- Obasanjo criticised the inaction of successive governments in establishing a space programme for NASRDA.
- He noted that his administration had plans to launch Nigeria’s first satellite.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that Nigeria’s progress has been hindered by the practice of abandoning policies.
He said this during a lecture and awards ceremony organized by the Nigerian Institution of Space Engineers (NISE) in Abuja.
The event focused on ‘Nigeria’s 21 years in space: Achievements, challenges, and prospects’.
Obasanjo highlighted that numerous policies, especially in space technology, remain inactive and unimplemented.
This issue, he noted, extends beyond space technology, affecting various sectors and ultimately hindering the country’s growth.
“It is not enough to have good policies. Nigeria is not in short supply of good policies,” Obasanjo said.
He further emphasized, “In fact, go to our archives, it is a burial ground of unexecuted policies which leave us where we should not be.”
Obasanjo stressed that having policies is insufficient; implementation is crucial.
“There are many dead policies, unimplemented policies, unexecuted policies,” he pointed out.
He reiterated, “What I am trying to say is that it is not enough to have a policy.”
“That is why we are where we should not have been. Those who have made progress have not done it on mere wishes. They took active steps.”
The former president criticized successive governments for failing to establish a space program through the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).
He added that during his administration, plans were in place to launch Nigeria’s first satellite, but unfortunately, little progress was made.
Obasanjo was among 10 individuals honored for their contributions to Nigeria’s space technology development.