GOODWILL MESSAGE BY THE
PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS AT THE LAUNCH OF THE BOOK TITLED “NIGERIA MACHINE
TOOLS, LOST OPPORTUNITY AND PROSPECTS” AUTHORED BY ENGR. M. B. IBITOLU, FNSE,
WHICH CEREMONY HELD ON SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 2017, IN OSOGBO
Protocol
Ladies and Gentlemen
I
am delighted to be here today to be part of this auspicious event being the launch
of the book titled, “Nigeria Machine Tools Lost Opportunity and the Prospects”,
authored by Engr.M. B. Ibitolu our distinguished Fellow.
Ibitolu
is a proven Engineer of high repute, we are most elated that he has continually
put all his knowledge and experience to the advancement and in the drive for
the growth of our profession. We sincerely appreciate you for your scholarly
activities and by your continuous mentorship of the Young Engineers Future
Leaders (YEFL) over the years.
Engineering
capability is key to rejuvenating the economy of any nation by the
technological advancement it provokes. Our erudite scholars must
continue to come up with publications targeted at knowledge enrichment for us
not only to keep pace of trends but become global leaders in engineering feats.
The choice of the title of this book is
apt, in view of our efforts towards the strengthening of the country’s economy
through diversification. The Nigerian Society of Engineers has at various fora
noted the viability of the Machine Tool Industry not only to the speedy
recovery of the recessed economy but to our full industrialization.
Most
developing countries, including Nigeria, have since the 1980s shown great
interest in the promotion of the Machine Tools Industry for being an enabler of
economic production of interchangeable parts which contributes substantially to
a wide range of developmental objectives. The degree of success in this
endeavour varies from country to country, but it is generally believed that countries
of South East Asia provide the world the ideal models.
The place to start is through developing
capacity for making machines that make machines – that is Machine Tools. There
are machine tools complexes in Ajaokuta, Ovwian/Aladja, and Oshogbo, which are
lying fallow. These have to rehabilitated and re-commissioned into commercial
activities. More machine tools factories would need to be established for
increased and further diversification of product slates.
It is all in our quest in the direction
of bringing our machine tools industry back up-stream that we have requested
the National Assembly to urgently pass the Metallurgical Industry, Iron and
Steel development bill into law.
This matter was top on the agenda when I
hosted Engineers elected into the National Assembly to a dinner at the National
Engineering Centre Headquarters in Abuja, on Wednesday, September 23, 2016.
At that meeting, I told the Legislators
that the Metallurgical industry laws as passed by the immediate past assembly
lacked the ability to turn around the country’s fortunes by enabling large
scale industrialization, hence the need for the lawmakers to consider the
version submitted by the Society which has taken into cognizance such vital
element.
Ladies and Gentlemen, there is no doubt, our sustained economic growth and
development in Nigeria is dependent on rising economic productivity, expansion
of trade and commerce; this cannot be attained without sustained improvement in
increasing human capacity. Therefore, I find the publication of this book and
its placement in the public domain as another lee way towards capacity
development as well as a vital intrument of consultation by our policy makers
for good decision making.
I am optimistic that the submissions by our erudite scholar in this
publication will definitely chart the course for our progress in the right
direction.
I thank you for your
attention and wish you fruitful deliberations and successful launch of this
vital book.
Thank you and God bless you.
Engr. Otis Anyaeji, FNSE FAEng
President
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