionally, Nigeria by virtue of NigComSat-1 has over 100 space craft engineers with the capacity to design a satellite, assemble, integrate and test with available facilities.

The arguments can keep going back and forth. But at the cornerstone of Nigeria's Vision 2020 should be space technology. John Kennedy said to his men in 1960, 'we must put a man on the moon'. This was after Russia had beat America to space courtesy Yuri Gagarin's manned space trip. America did, and so can we. It's about the will. The Nigerian government must display a willingness to see Nigeria advance. It must give Nigerians a sense of pride by giving us a competitive advantage over our neighbours. It must ignore the naysayers. Once we get it right, they will all line up to applaud the initiative. Nigeria has business in space. Let's go!