A former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, says for Nigeria to make remarkable progress in infrastructural development, the gap between the Federal Government and professionals in the built environment, especially engineers must be bridged.
He said collaboration between the industry professions and the government was necessary, adding that there would be no development without it.
Obasanjo spoke at the induction of Chief Obafemi Olopade as honorary fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, in Lagos.
He said, “Without meaning to denigrate any other profession, I think it is right to say that without engineers there will be no development. But then, there are areas where there should be collaboration particularly in government and the industry.
“Here in Nigeria, there has always been a gap that we have to bridge if we must make progress. The training of engineers must be right. And then the practice of engineering must be made available in all we have to do.”
He noted that foreign incursion into the profession should be addressed to enable indigenous engineers to grow.
“We allow foreigners to bring their own experts and we trust them; we must also trust ourselves to do what we need to do for ourselves,” he said.
A professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Lagos, Funso Falade, said the challenges confronting humanity required team work for appropriate solutions.
He said, “Engineers, both in academics and practice should work together as a team to innovate with a view to developing innovative solutions to societal problems in sustainable ways.
“It is also important that engineers acquire relevant entrepreneurial skills for our nation to be relevant in the fourth industrial revolution.”
He stated that the presidents and chairmen of engineers’ professional bodies should hold a retreat and come up with a well-articulated blueprint on national issues for submission to the Federal Government.
According to him, the concept whereby each body rushes to the press at a slightest opportunity for a press release as a means of passing message to the government is counterproductive.
He explained that professional bodies needed to close up the gaps between them, brace for the enormous responsibility of providing relevant engineering and allow national interest to supercede personal interest.
“Engineers can only make meaningful contribution to the national development when there is collaboration between individual engineers and the professional bodies,” he added.
The newly inducted honorary fellow, Olopade, said the rate of unemployment in the country had become alarming.
Source: Punchng
