Deep Thought

 International Space Station: Beehive of Human’s Activities in Space II By Prof. MK Othman The establishment of International Space Station (ISS) took 12 years with major support from the five nations in addition eleven other nations who made different level of contributions. US President Reagan was the brain behind ISS who then conceived the idea of a relatively permanent space station in 1984 and directed NASA to build it. At that time, many thought of the idea as braggadocio of American leadership after its outstanding success of sending people to moon under the Apollo 11 project fifteen years earlier.  The International Space Station became a reality and from November 2000 to date, the station has been continuously populated with scientists of different nationalities experimenting different theories and hypothesis.   The station is serviced by a variety of visiting spacecraft: the Russian Soyuz and Progress, the US Dragon and Cygnus, the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle...

 International Space Station: Beehive of Human’s Activities in Space At the risk of boring my readers, I am today writing on space technology, one of the most amazing wonders of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Satellite, a man-made structure hanging in space between 150 and 35,000 kilometers above the earth surface rotating around the earth while receiving and sending signals with astonishing outcomes. These outcomes are so impactful to humanity positively thereby making lives comfortable and enjoyable. Imagine life today without GSM and Internet services. The space technology is attempting to unravel the wonders of nature, the omnipotent perfect creation of the universe and the mysteries surrounding the space and its contents. International Space Station (ISS) is the busiest and long-lasting, man-made satellite hanging in space. It is the largest man-made structure ever put into space since 1998. ISS was so large that it could not be launched in its entirety a...

 Re: Nigeria’s Perennial Flood: Happening of Preventable Disaster II By Prof MK Othman I am still on the burning issue of the flood, a seemingly preventable disaster but the lackadaisical attitude of our leaders makes it happen with calamitous consequences. This is happening because the nation hardly demands accountability and transparency of the leaders’ affairs. Certainly, the day of reckoning will come here or in the hereafter, and we shall all be made to account for our deeds.  As promised last week, some additional reactions on the topic from the esteemed readers of this column would be published. Today, some of the reactions are presented to give other perspectives on the issue.   In addition to the reactions, a Lagos-based satellite television station, KAFTAN TV requested an interview on the flooding issue. One of the questions was how to prevent floods from happening here in Nigeria. The highlights of my answer on flood prevention are done using the following...

 Re: Nigeria’s Perennial Flood: Happening of Preventable Disaster By Prof MK Othman As expected, this article on perennial flood attracted reactions from many readers of this column, my Facebook and Tweeter handles. Many were unhappy, if not furious of why our nation has been given lip service to a preventable but calamitous incident occurring annually. The nation is endowed with experts, technocrats, and wherewithal to prevent or mitigate the effects of this type of disaster. If Netherland, a small European nation was able to reclaim part of the ocean by pushing the water back into ocean, and still avoided serious flood incidences, why not Nigeria? In fact, the French people call Netherland “pay-bas” meaning a country below sea-level. So, Nigeria’s case of having several rivers crisscrossing it can be turn to blessing rather than a curse, if only the leaders put on a thinking and innovative cap devoid of selfishness, nepotism and aggrandizement. Today, I am presenting a reaction o...

Nigeria’s Perennial Flood: Happening of Preventable Disaster II By Prof MK Othman   This is a corollary to my two articles published in this column on 16th October 2020 and 23rd June 2021, which can be accessed via www.deepthoughtwithmkothman.blogspot.com and it is the concluding part of last week's piece. As mentioned earlier, an Inter-ministerial Committee was set up for the Development of a National/Multi-Sectorial Flood Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan. Despite the committee’s effort to address the flood tragedy, the nation lost 70 people in the 2021 flooding with over 200,000 people displaced. This year, 2022, the flood incidences occurred with catastrophic severity. Already, over 600 people were reported killed by the flood with millions of people displaced in addition to losses of properties and farmland across the nation. Perhaps, this calamity gingered the Federal Government to speedily act on the committee’s assignment. Last month, the Permanent Secretary of the M...

  Nigeria’s Perennial Flood: Happening of Preventable Disaster By Prof MK Othman In our lackadaisical manner as a developing nation, we ignore almost every imminent disaster until it happens, then our leaders begin to shed crocodile tears and before you pronounce “Jack”, an investigation panel would have been put in place, if the disaster is big enough. In most cases, the hidden aim of the panel is to avoid asking embarrassing questions about the preventable incidence. By the time, the panel report is submitted, if ever done, the euphoria of the incident would have gone, the victims of the disaster; the dead were buried, and the injured and properties losers would have accepted their fate as part of their destiny, and the nation will move on waiting for another circle of disaster to occur. These disasters range from plane crashes, road mishaps, and fire incidents to banditry activities. Sometimes, the bandits/insurgents are bold enough to announce their visit to communities, but li...

 #EndASUUStrike: Victory of the Hawks, Nation Riding on a Back of Tiger By Prof. MK Othman When I joined the academic turf over two decades ago, I was accosted by a hawk on a recruitment mission, a kind of membership drive. The first lesson of hawkish agenda in a game is “win by any means, hook or crook” as the end justifies the means. The game must be manipulated to bring out the desired result, which is more or less a selfish end before the game even commences. Hawks fight to always win and hardly believe in “gives and takes”. Peaceful or diplomatic ways of winning a game are alien to them. “Leave the ball and tackle the leg of your opponent to secure advantage.” Hawks are driven by selfishness, survival instinct, and egoism, which becloud their sense of reasoning and sometimes lead to their failure. The 18-day proportionate salary paid to ASUU members is a clear indication that the hawks are opposed to a peaceful resolution of the ASUU-FGN imbroglio. They have thrown a spanner i...