SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Updated November13, 2008

FEDERAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL CONFIRM NIGERIA'S FAILED COMMUNICATION SATELLITE

The Nigerian government has cofirmed that the Country's communications satellite has failed in orbit. Minister of state for science and Technology, Alhassan Zaku told newsmen after wednesday Federal Executive Council meeting that the Chinese manufacturers are assessing the state of the satellite.

The launch of the Nigerian government satellite, NIGCOMSAT in May 2007 was wirly celebrated across the Country. The government pumped in about 40 billion Naira into the project following the successful launch and operation of a remote sensing satellite. Things began to turn on Wednesday morning as the two ground stations in Abuja and China noticed the inability of the solar powered battery of the satellite to recharge.

Minister of state for science and Technology Alhasan Zaku told state house correspondents that the satellite was successfully packed in a safe location to prevent it fro crashing into other satellites.The good news for Nigeria however is that the satellite is fully insured. Broadcast and telecommunications companies have brought transformers from the NIGCOMSAT.

The Nigerian government has however assured that their interests will be protected.The Nigerian communications satellite is supposed improved interest access across the Country and the security Agencies in the Country and enhances Broadcast and Telecomm operations.

It was designed to operate in Africa, parts of the middle East and Southern Europe with a year’s lifespan. The Nigerian Government says its failure is not the first in history as other Countries have experienced it in the past. It also justified the use of Chinese main failures saying they have a good global recitation.

NCC ASSURES NIGERIANS OF 100 PER CENT TELEDENSITY

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ernest Ndukwe, has promised that the country would achieve 100 per cent teledensity by 2020. Ndukwe, who was speaking at a public lecture in Lagos on Tuesday, said that the country had 0.4 per cent teledensity before the liberalisation of the industry in 2000.

 He said that the country’s teledensity had now grown to 40 per cent. ``With a teledensity of 40 per cent Nigeria still has a lot to achieve in the telecommunications industry. ``All things being equal, the country should achieve a teledensity of 100 per cent in the year 2020,'' he said.
The NCC boss promised that year every Nigerian would  have a phone, no matter where the citizen lives. He said that the commission was working to

ensure that there were enough  broadband Internet infrastructure around the country to bridge the digital divide. Ndukwe said that people, businesses and communities with ready access to information technologies were better equipped to participate actively in the global economy. He said that more foreign investors would be attracted to Nigeria when broadband and other ICTs infrastructure were in place.

``Investment is not attracted by announcement for its need but when there is enabling environment for the progress of the investment. ``International investors that demand efficient and reliable access to ICTs as basis for investing are now taking Nigeria seriously because telecoms access is now readily and speedily available,'' Ndukwe said.

HOUSE C'TTEE MAKES CASE FOR INDIGENOUS BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

The House Committee on Science and Technology today at Otta, Ogun, called on the citizenry to embrace new technologies on alternative building and construction materials.The new building technology was developed by Nigerian Buiding and Road Research Institute(NBRRI).NBRRI Public Relations Officer, Mr Daniel Makava,  in a statement quoted the Chairman of the Committee, Hon Akinlade Isiaf, as making the call during the committee's visit to NBRRI office at Otta.

The Otta office houses the Institute's National Laboratory and Production centre.  He quoted the chairman as saying that the innovation had the potential of creating employment, reducing poverty and contributing to the realization of president Umaru Yar'Adua's seven-point agenda. He said that the new technology would make building cheaper and more durable than the conventional one.   The statement stated  that the visit of the committee was part of the oversight functions of the committee.

The statement also quoted NBRRI  Director General Joseph Ali  as saying that the institute would continue to contribute its quota to the technological development of the country. He said the committee should help the institute to attract the necessary funding from government to enable it effectively deliver on its mandates.

NIGCOMSAT NOT MISSING - MANAGEMENT

The Management of the Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited has assured the public that Nicomsat-1 is not missing.This was disclosed on Wednesday in a statement made available to the Newsmen in Abuja.  According to the statement signed by Mr Abimbola Alale, Managing Director and Chief Executive of the company, ``Nigcomsat-1, only experienced a break power down at about 10am on Monday and is not missing.''

