The Federal Government is making provisions to forestall a repeat of the earth tremor that occured in Abuja last year.
To this end, the government has made provisions in the 2017 budget to acquire some basic earth tremor monitoring equipment that gives definite calculations of the magnitude of quakes.
The equipment will give experts emperical data to properly educate Nigerians on where such tremors might occur in the future.
Director General, Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) and President Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS), Alex Nwegbu, explained that the tremor that occured in Kaduna was not the first to have occured in the country.
He stated that the interpretation of an airbone geological survey conducted by the government a few years back indicated weaknesses in the earth surface due to tectonic movements that have given rise to fractures in the earth surface.
His said: “There are places that are prone to earthquakes.
“If you understand the theory of plate tetonics, you will understand that there are parts of the world prone to earthquakes.
“The whole earth is made up of different plates, joined together, moving against each other.
“What happened in Kaduna was not the first that had happened.
“It was a minor earth tremor, which we are still investigating to know the cause.
“We have had some about 15 to 20 years ago in the South West and, of course, there is a big fracture system that goes through the South West, which we are suspecting could be the cause of the earth tremors in the region.
“What generated the tremor in Kaduna may not neccessarily have its origin in Kaduna.
“The source of the stress maybe removed from Kaduna; it might have been a tele transmission.
“In our 2017 budget, we have made provisions to acquire some basic earth tremor monitoring equipment.
“Eventhough technically we are in a stable environment where we have not really experineced massive, destructive earthquakes, we should not just go to sleep.
“We should be alert to the fact that since we have had this in the past in Kaduna, tbe South West and historically some other areas, we should, to some extent, be on the alert by having instrumentations that will monitor ground movements in various parts of the country.
“The airborne survey we did, in the interpretation, you will see areas of weaknesses we call fractures, because there have been some tectonic movements that have given rise to fractures, folds, etc, which have created zones of weaknesses.”
Nwegbu also said Nigeria is in for huge mineral discoveries.
“We are still at a rudimentary level of exploration where we must go to 200 metres to 300 metres, not even up to a kilometre, and we are discovering minerals.
“That will show you that by the time we start going deep inside, Nigeria will be in for huge discoveres.
“The air borne survey that was conducted a few years ago was to tell us of the possiblity of certain mineral deposits like diamond in certain areas, particularly areas that are inaccessible.
“Going to the tip of the Mambila Mountain, for instance, at the tip of the mountain, it is difficult for one to climb to the top of the mountain to know exactly what is there. But through the air borne survey that flies across, mineral deposits can be picked from anywhere.
“We have such anomalies or difficult to reach terrains that are very interesting, which we are verifying. Because except you do tbe ground trouting, that means, the airborne has given an indication of how vaiable an area is, you must put boots on ground to verify and get samples, analysis, drilling in order to verify and confirm that what was seen in the air is actually what exists on the ground.
“Comparatively, if you relate what other African countries are doing, if you look at the graph, you will see that Democratic Republic of Congo spends about $300m every year on just exploration.
“Compare it to the budget Nigeria has in terms of exploration and you find that we have not really started.
“To harness the benefit of sustained exploration, Nigeria needs to put at least $200 million every year into the budget on exploration.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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