COMMUNIQUE
ISSUED AT THE END OF 24TH COREN ENGINEERING ASSEMBLY HELD AT THE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, ABUJA FROM 10TH – 12TH
AUGUST 2015
THEME: OVERCOMING THE CHALLEGES OF NIGERIAN
MONOLITHIC ECONOMY: THE ROLE OF ENGINEERING PROFESSION
PREAMBLE
The 24th Engineering Assembly organized
by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) was held at
the International Conference Centre, Abuja between 10th and 12th
August 2015. The Special Guest of Honour invited for the Opening Ceremony was,
His Excellency, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Chief Host, the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Dauda
Shuaibu Kigbu, mni was represented by Engr. U.G. Jibrin, FNSE. While the Host, Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital
Territory Administration, Engr. John O.
Chukwu, FNSE was represented by Engr.
Bala Danshehu, FNSE.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Ogbeni Engr. Rauf Aregbesola, FNSE, the
Governor of Osun State. The Lead Paper, titled “Overcoming the Challenges of
Corruption in the Nigerian Monolithic Economy: the Role of the Engineering
Profession.” was presented by Chukwu
Nwaze, a Chartered Accountant and a Public Policy analyst.
Goodwill messages were delivered by:
i.
The Permanent Secretary,Federal Ministry of Works, represented by Engr. Bala Danshehu, FNSE.
ii.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration, represented by Engr. U.G. Jibrin, FNSE.
iii.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, represented by Engr. Ali Wudil, FNSE.
iv.
Dame Julie Nwariaku, a representative of Independent Corrupt Practices
Commission (ICPC).
v.
Regional Director and Representative of Regional Office, UNESCO, Abuja, Mr Benoit Sossou.
vi.
Academician Dato Ir. Lee Yee Cheong, Chairman Governing Board, UNESCO International
Science, Technology & Innovation Centre (ISTIC) for South-South
Cooperation, Malaysia.
vii.
Representative of the Kano State Governor, Hon. Shehu Haruna Lambu.
viii.
Representative of the Niger State Governor, Engr. Abubakar Y. Salisu.
ix.
Representative of the Kwara State Governor, TPL Alabi Amuda.
x.
Deputy Governor of Yobe State, H.E. Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu FNSE.
The Sub-Theme papers presented were:
“Getting it Right: “the Role of the Engineering
Community in Diversifying the Nigerian Economy” by Dr.Jummai Umar-Ajijola.
·
“The Role of
Agriculture: The Bank of National Security” by Senator (Dr.) Abdullahi Adamu, CON.
·
“The Steel
Industry in Nigeria: the Journey so
Far”, by Engr. Isa Joseph Onobere.
·
“Oil and Gas Exploitation and Refining: Challenges and Prospects to the Nigerian
Economy” by Profs Ogbonna F. Joel and Joseph A. Ajienka.
·
“Agribusiness and Sustainable Economic Development
in Nigeria by Temitope A. Daramola.
·
“Industrialization as a Catalytic Engine of
Growth to transform Nigeria into a Modular Economy” by Engr. Prof. Adagboyin Moses Obiazi, and
·
“The State of Nigeria Federal Roads and
the Urgent Need for a Proactive Asset Management Strategy” by Prof. Donath Mrawira.
The dinner talk titled “Change:
Technical Education and the Provision of Sustainable Infrastructure in Nigeria”
was presented by Prof. Abubakar Mustapha
mni, OFR. A former Vice Chancellor, University of Maiduguri, Borno State.
The 24th Engineering Assembly was well
organised and held successfully. Complimentary gifts were presented to the
distinguished guests and the technical paper presenters. There were also
plenary technical sessions and syndicate meetings of Professional Associations
and other Stakeholders, otherwise called the Engineering Family Forum. The Assembly was attended by about four thousand participants
including engineers, technologists, technicians, craftsmen and other
stakeholders from all walks of life. The annual Engineering Assembly continues
to be the biggest gathering of engineering professionals aimed at evaluating
and discussing issues of interest to members of the engineering family and the
nation at large.
OBSERVATIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS:
At the end of the 24th Engineering
Assembly the following observations/recommendations were made:
1.
The major challenge facing the engineering
profession is how to initiate and sustain engineering projects in the midst of
corruption and scarce resources. To achieve this, the engineering profession
needs to focus primarily on ethics, effectiveness and innovation to ensure
infrastructural development. It also needs to be more visible, give timely cost
saving advice to policy makers and respond promptly to environmental challenges
that have bearing on the profession and the society at large.
2.
The profession should continue to support
anti-corruption crusade on engineering projects and pursue collaborative effort
on fighting corruption with other agencies such as ICPC.
3
In order for the engineering profession to play an
active role in the diversification of
the Nigerian economy, there is need to address the following:
i)
Training of enough engineering personnel that are
relevant, globally competitive and are able to face the challenges of the 21st
century. This will require carefully designed interventions that combine the
potentials of the Triple Helix of government, academia and industry.
ii)
COREN/NSE should synergise with NASENI and other
relevant organizations that are saddled with reverse engineering to enable
Nigeria to quickly close gaps in design and production as done by Asian Tigers.
iii) Government should give priority to vocational and
technical education necessary to provide skills required for economic
diversification.
4. COREN/NSE should synergise with relevant
Agencies to enhance Research and Development (R&D) with tripod approach
where efforts are coordinated in a competitive environment involving Academia, Government
and the Private Sector. There is the need by the profession to partner with the
legislature for appropriate intellectual property protection law to safeguard
R&D investment by Government, Businesses (Private) and Academic Institutions.
5. National security cannot be successfully
achieved without giving proper attention to food security. Therefore, to ensure
food security, the following are imperative:
a. Appointment of a food security adviser by the
President of Nigeria.
b. Increase in food production through improved varieties,
inputs and markets in a sustainable manner.
c. Increase in public and private finance of
agriculture.
d. Improvement in rural infrastructure,
distribution network and storage facilities.
e. Encourage private sector participation in the
creation of food value chains and cooperation in the implementation of
regulations.
f. Agricultural
engineering personnel should actively participate in virtually every level of
agricultural operation.
6. Iron and Steel
industry is sine qua non for the
growth of any economy being a major role player in industrialization and
infrastructural development. Government should provide fund to complete and
commission the Ajaokuta steel plant and other steel plants/rolling mills and operate
them efficiently under the public-private partnership arrangement; thereafter
formulate a policy to discourage importation of finished steel products. This
will generate massive employment opportunities.
7. There is
the need to tap the full potential of the entire oil and gas value chain by
building more refineries (especially modular refineries and some other low and
medium technology refineries) and other petro-chemical plants that use oil and
gas as feed stock.
8. One way to resolve youth restiveness in the oil producing region of
the country is for the government to put in place a programme to enhance the
capacity of local operators of illegal refineries to produce higher quality
products and generate employment for the people. This will ensure safety of the
personnel involved as well as minimise environmental pollution.
9. In order to positively
transform the country through focused industrialization to a modular economy, government
should harmonise tax administration, complete elimination of dumping of goods, improve
on power supply and security of lives and properties.
10. To preserve our roads, weigh bridges should be
constructed and compliance with load limits on the roads enforced.
In conclusion, the participants commended the
efforts of COREN for organizing this thought-provoking Assembly.
Engr. Wopa Kamila Maliki, FNSE, mni
Registrar, COREN
