Nigerians to be in space in 25 years: president

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, plans to send its citizens into space in the next 25 years, President Olusegun Obasanjo was quoted as saying Friday.

Obasanjo reportedly said that the feat was achievable if the momentum of current development drive was sustained.

"In 15 to 25 years, we will put Nigeria into space. We will get there. It is not as unattainable as it looks," he was quoted by local newspapers as saying.

"And we are not going to be found wanting. We must not be found wanting. We are making efforts not to lag behind. We are not where we would want to be," he said.

But it still seems to be an impossible task as Nigeria lacks almost everything so far, especially space technology and experts.

Its first satellite was built by a British firm and launched into space two years ago from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.

Some Nigerians also argued that the ambitious space program is only a waste of money in a country where three-quarters of its 130- million-strong population live in abject poverty on less than one dollar per day, although the country earns billions of dollars yearly from oil.

Source: Xinhua