… Inaugurates Engr. Aniebiet Udoh MNSE as Branch Chairman
… Proposes Engineering Hub for Innovation, Institutional Synergy
The Eket branch of Nigerian Society Engineers (NSE), over the weekend, rounded-off its week-long celebration of the 2019 Engineering Week, tagged “Innovative and Reverse Engineering: The Imperative of Institutional Synergy for Sustainable Development”, with the investiture of Engr. Aniebiet Udoh, MNSE, as Branch Chairman of the organization, induction of new member, conferment of Awards of Recognition on outstanding players in the engineering sector and technology exhibition.
In his investiture address, Engr. Aniebiet Udoh said a great proportion of Nigeria’s problems could be solved by proper application of the right technology and that, he maintained, lies in human technological capacity development and synergy between three fundamental institutions: the academia, industry and government, adding that the NSE, being visible in all three institutions, is the most logical platform for such collaboration to run.
Engr. Udoh decried that while some countries of the world are tackling 21st challenges of improvement of socio-economic structures, provision of advanced medical and healthcare services, application of technology to improve life expectancy and quality of life and so on, Nigeria is still battling building of roads, land and water transports, power availability, basic healthcare and other basic issues which he described as 20th century problems.
The Eket NSE Chairman noted lack of local home-grown capacity to utilize available technology to solve Nigeria’s peculiar problems as a key component lacking in the nations quest for sustainable development.
Engr. Aniebiet Udoh MNSE therefore proposed the establishment of an Engineering Hub, where the skills of Engineers will be developed to world class, harnessed and applied to solve Nigeria’s technological and economic challenges. This according to him will serve as a catalyst for development of skilled human capacity and application of same across the three fundamental institutions.
The President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Adekunle Olumuyiwa Mokuolu FNSE, who was Chairman as the event, congratulated the new Eket branch Chairman of the of NSE on his investiture and expressed hope that branch will have optimal representation in the society’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) scheduled to hold in Abuja on June 27, 2019, describing the Eket branch of the NSE as a branch the society cannot afford to leave behind.
Mokuolu lauded the Eket branch of the NSE for always showing unity of purpose and synergy. He said he was not surprise at the progress of Eket branch because where there is unity, progress becomes a natural consequence, adding that there is no doubt that the branch will assist the various layers of government in Akwa Ibom State to make remarkable achievements in the improvement of public safety, healthcare, food production, education and job creation among others.
Describing the 2019 Engineering Week theme as apt, for carrying collaboration on the front burner, the NSE President said the theme was in line with the avowed commitment to helping to achieve development on all frontiers and better quality of live for our citizens, as well as its cardinal objective of collaborating with, as we as investing and providing value adding advice to various arms and levels of government, industries and academia and other institutions.
“The status of our country, vis-à-vis living standard, per capita income and Gross Domestic Product, can only be improved through collaborations, exchange of ideas and the application of technology by professionals, Mokuolu stressed.
He decried the recurrent situation of non-Engineers manning engineering Ministries in Nigeria, describing it as inappropriate for nation that is still in its building stage.
In his analogy, he maintaining that in at a time Nigeria is still trying to provide infrastructure, engineering should be done by Engineers, before considering non-Engineers for administration, Mokuolu presented an analogy that a wise cannot give a wash-man his clothes to sew simply because he is good in washing and pressing the cloths to look fine.
“You need a tailor to make it then you can get the good wash-man to manage it”, he added.
Highpoints of the event were technology exhibitions, induction of new members and the conferment of Awards of Recognition for outstanding contributions in the engineering sector on the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote FNSE, Managing of Ibom Power Company, Engr. Meyen Etukudo FNSE, the immediate past Commissioner for works in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Ephraim Inyangeyen, among others.
