As Nigeria‘s Professor Of Space Science, Ojigi Gets UN Top Job

Professor Lazarus Mustapha Ojigi has been appointed the Executive Director of African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology (AFRIGIST), [Under the Auspices of UN-Economic Commission for Africa- UNECA], OAU Campus.

AFRIGIST which was established by UNECA in 1972, then as Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS) and renamed in 2016/2017 as AFRIGIST is a bilingual (English & French) Training and Research Institute in Earth/Aerospace Information Science & Technology for the African Region (West and Central). Nigeria is a member state, amongst ~10 others.  The institute is rooted in the training of specialised postgraduate professionals, academic and technical targeted at personnel (civil and military) of member states in areas of space, land and marine domains.

Professor Lazarus Mathias Ojigi comes highly prepared for the top job -having distinguished himself in the field of science. Available records present the kogi-born Professor of Geomatics (Surveying & Geoinformatics) as having stints in the Department of Geomatics, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, Director of Mission Planning and Satellite Data Management, at the National Space Research and Development Agency, Abuja, Nigeria.

Lazarus does research in Geodesy and Surveying. His specialization areas include Space Geodesy, Satellite Remote Sensing, Geospatial Data Science/Computing and Engineering Surveying. He is gifted with the expertise of mapping, spatial analysis, geospatial science, satellite image analysis, geographical analysis, digital mapping, spatial statistics and land use planning.

Today, digital transformation is widespread in everyone’s lives. The benefits brought on by advanced technologies also span several industries.  In the business sector, sales tracking and other solutions are streamlining business processes. Meanwhile, the medical industry is also enjoying the benefits brought by digital solutions.

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Geospatial technology enables us to acquire data that is referenced to the earth and use it for analysis, modeling, simulations, and visualization. Geospatial technology allows us to make informed decisions based on the importance and priority of resources most of which are limited in nature.

It is with just this kind of optimism for the role of geography in mind that I have high hopes that Professor Ojigi will use the institute to provide the platforms needed for use of GIS, Remote Sensing, and related geospatial tools, applications, and analyses that can be applied by this discipline‘s collective group of researchers, methodologists, and practitioners in a way that will, indeed, make a difference.

Africa sits well postured to tap from the benefits that geospatial science provides especially as it relates to understanding the relationship between scientific activities and the implementation of solid policies — for good governance, effective management, public policy formulation, and a more humane treatment of our societies.

With the rest of the world adopting model remote sensing and GIS technology for various development projects, Africa today recognizes that empowering its citizens and modernizing governance is imperative for future nation-building. With a population of more than 1.6 billion, at about 30.3 million km 2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth‘s total surface area and 20% of its land area. Africa is composed of more than 1,000,000 villages and 10,000 cities which means that it features varied geography with a rapidly evolving complex social and economic character. Dealing with ways and methods to comprehend social and economic challenges, Africa as mostly a democracy, aims to bring a good quality of life to all its citizens by aiming to breach the chasm of disparity in economic and social character.

What is expected of Professor Lazarus Mustapha Ojigi is to ensure Africa is positioned to compete on the same wavelength with the rest of the world to ensure that geospatial technologies can play a pivotal role in creating a successful e-governance ecosystem in Africa. By providing a new paradigm for decision-making which will come from the enabling of geographical visualization representation of information, that will help all the stakeholders in making much more informed decisions. This, in turn, will lead to the strengthening of governance, its transparency, as well as a marked improvement in the delivery of citizen services.