Nigeria: Gulma Drone – a Step Towards Technological Advancement
It was all excitement as president Goodluck Jonathan unveiled the first indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, named GULMA, built by the Nigerian Air Force in Kaduna.
According to the president, the giant technological breakthrough of various sectors, particularly the Armed Forces, are pointers to the country’s potential for greater deeds. In his speech at the unveiling ceremony, President Jonathan said: “We must not forget the lesson of this encouraging moment in our nation’s history; that as Nigerians we are capable of great deeds.”
Young officers from Nigerian Air Force School of Engineers, Aircraft Design Centre, Kaduna, dazzled the Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Ita Okon Bassey-Ewa when they displayed to him an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), referred to as drone, which could fly non-stop for about four hours at 3000 feet. The drone was conceptualized, designed and built by them in Kaduna under the direct supervision of the Provost of the Nigerian Air Force, NAF Institute of Technology, Prof. Emmanuel Ezugwu.
According to officials of the institute, the drone’s empennage was about three meters, while the wing span was about half a meter. The four officers, all flight lieutenants, said it was a three-year effort in collaboration with Cranfield University of United Kingdom with funds from the Federal Government. The officers who asked that all the credit for the breakthrough be given to the Commandant of the school and Chief of Air Staff, pleaded that their names be not mentioned in the press.
Nigeria doesn’t lack in competent and skillful workforce who are ingenious in creative initiatives that can compete with the very best in the world, especially in the area of technological advancement. Though GULMA may be another creative ingenuity which dream is now being realized, similar innovations were celebrated but without further incentive or improvement on the initiatives. We are living witnesses to various innovations and inventions by Nigerians which unfortunately have not been nurtured to maturity. For instance just last year the international media were agog with the news story of Nigerian girls who created a generator that produces electricity for six hours using a single liter of urine as fuel. Also about a decade ago a student of Bayero University, Kano modeled an aircraft, though pint in size, but awesome in concept. It is therefore cheering development that the latest locally made drone in the country is designed and built by young officers of the Nigerian armed forces.
This is a very good idea and more of this should be encouraged in the country as it will go a long way towards yielding the fruits of science and technology in the country. It can be recalled that this initiative is not the first of its kind by the Nigerian Armed forces. The latest drone tagged “GULMA” is a notable improvement on the previous ones christened “Amebo 1 and 2” respectively. Thus if the young inventors, both within and outside the armed forces get the right support and incentive, this kind of inventions will just be a stepping stone towards better things in the country.
The pertinence of this new initiative cannot be overemphasized. Besides its diverse military application, unmanned aerial vehicle provides mankind with a range of benefits in disaster management, power line surveys, law enforcement, telecommunications, weather monitoring, and aerial imaging/mapping. It is also rapidly becoming an important tool in news coverage, environmental monitoring, and oil and gas exploration. It is also a step in the right direction in a bid to fight the insecurity situation of the country. More so, it may also attract foreign intelligenciers to the country and thus also help instigate other form of initiatives to help fight crime and other prevailing insurgency in the country.
In a nutshell, I want to laud the effort of the Nigerian Armed forces for its initiative towards bringing the nation in tandem with the developed nations when it comes to innovation via science and technology. This is despite their commitment and doggedness in the protection of the nation’s sovereignty against internal and external aggression. The force has also done a lot in keeping the nation abreast of current trends around the world of technology. This also serves as challenge to civilians and encouragement to budding inventors.
