Nigerian engineers doing a lot in designs, infrastructure space - experts
…but undermined by pseudo professionals, foreign influence
Nigerian engineers who play pivotal role in the country’s technology space are also doing a lot in project designs and executions, housing and infrastructure development, experts have said.
Civil and structural engineers, particularly, have been involved in the development of iconic projects in Nigeria. Most civil jobs like roads, bridges, high-rise buildings, water/waste water facilities, etc, have been designed and their construction supervised by Nigerian engineers.
The experts note that despite the feats the engineers have attained, for a developing country like Nigeria, expectations from them remain high.
According to Ali Rabiu, president, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), “The attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) depends on the production of sufficient engineering capacities to provide infrastructure and sustainable technology.”
Though Ndubuisi Ekekwe, founder, First Atlantic Semiconductors and Micro-electronics, believes that Nigeria has companies that can fix its challenges in the areas of transportation, electricity, water and other infrastructure problems, Johnson Onoja, a civil engineer, has his concerns.
“The government does not provide enabling environment for the involvement of engineers in the contracts award; politicians hijack the process such that there is no due process,” Onoja said.
Continuing, he said, “Nigerian engineers lack the capacity to set up reputable companies due to the huge cost involved. Most civil jobs like roads, bridges, etc, which are done by governments are given to expatriates because of benefits accruable through estacodes and commissions.”
Some projects are given waivers, making their production abroad cheaper than local, he said, noting further that the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar makes it unprofitable for a Nigerian engineer to engage in any project that has foreign component.
MKO Balogun, an engineer/ceo, Global PFI, shares this view, adding that one of the challenges facing engineers in Nigeria is the control of pseudo professionals also called quacks and illegal contractors unlike other professions that have stringent controls.
Like Onoja, who notes that the engineering institutions are not well standardised like other disciplines in Nigeria such that there is scarcity of raw materials and modern machines, Balogun also said training institutions needed to be further equipped.
Funding, according to Damola Akindolire, managing director, Alpha Mead Construction Company, is a major problem faced by Nigerian engineers, explaining, “We have not been able to replicate the success of local content in the oil and gas industry into other sectors of the economy; so, there is limited knowledge transfer and narrow practice.”