A Nigerian-made UAV

According to statements made during the ceremony, the craft, known more by its dreaded name of drone, was designed and produced by engineers of the Nigerian Air Force at its Institute of Technology in Kaduna, in collaboration with some unnamed Nigerian institutions. At the ceremony, the president was clearly beside himself with joy as he […]

According to statements made during the ceremony, the craft, known more by its dreaded name of drone, was designed and produced by engineers of the Nigerian Air Force at its Institute of Technology in Kaduna, in collaboration with some unnamed Nigerian institutions. At the ceremony, the president was clearly beside himself with joy as he took pains to enumerate the benefits that the technology could bring to the nation.
According to the president, the UAV, christened ‘Gulma’ (Hausa for gossip), would have several useful applications for the country, including intelligence gathering, weather forecast, disaster management, power lines survey, health, media, and law enforcement, besides its obvious military purpose.
Although the technology for producing drones has become fairly commonplace in some parts of the world, the effort by the Nigerian Air Force is noteworthy because it represents some progress.  
This should act as a spur for other services to get more engaged in military science and technology as a way of contributing to, or, as many countries, leading the nation’s technological take off. In most parts of the world, the military-industrial complex is the bedrock of the technological and scientific development. It is regrettable that that is not been the case in Nigeria. For years, Nigerians have lamented that the Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), which was set up about the same time as its Brazilian and South African equivalents, has yet to make any significant impact on the nation’s technological breakthrough when its counterparts have become global players in manufacturing of aircraft and other military hardware.
It is understandable that there may be some people who would doubt whether the effort by the Air Force deserves to be praised at all.  Such cynicism is healthy, given the lack of information regarding the design, the budget and what kind of central control mechanism would drive the conduct of each and every drone activity.  Many Nigerians would be justifiably angry that the type of effort that the president and his close advisers are celebrating now is the type of stride the nation ought to have made in the past fifty years of independence, given our resources in human and material terms. But as the saying goes, it is better late than never.
Now that Nigeria has apparently realised that joining the technological rat race is the way to go, its political leadership should begin to display the type of political will necessary to strengthen the relevant sectors of the society to deploy their talents, skills and expertise in inventing and producing tools to boost the much talked-about rapid development. Government’s policies, budgetary provisions and other forms of practical commitment should aim at encouraging a greater collaboration between the military, the academia and the business sector in research and the development of research outcomes. Today, there are too many prototypes of inventions by competent Nigerians, which have not been developed.
‘Gulma’ is an indication that the country has what it takes to become a science and technology leader.
The number one requirement for the country, on the eve of this 100th anniversary of amalgamation, to be able to forge ahead in the direction of invention and development is the need to discipline the national taste against the consumption of the products and services of the ingenuity of other countries. It is only in the government’s commitment to self-reliance in the promotion of design and production of basic tools to meet the challenges of the society that the nation can be called great.