My Engineers Blog

Scientists have discovered something truly remarkable above the Earth’s atmosphere. An invisible shield is located approximately 7,200 miles above Earth that scientists are likening to “force fields on Star Trek.” According to Front Line Desk, the shield was discovered in the Van Allen radiation belts, two doughnut-shaped rings above Earth that are filled with high-energy electrons and protons. Held in place by Earth’s magnetic field, the Van Allen radiation belts swell and shrink in response to incoming energy disturbances from the sun. The Van Allen radiation belts were first discovered back in 1958. However, scientists only discovered two belts, an inner and outer belt extending up to 25,000 miles above Earth’s surface. However, last year, Professor Daniel Baker from the University of Colorado Boulder and his team used the twin Van Allen Probes launched in 2012 to discover a third, transient ‘storage ring.’ According to their research, the third belt is located between the p

The 166th Meeting of the Conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was held in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday, 27th November 2014 under the Chairmanship of its President, HE Abdourhman Ataher Al-Ahirish, Libyan Vice Prime Minister for Corporations and Head of its Delegation. The Conference congratulated HE Adil Abd Al Mahdi on his appointment as Minister of Oil of Iraq, and thanked his predecessor in office, HE Abdul-Kareem Luaibi Bahedh, for his contribution to the work of the Organization. The Conference elected HE Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke CON, Minister of Petroleum Resources of Nigeria and Head of its Delegation, as President of the Conference for one year, with effect from 1st January 2015, and HE Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar and Head of its Delegation, as Alternate President, for the same period. The Conference reviewed the Secretary General's report, the report of the Economic Commission Bo

Citics Logo China Railway Construction Corp (601186.SS) (1186.HK) has signed a deal worth nearly $12 billion with Nigeria to build a railway along the West African nation's coast, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said on Thursday. The announcement comes shortly after Mexico abruptly scrapped a $3.75 billion high-speed rail contract with a consortium led by the Chinese firm over transparency concerns. China is pushing to win railway construction projects around the world as part of plans to export its high-speed technology and lift its manufacturing sector up the value chain. Beijing is also pumping money into the sector, with more than $100 billion worth of infrastructure projects approved in late October and early November in a bid to bolster slowing growth in the world's second largest economy. "It is a mutually beneficial project," CRCC Chairman Meng Fengchao told Xinhua. He added the railway project will lead to equipment exports from China worth $4 bi

PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE USE ABUJA: SUNDAY, 9 NOVEMBER, 2014. Our attention has been drawn to some media reports concerning the statutory functions of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) which gave erroneous impressions on some recent judicial pronouncements. Conscious of the negative implications that such insinuations could have on unsuspecting members of the public and in view of the need to clear the air on the matter, we wish to point out that while there were cases decided against the FRSC in the recent past, there were equally others that were in favour of the Commission, as delivered both at the High Courts and the Court of Appeal. It is pertinent to further state that in the hierarchy of courts and based on the principle of decided cases, the decisions of Appellate Courts are superior to those of Lower Courts. Accordingly, we wish to state that the recent Court of Appeal judgment in favour of FRSC in the case of FRSC vs. Emmanuel Ofoegbu supersedes tha

The Nigerian Content Act:Issues and Workers Concerns-By Comrade Hyginus Chika Onuegbu (delivered in 2012) PROTOCOLS! 1.     Introduction The clamour for Nigerians to take centre stage in the oil and gas business is not new[1]. In fact as early as 1970s, Nigerians have started seeking for the Nigerianisation of the strategic oil and gas industry[2]. This should not be a surprise considering that the sector contributes some 90% of Nigeria’s gross earnings[3] and over 40% of Nigeria’s GDP[4] while only 5% of all goods and services used in the industry are in-country spend[5].However, it was not until April, 2010 that a law to enforce the Nigerian Content -the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010 (the “Nigerian Content Act”), received presidential assent. Until then, only all efforts at increasing local content  also known as Nigerian Content were mere policy directives  which lacked legal backing and hence not taking seriously by the operators in the oil an

Immediate past president of Federation of Africa Engineering Organisation (FAEO) @ WECSI 2014; who handed the batton of leadership to our own Engr. Mustafa Balarabe Shehu, FNSE. In his words.......... "Africa has huge economic potential, but it needs the necessary infrastructure to develop and sustain this potential. Infrastructure development should not only be inward looking, but should be done on a regional basis, and eventually on a continental basis. In unity is strength, and it is engineering practitioners who must make sure that we develop an integrated road network, rail network, power network and telecommunications network. One requirement for such integrated networks is that there are compatible standards and design codes. This will not be easy to achieve. The countries in Africa have a legacy from many different countries in Europe, and it will be a challenging task to align the codes and standards with each other.  For this purpose we need wise en

