The Osun State Governor, Rauf
Aregbesola, has urged Nigerian engineers to seek more productive and
excellent endeavours instead of engaging in unnecessary rancour.
Aregbesola spoke on Thursday at the
University of Lagos during the investiture of Mrs. Joanna Maduka as the
president of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering. The event also
witnessed the conferment of Life Achievement Awards and the induction of
new fellows of the academy.
The governor, who frowned on the
acrimony in the polity, particularly the politicisation of religion in
his state, urged engineers to be more involved in the socio-economic and
technological growth of the nation.
He
advised them to apply their energy and knowledge into ventures that
would uplift the country as well as better the society in general.
Nigerian engineers, he added, should be
concerned with ideas that would jumpstart the country’s technological
development instead of depending on the importation of goods.
According to him, engineers are still
relevant and shall continue to play significant roles in ensuring that
the nation’s economy grows.
Aregbesola, who described the Osun
State-born new NAE president as a rare breed, said she ventured into
engineering when many men were afraid of the profession.
Speaking, Maduka urged members of the
academy to be more committed to the profession, advising them to use
their knowledge and experiences to provide advice to the government and
the business community on technological issues.
According to the first female NAE
president, technology plays a key role in the successful implementation
of socio-economic initiatives to meet the needs of the country and the
global community.
She added, “We need to concern ourselves
with such issues as global warming and climate change, the concept of
Earth Systems Engineering that has evolved to define the direction of
multidisciplinary process development, new frontiers in technology and
engineering such as nanotechnology, advanced materials, petrochemicals,
robotics and advances in biotechnology. Although some of these may sound
remote in the Nigerian context, we should be mindful of developing
sustainable engineering solutions that will positively affect our
social, cultural, environmental and economic development for the
future.”
The President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, Dr. Nike Akande; President, Council for the Regulation of
Engineering in Nigeria, Kashim Ali and the Director General/Chief
Executive, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Dr. Gloria
Elemo, are among eminent persons that attended the ceremony.
At the ceremony where the co-author of
the MITI, Mr. Martin Brack, delivered a lecture titled, “Master Plan for
an Integrated Transportation Infrastructure,” four members of the
academy, who have attained the age of 75, received the Life Achievement
Awards. They are the new NAE president, Dr. Tajudeen Bawa-Allah, Prof.
Patrick Ngoddy and Ebenezer Osoba.
Eleven persons were inducted as fellows
of the academy. They are professors Folorunsho Akinbode, Christian Bolu,
Frank Okafor, Joshua Otaigbe, Oluwafemi Taiwo and Ayodeji Demuren.
Others are a former Minister of Mines,
Power and Steel, Bunu Sheriff Musa, Sunday Adetunji, Clement Oke, Dr.
Reuben Okeke, and Dr. Ehimhanre Uujamhan.
No comments:
Post a Comment