 The statement quoted  Alale as saying: `` contrary to media reports, Nigcomsat-1 is not missing but rather powered down when an abnormal battery discharge in a non-eclipse situation was noticed.''  It explained that a service disruption was noticed on Nigcomsat-1 due to a technical problem with solar panel, which caused an outage on Nov. 10 and that everything was being done to arrest the situation.The statement explained further that the satellite was put in an emergency mode operation in order to effect mitigation and repairs, as was the tradition of the company. 

``The tradition in the industry is to carry out a fault tree analysis to narrow down on the cause, effect and mitigation of the problem. ``This usually takes some time and as soon as we are definite, a statement on this matter would be issued,'' Alale said. He therefore assured the public that the management of the company was working expeditiously with technical consultants and relevant parties to resolve the problem.

NIGCOMSAT DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR BROADCAST STATIONS READY IN DECEMBER, SAYS  RUFAI 

The Nigeria Communications Satellite (NigComSat) digital  infrastructure for broadcast stations would be ready by December, the company's Managing Director, Alhaji Ahmed Rufai, said Tuesday in Abuja.  Rufai told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the digital platform would provide  capacity for broadcast stations in the country and elsewhere to expand their services.  He said that the facility, when operational would afford viewers in the country to have access to more than 200 local and international channels with the aid of one decoder.
He said that the facility was being built in partnership with Digitech Broadcasting Ltd., and would also provide low cost Direct To Home (DTH) television services.

Rufai said that the service was important to the country's bid to achieve full  digitisation in the broadcast industry by 2015.  
``The role we are going to play is to provide a digital platform where broadcasters  will just be required to produce content. We are building it, and we hope that it will  be ready by December. (audio) ``Once the platform is there, broadcast stations who want to go into DTH, Pay-TV or
Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), would only need to transmit their content to our location.

``We will then do the encoding, compression and multiplexing and transmit on their  behalf,'' he said.
     


The Managing Director said that the transmission infrastructure would provide a national  outlook for broadcast stations where viewers in the country would receive their signals anywhere,  including West African countries through a decoder.  ``The fact that we are also intending to trunk voice and data services makes it possible for the broadcast industry to offer triple-play to the Nigerian public,  which is in line with what the future holds,'' he said. (audio) In the telecommunications parlance, the commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP (Voice Over  Internet Protocol and Internet access is referred to as 'Triple Play'.

Rufai observed that many Nigerian companies, which had attempted to break into the DTH  market couldn't sustain it, because of high operational costs and maintenance.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY KEYS TO DEVELOPMENT

The Minister of Science and Technology, Mrs Grace Ekpiwhre has said that science and technology are the veritable tools for socio-economic development of any country. Addressing the opening of a three-day West and Central Africa meeting on DNA Bar coding today in Abuja , Ekpiwhre said Asian countries were eloquent testimonies to the role of science and technology in national development.

``The developed countries and those that have moved away from the demeaning Third World appellation, have achieved their feat, without exception, through investments in science and technology,'' she said. Ekpiwhre said for the past two decades, biotechnology had revolutionized all aspects of human endeavors and that this compelled the Federal Government to establish the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA).

She said the meeting was important to Africans and Nigerians as its recognised the importance of President Umaru Yar'Adua's seven-point Agenda. The minister thanked Yar'Adua for his support to the advancement of Biotechnology development in the country.Prof. Bamidele Solomon, the Director-General of NABDA, said the meeting would clarify concepts and applications of bar coding.

He said it would also raise awareness as to the uses of DNA bar coding among researchers, research organizations and potential users. Solomon  said it would also raise the awareness on the potential application of DNA bar coding to environment challenges facing the region. Solomon said the benefits of the techniques to developing countries included documentation of species of bio diversity, development of capacity to monitor, utilize and protect native species and commercial development of their genetic resources.

``With the growing issue of bio-piracy, a technology that taxonomically protects a country's bio diversity is a valuable tool for any country wishing to benefit from the lucrative bio-prospecting business,'' he said. Solomon said a steering committee for bar coding would be established to draw up an action plan for Central and West Africa. He said that intra-regional network and inter-continental partnership would also be established to implement the action plan.

