Following the Lagos State Government’s deployment of a Cessna 406 aircraft with registration mark ZS-SSY from South Africa for aerial mapping of the state, an aviation investor and owner of Santos Aviation, Mr. Segun Adesanya has questioned the rationale behind going to South Africa to source Aerial Pilot skill when a Private Pilot Licence( PPL) holder can fly an aircraft retrofitted with the device for mapping.
He made this known in a reaction to the celebrated aerial mapping even as he said the state government could have equally mapped Lagos directly with the google map for free.
Note that the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) owns a King 350i aircraft which it uses for navigational aids calibration, that if retrofitted with a camera, can carry out a similar function.
Adesanya, who said mapping was good, equally questioned some of the deputy governor’s assertions from the flight altitude to changing the aircraft to a larger one.
He said, ” Lagos State aerial mapping is a good development for the state accountability in all aspects of the state but we can achieve this project directly from Google Map – free.
In any case, that’s fine assuming that the Lagos State government wanted to have their own copy.
“This is where the problem lies: Why do we have to travel to South Africa to source Aerial Pilot skill.
Aerial flying could be achieved by a Private Pilot Licence holder with the knowledge of aerial mapping skill because all you need to fly is Virtual Flight Rules (VFR).
“Dr. Obafemi Hamzat claimed that the aircraft Cessna 406 has the capability of flying 4500 ft below the sea level, if I may ask Dr. Hamzat:
Where do you expect the Cessna 406 to fly? because this is a non- pressurised aircraft looking at the picture.
“Finally, Dr. Hamzat claimed that the government migrated to bigger aircraft for more effectiveness and enhanced performance. I would like to disagree with Dr. Hamzat by saying that the capability system of the installed camera will enhance the captured images and not the size of the aircraft.
“Anyway, we need to encourage the citizens first into the government activities before we start sourcing foreign skills. He surmised
The Lagos State Government Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat who spoke on the project said it is part of the state’s major component of the Enterprise Geographic Information System (EGIS) upgrade, which is aimed at providing a digital mapping platform.
He further said that the mapping would enable the government to plan adequately for the residents of the state and help in knowing the actual buildings and infrastructure in the state, while also helping to update its database.
The mapping exercise would be carried out daily for at least four and half hours for about six weeks, depending on the weather, while it would also fly at 4,500ft below the sea level.
