The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) is an agency that is now enjoying a new lease of life and good public perception, thanks to the reforms orchestrated, formulated and implemented by the present director-general of the agency, Dr. Halilu Ahmad Shaba.
Perception, they say, is everything. The NASRDA, all will agree, is one of the most ambitious agency that carries on its shoulders the responsibilities of launching the country towards the new age of civilisation through the space exploration programmes.
Today, everywhere in the world, space television is increasingly being assessed and recognised for its role as an enabler of socio-economic benefits for populations, industries/companies, governments and other stakeholders. As more solutions derived from the space exploration world are available from both governmental agencies and the commercial sector of the space business, the country indeed needs an informatic visual stations to take it to the door steps of Nigerians to educate them on the greater benefits and efficiencies of this discoveries.
This occasioned the launch of the space television and this has easily joined Nigerians into a lists of space developed countries that have created a space television station.
The creation of the space television by NASRDA) was another critical milestone in our nations history of space explorations activities. Today, it is a welcome development as Nigeria can now boast of being the very first African country that have ventured into creating a space TV and this is particularly awesome because we are now on a quantum move of making our citizens knowledgeable part of the developments in the space world.
Again, it is gainsaying to state that the creation and introduction of the space television channels by NASRDA, underscores the governments commitments through the agency to the technological and communication awareness of our people and the agency’s commitments to joining the developed world in space exploration education of its people.
This is a welcome development and a thing of joy that has been commended by all Nigerians.
The importance and advantages of the launch of Nigerians first TV cannot be overemphasized as one of the most significant social trends during the last half of a century as it also involved the rise of television as the most dominant leisure time activities for most Nigerians.
This trend was especially strong in Nigeria where TV occupies about 40percent of leisure time for most Nigerians. This translates into an average of 3hour per day. Although some of this viewing is done while engaging in other activities by most Nigerians, many theorists and researchers have come to agree that the knowledge of space and technological enhancements and the new trends in science to be passed to Nigerians would be immensurable through this space television platform of NASRDA.
The created space television channel can be regarded as the latest in a series of advancements in communication technology made possible by NASRDA and this television station has the potential of adding great value to our quest for Nigeria’s socio-economic development quest because it has enabled mediated forms of communications to gradually displacing other forms of socio-economic activities that involved face to face or group communications.
NASRDA has shown that the experience of watching television is rapidly changing for the better with its progression in technology.
Today, viewers are now able to watch exactly what they want and where they want to watch it. Although Nigeria’s television audiences are becoming increasingly fragmented, they are also growing because of the conveniences and availability of the new space television.
– Musa Wada writes from Abuja.