``The prospects of the DNA Bar coding technique underscore the role of science and technology in solving the nagging problems of hunger, poverty and underdevelopment in Africa ,'' the director general said. Solomon said that Africa , a continent blessed with bio resources and bio diversity, must take urgent steps to acquire and employ new technologies that not only add value to the resources but also ``reserved them for our economic benefits''

He said to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, a lot would depend on what and how science and technology were developed and applied. The meeting was organized by NABDA in collaboration with the Consortium on Bar Code of Life (CBOL), the Global Bio Diversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Bionet International.

EXPERT ADVISES ON BIO FUEL PRODUCTION

Sam Okoro, Energy Researcher, University of Surrey UK, has advised Nigeria to slow down on bio fuel production. He made the appeal in Abuja in an interview. According to Okoro, there are many on-going researches on bio fuel that was yet to be concluded.

``If African countries do not wait for such researches to be concluded but just tilting government policies towards bio fuel, then they may be investing for the wrong reason. ``We are not asking the government to carry out researches, but at least they can benefit from researches carried out,'' he added.

He said food production had been on the decline, adding that if Nigeria must go into agriculture, it must be for the right reason and not for fuel. He said bio fuel proponents wanted Africa to go into crops production for fuel because the Europeans, Brazilians, Indians and others were doing so.

Okoro observed that going into bio fuel production was a challenge for Africa. ``The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were initiated in Johannesburg in Dec. 1992, to set an agenda for third world countries ``The number one target is to reduce poverty and hunger and if you have the same people trying to convert food crops into fuel, then you have a problem.

``This is because I know that the targets of the MDGs have not been met,'' he said. ``So, Africa still needs to be under international law on bio fuel production. ``Nigeria should set its priority and it should be on poverty reduction and not using food crops for fuel,'' Okoro said.

NOTAP INSTALLS ELECTRONIC ARCHIVING SYSTEM

The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has installed an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) for archiving files and documents. A statement, issued by NOTAP Head of Public Relations, Dagogo George, in Abuja said the installation was through an MOU between the agency and Circum Technologies Limited. The Director General of NOTAP, Dr. David Okongwu, said the project would lead to a shift from an obsolete storage system to a more flexible and globally accepted electronic medium, according to the statement.

``When the project is optimised, official duties would be performed more effectively and efficiently, especially in the area of registration of Technology
Transfer Agreements.''

The statement said the EDMS would serve as an electronic archive for all documents and enhance the operations of the Technology Acquisition, Documentation and Information department. It noted that EDMS was an innovation embraced globally to facilitate efficiency and improve
productivity.

NIGERIAN GOVT ESTABLISHES CYBER CAFE IN BINDAWA LGA

The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology has established a N320 million cyber cafe' in Bindawa Local Government Area of Katsina State: Alhaji Abdu Umaru, the Chairman of the Council, said. Umaru, who made the disclosure in an interview in Bindawa, said the project was executed by National Information Technology Development Agency.

He said only Bindawa Local Government Area benefited from the project in the state and expressed gratitude to the federal government for the gesture. Umaru said the council had set up a management committee for the project and promised that the council would manage it for the benefit of the people. He urged the youth to take advantage of the facility to improve themselves.

IAEA TO PROBE ''SERIOUS'' SYRIAN ATOM REACTOR REPORT

The UN nuclear watchdog chief has said that U.S. intelligence allegations that Syria secretly built a nuclear reactor with North Korean help were serious and would be thoroughly investigated.

"The Agency will treat this information with the seriousness it deserves and will investigate the veracity of the information," Mohamed El Baradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

He confirmed that Washington had handed over information, which said that a Syrian installation destroyed by an Israeli air strike last September was not yet a completed atomic reactor. "According to this information, the reactor was not yet operational and no nuclear material had been introduced into it," he said in a statement.

But he said Syria would have been obliged under its non-proliferation safeguards agreement with the Vienna-based UN watchdog to inform it in advance of any planning and construction of a nuclear facility.

Still, he said he "deplores the fact" that the U.S. had not turned the information over to the IAEA on the reactor, said to have been launched in 2001.
"The unilateral use of force by Israel has undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the non-proliferation regime," El Baradei added.

