America’s space lunacy and Africa’s poverty

By Bobson Gbinije

Recently, President George .W. Bush made and signed a declaration, saying that hence forth,“America will view with concern the exploration and exploitation of space by countries that are not its allies”. Is this not a brazen display of space imperialism? What gives America the exclusive rights to determine the activities of other nations in space? Who made America the singular sentinel at the gates of space? Is this not space colonization carried too far? Will Russia and China sit idly by? How will the world react and is this America’s coup de grace stroke on the world? Whither Africa?

Today, assorted ranges of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) litter every nook and corners of the world. The innate intuitiveness in man will continue to stimulate an insatiable appetite for adventurism and discoveries. This natural bent for escapades has given birth to cryonics, cloning and space odyssey etc. The desire to unravel the mysteries of the universe initially gave rise to the terrestrial telescope that revealed the planetary structure or planets of the solar system. Astronomers and space technologists have continued to discover new things hitherto thought non-existent. They continue to discover more planets.

The discovery of fossils-recognizable part, trace or imprint of a prehistoric animal or plant in the planet Mars has latently accentuated the drive and search for extra-terrestrial life. The mystery of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) has also done same, with a view to its exploitation for the benefit of mankind. Nearly all the stars in the galaxy are being targeted. With breakthroughs in physics and biophysics, larger space stations, permanent scientific communities on the moon, space tourism manned explorations of all stars are being projected.

With all these breakthroughs nations are now poised on the threshold to planetary colonization through robotics and manned spacecraft. It is the thematic thrust and scientific motive of man in the 21st Century, with America through NASA and Russia through its space science association taking the lead. The launching into space orbit of the Voyager, the Challenger and the Viking by the American space shuttle, the landing on the moon of Russian Cosmonauts and setting up of a permanent lunar base for exploration and scientific research. Japan’s sending of inter-planetary probes to Venus, with virtually all developed nations having satellite in space and China putting an astronaut into orbit around the Earth, points to nothing but a clear-cut desire of nations to consummately explore and colonize space.

The joint development effort by the Old Soviet Union and America led to the building of the Soyuz-Salyut spaceship as predicted by Sir Bernard Hovell and this has evinced the establishment of permanent robot manned and unmanned spaceship in orbit around the earth and other planets. Robots now man the asteroids. Unmanned inter-planetary investigations have gained currency amongst technologically advanced nations like America, France, China, Britain and Russia. If the colonization of space becomes a truism it shall have been a culmination of many years of painstaking scientific research, the success of a desire to elucidate the crevices of the universe and the victory of a drive to extend the frontiers of a mysterious world.

But the hideous propensities of President George W. Bush to politicize accessibility to space exploration and exploitation must be condemned by the global community in no uncertain terms. The intent smacks of space imperialism, which is a grand follow-up to its nuclear apartheid policy of allowing Israel, Pakistan and India to own and test nuclear weapons. It is now very clear that America has commenced a new “COLD WAR”. This, we must resist as America is a war mongering nation that will stop at nothing to maintain its tyrannosaurus hold on space and the whole world. The access to space exploration and exploitation for useful purposes must not be left singularly in the hands of America. African countries cannot continue to sit idly by whilst other nations are acquiring knowledge and experience in an area that is so crucial to the well being of the present and future generations. America’s space imperialism must be checkmated.

It is gratifying to note that Nigeria has ventured into space with its Nigeria Sat-I, the on-going construction of Nigcom Sat-I and Nigeria Sat-II. This is a welcome development, even if we belong to the American Axis, we must fight for the complete democratization of space. Space span and territory should not be dichotomized and politicized along ideological contours. We live in a free world and it must be seen to be so. Though we clamour for a nuclear-free world, African countries cannot continue to be in the Precambrian age in terms of nuclear benefits and space technology development programmes. We must rise to take a stand in the comity of nations. We say no! to America’s space imperialism.

In the midst of America’s space imperialism and the desire to colonize space by other nations we must note that it is a welcome development. But what about the state of horrendous poverty in Asia and Africa? It is clear that over 8,000,000 Africans and Asians die needless deaths out of malaria, HIV-Aids, meningitis, chicken pox, poliomyelitis, cholera and small pox etc. Most countries in Africa and Asia cannot provide food, light, water, houses, medicare,roads, education and employment for their teeming citizenry. We call on the rest of the world to spare a thought for the plight of millions of Africans and Asians straddling in the epicenter of grandiloquent poverty and oxymoronic deprogressivism.

Gbinije is with Bogep Oils Ltd., Warri.