AIB Commissioner makes case for easy approval for drones to aid development

Nigeria’s Commissioner for Accident Investigation Bureau of Nigeria (AIB-N), Mr Akin Olateru, has made a case for easy approval processes for drones, stating that the world had progressed with drones opening huge opportunities for development of countries.

Speaking at the second edition of Drone Technology Conference and Exhibition (Drone Tecx 2020) held at the NIGAV Centre located at the international axis of the Lagos airport, Olateru said the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was presently too busy to be taking individual drone approval requests.

According to him, once the approval process for drones becomes easier, the technology can be used in areas that aid humanity including agriculture, medicals, traffic management, security and a lot of other areas.

“We need to simplify all the processes of drone approval, it is too cumbersome and the NSA is a busy office and cannot be taking individual requests for drone technology. If we want to move forward, we need to find a way to simplify the process,” he said.

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Speaking of the benefits, Olateru said, “We can monitor traffic at the third Mainland Bridge everyday between 6:30am and 8:30am; we can deploy drones to that area. Are we investing in drones enough to monitor our pipelines? Are drones monitoring our perimeter fencing at our airports?”

The chairman, DroneTecx, Mr Fortune Idu, had earlier during the occasion said the three day conference which was held from May 10 to 12  was aimed at promoting the advancement of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), describing the technology as a game changer with its numerous applications.

According to Idu, “Before the end of this decade, UAV and autonomous vehicle industry will experience exponential growth and the application of drones will be found in virtually every sector.

“This emerging industry is a game changer with huge potential to create jobs in software and hardware engineering while empowering other sectors to deliver speed, efficiency and cost effective services.”