Syria has denied involvement in such nuclear activities and has accused Washington of trying to discredit Damascus.

CHINESE RANK WORLD'S FIRST INTERNET USERS

The number of Internet users in China has reached 221 million by the end of February, outnumbering U.S. Internet users, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information has said.

The number of users was 210 million at the end of last year, just five million fewer than the U.S. Internet users then, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC).

In spite of rapidly increasing Internet population, the proportion of Internet users among the total population was still lower than the global average level, the ministry said. The proportion was 16 per cent at the end of 2007, compared with 19.1 per cent of the world average, the CNNIC said.

NIGER GOVT SUBSIDISES COMPUTERS TO WORKERS

Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has pledged to provide computers to workers in the state at 50 per cent discount. He said at a four-day retreat for federal permanent secretaries in Minna that already, 60 per cent of the workers were computer literate.

Aliyu said training in ICT and acquisition of computers by the civil servants would be continuous until the entire state workforce were computer literate. He attributed the success of his party, the PDP, in the March 29 council polls, to the support and efficient service delivery of the state workforce.

The governor urged the retreat to review the civil service reform and correct the flaws associated with its implementation. He also said postings of permanent secretaries should be determined by the experience and knowledge of the officers to ensure effective service delivery.

Earlier, the Head of Service of the Federation, Ms Ebele Okeke, said the retreat was aimed at re-assessing the role of the civil service in achieving the goals of the administration. Okeke said as the top echelon of the service, civil servants should produce development initiatives that would improve the lives of the citizenry. She said it was their task to ensure that vision 20-20-20 of the President Umaru Yar’adua administration did not fail, stressing: ``It is an enormous responsibility, but we cannot afford to fail.''

She said the retreat would enable the participants to come up with the veritable framework and guidelines that would strengthen government's capacity to deal with various identified challenges.

COUNCIL ADVISES PUBLIC ON PESTICIDES, AGRO-CHEMICAL

The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) in Abuja has advised the public to be cautious in using agro-chemicals and pesticides to avoid food poisoning. A statement signed by Abiodun Obimuyiwa, CPC Assistant Director, Public Affairs, said careless usage of the chemicals for rats
poisoning, fumigation at homes and agricultural fields, could lead to deaths.

``In view of this imminent danger, it has become imperative to caution against the use of agro-chemical and household pesticides such as rat poisons and insecticides for fumigation, '' the statement said.

It said a letter had been written to the Ministries of Agriculture, Environment and all state governments about the imminent danger, following some recent cases of food poisoning and deaths in the country. It said the deaths were traceable to wrong usage of such chemicals. It also attributed some cases to the use of expired, banned, restricted, adulterated and wrong calibration of pesticides on agricultural produce.

The statement said the public alert became necessary because of the coming of a new farming season and the need to forestall a recurrence of the bitter experience. The council advised farmers not to consume the remaining seeds after planting, saying that ``no amount of soaking or washing could remove the chemicals used for treatment ''.

Similarly, CPC advised farmers to seek advice of governments, ADPs' and LGAs' agricultural extension workers on safe use of pesticides. It also stressed the need to pay particular attention to the use of safety gear, such as the face and nose masks as well as gloves.

TELEPRESENCE : SEEING IS BELIEVING

Telepresence is the next generation of video conferencing. It recreates meeting rooms with high-quality audio, video and networking tech and touted as having environmental and cost-saving benefits by reducing business trips

Telepresence is like video-conferencing on steroids. Specially modified conference rooms equipped with high-quality audio, video and networking technology become meeting places for teams divided between Boston and Bangalore. 1 of 2 Telepresence, though, comes close. That's why increasingly global companies and also environmentalists are hopping aboard.

The leap in quality from standard videoconferencing is hard to convey and needs to be experienced, but to get an idea, check out a plug for a Cisco telepresence system on the TV show "24".Unfortunately TV-land is the closest you're likely get to telepresence unless your company buys a system, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars main telepresence vendors include Teliris, Hewlett-Packard, Tandberg, Cisco and Polycom.

That kind of price only makes economic sense if you're a large corporation already losing significant productivity and money to business flights. But if you are such a company, telepresence can be a beautiful thing.Quality varies, of course, but at its best telepresence creates an illusion of sitting across the same table that is surprisingly effective -- the positioning of furniture and even the wall color are carefully selected.

