A 28-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, Shehu Saleh Balami has launched a solid-fuel rocket in Kaduna.
Speaking to Daily Trust in Kaduna, Balami said he took interest in rockets when he was a kid.
He said he was able to invent the solid-fuel rocket with support from friends under the aegis of Movement for the Propagation of Science and Technology in Nigeria, adding that he has also started research on how to make a remote controlled aircraft, a project he intends to embark on shortly.
According to him, he produced the two rockets with 100 per cent local content at an approximate cost of N30, 000 each.
He lamented that Nigeria after 50 years of independence still relies on advanced countries for satellite due to lack of conducive atmosphere for indigenous talented inventors to strive. There was a need for the Federal Government to provide an enabling environment for science and technology inventors in the country if it wishes to attain the desired Vision 20:2020, Balami said.
“If the government pays attention to local science and technology inventors and support them financially, I believe very strongly that one day, we will be able to build our own satellite or the engine that will take the satellite into space,” he said.
Source: Daily Trust
