President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Abuja called for more concerted
effort, creative and innovative ideas from the Nigerian Society of
Engineers (NSE) in reversing the infrastructure deficit in the country,
saying “Nigerian problems require uniquely Nigerian solutions”.
President Buhari, who received a delegation of the NSE led by the
President, Council of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Adekunle
Mokuolu, said reversing the deficit will require indigenous capacity,
noting that the government has deliberately structured policies to
favour more local content and capacity development.
“The foundations of any developed, competitive and
prosperous society are based on good education and quality
infrastructure. Many nations we look up to are those with adequate and
accessible infrastructure, power and water resources.
“They achieved these by embracing engineering and of course, engineers.
Over the years, Nigerian engineers have been recognized globally for
carrying out amazing and impactful projects. Unfortunately, this is not
the case here at home as for decades, the enabling environment was
simply not provided for these innovative and creative professionals to
flourish and showcase our country as an engineering hub,” he said.
The President urged the professionals to look inward in showcasing their
knowledge and skill in a way that will directly impact the nation.
“In the past four years, we focused on reversing this trend by
introducing policies that will create the enabling environment for
engineers to succeed and thrive.
“We introduced Executive Orders and embarked on several
infrastructure development and rehabilitation projects. As a
Government, we also prioritized local content in our procurement
processes,” the President added.
President Buhari asked the engineers to continue to support Government
at all levels to build a more prosperous society.
In his remarks, Mokuolu commended the President for expressing his
belief in local capacity in 2009 at an NSE conference and following up
with Executive Orders, appointments and recognition of the regulatory
council to further encourage engineers in partnering with the government
to develop the country.
The NSE President said the engineering society had been playing a
strategic role in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and had
established a North East Rehabilitation Committee, while presenting a
list of requests to the President, which includes involving members in
conceptual stages of projects
Mokuolu said the council had started domestication of global codes and
standards, noting that it now has 75 branches spread across the country,
with two in foreign cities, Houston and London.