Participants forget about the technology -- which they generally don't have to muck with at all -- and become immersed in meetings that can go on for hours. Body language is easily read and even eye contact can be maintained, though on some systems better than others.

This helps explain why telepresence systems get significantly more usage than videoconferencing ones. Typical usage rates for the former are 77.4 hours per month, compared to 10 hours for the latter, according to Wainhouse Research, which specializes in videoconferencing and unified communications market research.And it's mid-level executives, not just VIPs, who regularly use the systems. It's not uncommon for a company to have dozens of telepresence suites being used 20 to 25 hours per week.

That means less flying around -- good for the environment but companies are buying the systems primarily for a different reason: productivity gains."They are speeding time to market for new products because design and marketing teams scattered across the globe can work together more easily and more frequently," notes David Molony, a principal analyst with consulting and research firm Ovum.

Telepresence is also, he adds, being used as a sales tool for high-level contract meetings.Says Molony: "There's no excuse for enterprises not to have these because they fit with global growth strategy, improved working practice, carbon reduction programs, etc and the business case is demonstrable."

And more telecommunications companies are beginning to offer telepresence within integrated service packages, he notes. BT for instance is now offering managed telepresence as part of its Unified Communications and Collaboration package."So if you've got global network, now you can get telepresence on that deal," he says.

Environmentalists have taken note of telepresence, too. Peter Lockley, head of transport at the WWF-UK, says his organization is preparing an outreach campaign that will encourage businesses to adopt telepresence systems and reduce the amount of flying they do.

The campaign, he says, will be "pointing to case studies where businesses who are heavy users of flights have actually made a return on investment in 12 months or so because of all the various things they're saving on not just flights, but hotels, expenses, insurance and so on."

And that's not including the productivity gains, he adds. His group is also lobbying the UK government to include telepresence in an existing tax-write-off scheme designed to encourage energy savings.Of course even if you don't get on that plane, the flight will likely proceed anyway and still pollute the skies.

"But over time if more people choose not to fly, then the number of flights will reduce compared to what would otherwise have been the case," notes Bill Sneyd, director of advisory services for The Carbon Neutral Company, which helps firms measure and reduce their carbon footprint.Plus, "if companies reduce the number of flights that their staff take, then the emissions that they report associated with their air travel will be lower" -- under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative, for example.

There are hurdles to telepresence being widely adopted, and the market is still in its "early growth" phase, says research firm Frost & Sullivan.The firm recently completed a report on the Asia Pacific region and found the biggest restraint on telepresence is the cost and availability of high-quality bandwidth.

Second was the large upfront investment needed -- don't expect telepresence systems to sweep through Laos anytime soon.But in that region and globally the firm projects strong growth for telepresence. The firm foresees global revenues topping $700 million in 2014, up from just shy of $110 million last year.

A key challenge for vendors is getting people to stop associating the shortcomings of videoconferencing -- like a jerky picture, delayed sound or complicated controls -- with telepresence."If you look at the reasons that people give for not wanting to invest," notes

Lockley at the WWF-UK, "they are all linked to the older generation of technology. They're all complaints swept aside by telepresence systems." Seeing is believing, so demos are a big part of the vendors' marketing efforts, he notes. A demo converted him, too."I was really bowled over by experiencing it," he says.

ITU URGES AFRICAN COUNTRIES TO DE-EMPHASISE CHARITY IN DEVELOPMENT PLANS

Dr Hamadoun Toure, Secretary-General of International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in Abuja has called on African countries to stop thinking about charity before embarking on development projects.

Toure is on three-day working visit to Nigeria to promote ITU's programme for the development of telecommunications and ICT in Africa. At a meeting with Mr John Odey, the Minister of Information and Communications, Toure urged the emerging generation of African leaders to promote the intellectual development of the youths.He, nonetheless, vouched for the competence of the emerging African leaders in fostering the development of ICT on the continent.

Toure, who had earlier visited some locations in Abuja, particularly commended the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), Jabi, run by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), for its efforts in ICT development.

