Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Apapa Branch, Ombugadu Garba (left); Vice Chairman, Sunny Ejeje and Financial Secretary, Christian Ufot; during a courtesy visit to the Rutam House headquarters of The Guardian in Lagos… PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN
To enhance innovation and job creation in the engineering practice, members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) have called for strengthening of engineering educational enterprise by forging more effective interdisciplinary alliances with the natural social sciences and the arts.
This was the submission of practitioners at the 2017 yearly dinner of Apapa branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and induction of new members, held at Airport Hotel, Ikeja.At the event, which had the topic as “Engineering Practice in the Fourth Dimension: Leadership or Followership”, seasoned engineers called for increased public awareness and support for the engineering enterprise.
They also urged the leadership of the Nigeria Society of Engineers and Engineers (NSE) and Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) to take the lead in ensuring that engineers are not shortchanged in the scheme of things.
Leading the call, the guest speaker and the managing director of Highland Energy Solution Services Limited, Akinpelu Shogunle, said there is need to develop public and policy awareness and understanding of engineering as well as affirming its role as the driver of innovation, social and economic development.
Shogunle, who, called for a greater and more vigorous advocacy for developing information on engineering, highlighting the urgent need for better statistics and indicators on engineering.
This, he said, should highlight how many and what types of registered, accredited and unregistered engineers are practicing in the country.He noted that since engineering as a human endeavour is also facing numerous additional challenges of its own, including attracting and retaining broader cross –sections of the youth, there is also need to transform engineering education, curricula and teaching methods to emphasis relevance and problem solving approach to engineering.
According to him, strengthening the educational enterprise; forging more effective interdisciplinary alliances with the natural and social sciences and the arts; enhancing focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation as well as promoting increased public awareness and support for the engineering enterprise will be the way to go.Also the guest of honour, Collins Abayomi lamented the huge loss of opportunities due to the conservative nature of Nigeria engineers and called for a change.
Abayomi, who expressed dismay that engineers have continued to be inertia to happenings around them, without considering avalanche of opportunities embedded in the budget urged them to be participants in decision-making process of the country.
According to him, engineers should not lose sight in monitoring and situating local contents in projects that are embedded in the budget.The leadership of the Nigeria Society of Engineers and Engineers (NSE) and The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), he said, should to take the responsibility to ensure that engineers are not shortchanged in the scheme of things.
“The NSE as the engineering house and COREN as the regulatory body should work together to position the engineering profession to greater height, while engineers must be more participatory and shove off the conservative toga.“There are 95 per cent of engineering in every budget, engineers should harness these opportunities.”
The regulatory body must show engineers’ presence. There is a lot of infrastructure on the ground. We are not taking opportunity of these infrastructure and available funds to train young engineers in Nigeria for their development”, he added.
At the event, 16 people were inducted as members at a ceremony performed the chairman of Apapa branch of NSE, Dr Ombugadu Garba, who urged them to be good ambassadors off the body.
