By Perpetua Onuegbu
Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has urged engineering practitioners to make concerted effort towards innovation for manufacturing and industrialization to accelerate the development of the economy.
Fashola made the call on Thursday, in Abuja at the inauguration of Dr Olufunmilade Akingbabohun as the 15th National Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers (NIMechE).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Fashola, who was represented by the Minister of State, Works and Housing, Muazu Sambo, also urged engineers to also work towards achieving the goal of ‘`Made in Nigeria” products.
Fashola said, “this will help in no small way to increase our self-dependence and self-reliance regarding making what we need.
“It would be a critical building block in our journey towards achieving the goal of “Made in Nigeria,”
While commending Mechanical Engineering, which he said was one of the oldest and broadest aspect of the engineering branches; Fashola said that, the subsector, no doubt, had what it takes to move the nation to its desired height.
”Apart from many other capacities that mechanical engineers possess, I would like to reiterate their capacity to “use tools to design and analyse manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery…” to mention a few.
”Therefore, everywhere you see a tool, from machines to computers, to vehicles and aircraft, Bulldozers, cranes, caterpillars and so on, please salute the Mechanical Engineer.
”’Without their input, along with those of other engineering and science disciplines, the human civilization will perhaps be in some era like the Stone,” he said.
He said that the inauguration of Akingbagbohun must therefore; represent the beginning of a new dawn for the practice of Mechanical Engineering in the country..
“Not only do we have infrastructure to deliver for which we need machines, we have a large and growing population that needs to be fed and nourished on a large scale.
“Therefore, I can only say that this is a challenging time to lead, and a fantastically opportune time to forge an unforgettable legacy,” he said.
The minister, while stressing that there was great connects between Mechanical Engineering and government’s effort at nation building, said that the present administration placed great importance on infrastructural development.
“Our road to prosperity and comfort is already being built through the policies of the Buhari administration.
“Especially through an unprecedented investment in infrastructure, ranging from digital communication capacity, expansion to rail, roads, bridges and airports to mention a few.
“If we do not have choices in the quantity and quality of infrastructure available to pursue our legitimate aspirations, we will have an unwelcome and unhappy relationship with poverty,” he said.
According to him, if it takes three hours to travel 100 km and another jurisdiction can do it in one hour, that jurisdiction will be more efficient, more productive and inevitably more prosperous than Others.
“If other nations have the choice of travel and transport by road, rail, sea and air, and we are limited to one or two modes, it would be difficult to out compete, out produce and over prosper that nation.
“That is why I take the view that the provision of options and choices of infrastructure is vital to our national prosperity,” he said.
He said that he was privileged to head the Ministry of Works and Housing, which is one of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies responsible for implementing President Buhari’s infrastructure programmes.
“Currently, we are managing over 1000 contracts of roads and bridges construction and rehabilitation covering over 13,000 km.
“As I observed earlier, this is an unprecedented undertaking in our national history and it is being taken on at a time where there was recession and dwindling national income.
“Thankfully and happily, the fruits are becoming evident, travel time is getting shorter along several transport routes, projects are being completed as we enter what I call a season of completion and commissioning,” he said.
He said that apart from the challenge of funding, community issues, COVID-19 and others, the job would have been made more difficult and onerous without the role of mechanical engineers.
“When we reflect on the fact that our contractors use earth-moving machines to clear right of way, blast rocks, crush stones, operate batching plants, deploy thousands of trucks to transport building materials and utilize cranes and other mechanical processes to compact, excavate, weld, launch bridge beams and do so many things, the importance of the mechanical engineer becomes more apparent.
“Of course, while other engineers such as the civil, structural, electrical and those of other specialties have their equally important and complementary roles to play, it is a life without machines that I ask you to think about,” he said.
Akingbagbohun in her inaugural address said that Mechanical Engineering was one of the most diversified of the traditional engineering technologies have given rise to new subgroups within the discipline.
She said that NIMechE was established to help members stay up to date in their chosen field of speculation, serve as a channel to assist members grow whether they are employees, employers, practicing engineers or researcher.
According to her, at the national level, Mechanical Engineers play critical roles in industrialization, production and economic development as a whole.
The chairman said that the institution would develop robust relationships with relevant agencies and the private sector.
“We shall dutifully make visible contributions to create solutions to address certain development challenges in rural and urban areas,” she said
She said that her leadership would run an open door policy and welcome more contributions and feedback. We shall serve and make institution a pride of every Mechanical Engineer.
The Guest Speaker, Mr George Okoyo, said that engineering had a pronounced impact in our world, from designing our roads to developing our smart phones to changing the way we collect and store energy.
“Society relied upon engineers to structure the way we live.
“What a lot of the fun fair surrounding engineering has to do with the small luxury that we enjoy, many engineers are actively working to make the world a safer, better and more compatible place to live in.
“If you want to make a difference; choosing an engineer to lead is a good first step, engineers are building ethic air planes that cut emission, they’re literally pulling water from the sides to reduce the burden on local supplies,” he said.
According to him, with engineering principles in mind city planners and architect are looking towards the advent of smart cities where wastes and pollution will be reduced to the benefit of all.
“Engineers aren’t mere passengers to the future, they’re acting pilots towards it, they use the knowledge that have within a specific industry to make things work and solve problems.
“As a problem solver and solution seeker, they’re constantly looking for new and better ways to do things.
“The thing is to always improve and advance leaving us into a more safe and committed future. The potentials of mechanical engineering in the new world is limitless,” he said.(NAN)