On his agenda for the continent, Toure, who is the first African to become the Secretary-General of ITU, said that he had a three-point agenda for the development of ICT and telecommunications in Africa. He listed the three areas as the

Earlier, Odey noted that Toure's visit was important because it would present an opportunity for charting a pragmatic course for a workable ICT policy for the country. He, however, called for ITU's assistance in making the DBI an ideal ICT institute. While pledging Nigeria's support for Toure, the minister urged him to ensure that the Union fulfilled its pledge to construct an e-library for Nigeria.Toure is scheduled to inaugurate an ICT centre at the University of Abuja before
travelling to Lagos for a roundtable with key industry players on Friday.

KADUNA STATE DRILLS 62 SOLAR BORE HOLES

In an effort to meet the water needs of the people, Kaduna State government has said it would drill l62 solar bore holes in three major towns. Speaking to the Newsmen, the State Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr Tsahiru Bako, said the bore holes would be sunk in Kaduna metropolis, Zaria and Kanfanchan.

He said the decision to drill the bore holes was to alleviate the suffering of the people in getting water. Commenting on the fire outbreak at Malali water plant, Bako expressed sadness over the outbreak, saying it brought hardship to the people due to lack of water.

He said that the burnt transformer, which could not be locally purchased, would arrive the country anytime from June, together with other accessories. He assured that the water plant would be repaired as soon as the equipment arrived. He said that skeletal water services were being rendered by the plant to communities on rotational bases, while water tankers were distributing water in the metropolis to assuage the effect of the inferno.

Meanwhile, residents of Barnawa and Narayi in Kaduna Metropolis have called on the state government to repair the broken down water works to resolve the lingering scarcity of water in the area.

The scarcity, which hit the area in November, had brought hardship to the people. Also Speaking, a resident of the area, Mr Funsho Ibrahim, said people in the area got water from only bore hole. He said that water had been a major problem in the area, noting that while a small bucket of the commodity was selling at N10, a Jerry-can costs N40. He complained that the resident of the area spent not less than N300 daily on water and called on the state government to repair the water treatment plant.

INDIA PLANS 70 SPACE MISSIONS

India plans to undertake 70 space missions in five years, a nearly three-fold jump from the previous half-decade. The missions are meant to address requirements and develop new technologies for future needs.

``We have proposed something like 70 missions compared to about 26 missions in the tenth plan period,'' Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization Madhavan Nair said. Nair, also Secretary in the Department of Space, said that the aim is to address requirements of the area of communication transponders.

The 2008-09 annual budget for the Space Department has gone up to 120 million dollars (N13.9 billion), a 25 per cent increase over the previous financial year.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:A VITAL TOOL TO NIGERIA'S DEVELOPMENT

Experts fear that Nigeria's low level of participation in science and technology could prevent the realization of the country's vision of becoming a leading economy by 2020.

This caution came at the opening of a special science quiz project in Abuja,Organised by the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with the United Nations Educational,Scientific and cultural Organisation,UNESCO.

Most developed economic of the world attained greatness through exploits in Science and Technology.Expects consider that future economies would be driven by knowledge.Already,some Asian economies like China are reaping fat from investments in knowledge base Technology.

Nigeria seems to be towing the same line,as the Government of President Umaru Yar'Adua has articulated a 7-point agenda which will enable the Country attain a leading role in world economy in 2020.

Some panelists at the maiden edition of a special Science quiz project say the younger generation are key to Nigeria's quest for an improved economy.But what really could be responsible for the low level of participation by Nigerian students in Science and Technology?

Besides the ongoing special quiz project which aims at stimulating interest in Science and Technology amongst students in primary and Secondary Schools,UNESCO has proposed to the Federal Government the establishment of a 5 Bilion dollar National Science foundation.

The fund is expected to further stimulate development in the study and practise Science and Technology in the Country.

POWER GENERATION:NIGERIA TO HAVE NUCLEAR SAFETY LAW AHEAD OF POWER PLANT PROJECT

Preparatory to the advent of Nuclear Power to help solve Nigeria's cancerous power problem,plans have reached an advanced stage,for a Nuclear safety law.

The law is to prepare grounds building a nuclear power plant to help check the problem of epileptic power supply in the country.

