Over the past few decades, Nigerians have become known for their growing impact in the world. From Nigerians such as Jude Nkama, who became the first African appointed as a judge in New Jersey, to Jelani Aliyu who designed the Chevrolet Volt, and Silas Adekunle the 26-year old Nigerian robotics engineer who is currently the highest paid engineer in his field.

There is one name that stands out, and that name is Dr. Osatohanmwen Osemwengie, an engineer who builds drones for the world’s most powerful army, the United States. The Nigeria born engineer was born and raised in Edo, and left Nigeria in the early 1980’s after many years of learning about engineering. Dr. Osemwengie is now a key member of the American armed forces. He designs and builds drones to be used by the US army for surveillance as well as taking out terrorists.

Dr. Osemwengie, who has three doctorate degrees and seven masters degrees, previously served as an administrator at Benin’s College of Education, where he was awarded the Educator of the Year for helping secure funding for the school. The engineer made a name for himself at the world robotics championship in 2008, after having been a software engineer to various robotics teams as well as coaching robotics. He also works with NASA and has had a couple of his drones sent on missions to different planets, including Jupiter and Mars.

Osemwengie is the owner and CEO of a drone company called Ubiquity Interface Inc. He works with a team comprising of foreign engineers as well as his brother, Ken, who served in the US Army. Nigeria recently joined other nations like the US, the UK, Israel, Iraq, and more who have begun using drones in modern warfare.

Other African countries are using drones to solve various challenges, particularly in agriculture and health. In 2016, Rwanda launched the first ever commercial drone delivery service to deliver medical supplies to various remote villages in the country. In Malawi, drones are used to deliver HIV test kits in various areas while in other countries like Kenya, Namibia and South Africa, drones are used to track illegal activities such as poaching and more.