Auditors of NSE  Vice Presidents National Executive Members At a keenly contested ELECTRONIC (E-VOTING) Election of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) which was held yesterday THURSDAY 6TH NOVEMBER, 2014 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, during the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM), THE FOLLOWING UNDERLISTED MEMBERS WERE DULY ELECTED AND WILL RUN THE AFFAIRS OF THE SOCIETY WITH THE PRESIDENT, ENGR OLORUNFEMI ADEMOLA ISAAC FNSE AND DEPUTY PRESIDENT, ENGR OTIS ANYAEJI FNSE AS THE 2015 NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS (NSE). VICE PRESIDENTS 1. ENGR (CHIEF) MASSARI GIANDOMENICO FNSE 2. ENGR MRS OGUNTALA MARGARET AINA (ERELU) FNSE 3. ENGR MOHAMMED BABAGANA FNSE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 1. ENGR UMAR AISHATU FNSE 2. ENGR AKINTEYE JOSEPH OLATUNDE FNSE 3. ENGR DR MRS ISHIDI YOHANNA EDITH FNSE 4. MRS EZIOKWU NKEMNASOM SILAS EZIMMADU MNSE 5. ENGR DANIA DENNIS ABU FNSE 6. ENGR ISOLA ABBASS MUHAMMED MNSE STATUTORY AUD

The much waited 2014 World Engineering Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure (WECSI 2014) commenced today November 2nd, 2014 with the Golf Competition at the IBB Golf Course, Maitama, Abuja.   The Tee-Off started in the morning which was followed with the presentation of gifts and prizes to the Winners (Engineers & Non-Engineers) at 8pm at the same venue. Congratulations to the President of NSE, Engr Ademola Olorunfemi FNSE & his team for the good beginning. We pray to have  it good all through. Engr. Adeniran Ibitoye

…As JCI visits, decorates Governor as Life Patron for sterling leadership Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola , SAN on Monday called on citizens to always maintain a clean environment as a way to prevent the scourge of malaria in thesociety. The Governor who received members of the Junior Chambers International who paid him a Courtesy visit as part of events to usher in their 30th anniversary, noted that a clean environment would prevent mosquitoes from breeding and in effect stop the spread of malaria fever. He explained that since mosquitoes thrive well in stagnant water, the easiest way to prevent malaria is to get rid of such stagnant water by always maintaining the drains and clearing gutters to allow water to run freely in them. Fashola called for a rethink of the strategy of distributing mosquito nets, stressing that rather than the nation buying more mosquito nets or producing more anti malaria drugs, thought should be given to and action b

China has developed a highly accurate laser weapon system that can shoot down light drones at low altitude, state media reported. The machine has a two-kilometre range and can bring down "various small aircraft" within five seconds of locating its target, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a statement by the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP), one of the developers. Xinhua showed pictures of large metal boxes in camouflage paint and the wreckage of a small drone, some of it burning. It is expected to "play a key role in ensuring security during major events in urban areas" and address concerns on unlicensed mapping activities, according to Xinhua. Credit:  France24

The Chairman, Osogbo branch, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Mr. Adeniran Ibitoye, has commended Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, for his administration’s efforts on urban renewal and the creation of the Oranmiyan New Town. He made the commendation in an interview with our correspondent in Osogbo during the inaugural meeting of the new executive council. The chairman, who said that the society was able to mobilise more members to attend the meeting, added that the new leadership of the NSE had secured and furnished office accommodation for members of the council. Ibitoye said, “Osogbo is now more populated with the influx of people since the inception of the present administration, hence the need for expansion and more decent accommodation to create a healthy environmental, which will help the citizens to have a better living. “Because of the present government’s focus on giving more dividends of democracy to the people of the state, there is a need to yield to the pressure

At a ceremony in London, Dr Shiiwua Manu was awarded the Marsh Award for International Ornithology for his exceptional work in advancing the knowledge of birds in Nigeria. Dr Manu is head of the A P Leventis Ornithological Research Institute (APLORI), the Biological Conservatory of the University of Jos, Nigeria. Under Dr Manu’s guidance up to eight West African students per year enrol in a MSc programme in Conservation Biology, with the aim of building much needed biodiversity conservation capacity in this part of Africa. The programme has been running for 12 years and has been hugely successful, with many alumni now working in renowned international conservation agencies operating in Africa. APLORI also hosts many researchers from Nigeria, other African countries, and around the world. These researchers work on a broad range of topics, from the ecology of the birds of the Jos Plateau, to broader questions about bird migration and wintering ecology of long-distance intra-