Attorney-General of the Federation ad Minister of Justice,Micheal Aondoakaa,Monday,told a seminar on Nuclear Power programme that he was already putting together the Bill which would soon be sent to the National Assembly to be passed into law.

The protracted problem of epileptic Electricity supply and its implication on Nigeria's development has led to the urgent search for alternative sources of energy,prominent among which is Nuclear energy.

The Nigerian Government hopes to build a Nuclear plant in the next 10-15 years.

However, a prerequisite to building a Nuclear Power Plant which would involve sophisticated and delicate technology, adequate legislative and regulatory framework to meet the international Atomic Energy Agency's standards of safety and security, must be put in place.

It is in this light, that Nigeria's Attorney -General and Minister of Justice,Micheal Aondoakaa,is working on the bill.He is harmonizing International treaties,including Nuclear non-proliferation,safeguard and radiological emergency to present to the National Assembly for domestication and making into law.

The Senate President,David Mark,has expressed deep commitment to this plan,lamenting what he sees as the messy state of Power supply in the Country.

For Nigeria to achieve its dream of becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020,it needs 25,000 Megawatts of Electricity.

For now,it is yet to achieve 4,000 Megawatts,just 12 years away.

Apart from complimenting the Hydro and Gas Turbine Electricity supplies,a Nuclear Power Plant is more Ozone friendly,as it produces a negligible 1-6 Grammes of Carbon,per Kilowatt of electricity.

2015 TARGET:AFRICA CHALLENGED ON DIGITAL TRANSMISSION

Africa needs to step up efforts at meeting the 2015 target set for Digital Broadcasting in tune with global trends.

Chairman of Daar Communications Plc,Chief Aleogho Dokpesi is concerned about what appears the slow pace of migration to digital transmission by cable Broadcast stations in Nigeria.

Dokpesi made this observation in Abuja at a forum an Africa Film and Television programmes.The session chaired by Chief Dokpesi focused on challenges of new media.

Director-General Nigerian Broadcasting Commission,Yomi Bolarinwa represented by Armstrong Idachala however disclosed that the Government has set May ending as deadline for cable Broadcast operations to transit to digital format pointing out that Government is providing the apropriate enviroment for such.

NIGERIA NUCLEAR ENERGY PROJECT:FEARS OF PROLIFERATION

The Nigerian government has announced plans to adopt nuclear energy to address the energy needs of the country. To this end ,government approved plans to build nuclear power plants in the coutry in the next ten years but Nigeria's capacity to handle the six -billion -dollar-project in the face of global concern for nuclear power proliferation is still a major issue.

As laudable as the project is, nuclear energy is one that has beeen greatly misunderstood by many; including enviromentalist,academia and policy makers,who until now argued among other reasons that nuclear energy will increase the risk of nuclear proliferation. This fear led to the passage of the non-proliferation treaty (NTP) which Nigeria like many other countries has ratified.

Besides the certainty that nuclear plants take long time to construct,they cost more and also involve serious investment. There is also the risk of health hazards and enviromental pollution due to fallout from nuclear accident. But if the goal of the nuclear power plant project is to make Nigeria an emerging industrialized nation,the country has no alternative but to endorse nuclear energy.

NIGERIAN POLICE TRAINS FINGERPRINTS EXPERTS

Ravaged with a multiplicity of crimes in the country,particularly unresolved murder cases,the Nigerian Police is beefing up its forensic department with the commencement of the training of fifty-one police officers .

The officers who are drawn from the Federal Capital Territory command and the Force Headquarters are to be trained as scene of crime officers at the Automated Fingerprints Information Systems (AFIS) Centre in Abuja.

The Forensic science training which is billed to last for five days,is aimed at training" The Trainers "of future scene of crime officers which will be drawn from all Police formations in the country .

Speaking at the opening of the training programme,the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of training department Kieran Dudari note that the training is part of the cardinal point of the present Administration aimed at professionalising the Force .

According to him,"The training will expose them on how to preserve scenes of crime,and proper handling of exhibits found at such scenes and by that,become scene of crime Experts".

The Police Chief also assures that the appropriate kits to achieve the above objectives will be made available to them on completion of the training,but with a warning against any act that will militate or hamper the success of the programme.