Day: September 24, 2023

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has tasked its members on the need to mentor younger engineers with a view to contributing to national development.

Mr Tasiu Gidari-Wudil, President of the society, gave the charge on Saturday in Abuja, while conferring Fellowship Status on 142 ‘Distinguished Engineers”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Gidari-Wudil was joined at the conferment ceremony by the Chairman, Board of Fellows/College of Fellows, Mrs Ebele Okeke.

While admonishing the new fellows on their status, he said they have automatically assumed the responsibility of being role models and mentors to younger engineers.

According to him, they will also be expected to increase their participation in NSE activities and in making valuable contributions to the growth of the society.

He said: “In addition, it is expected that you will always uphold good character and ethical values that will portray you as a worthy NSE Ambassador as you deliver value-adding services in your respective endeavours.”

This, he said, was towards the development of the nation

Reacting to the current debate on building roads with concrete rather than asphalt, he said that though he was not a specialist in civil engineering, the choice however depended on the situations.

Gidari-Wudil.said: “Few weeks ago, a debate was sparked in the media and in engineering circles by statements made by the Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, over the preferred or most potent materials for building roads.

“Technically, we call them rigid and flexible road pavement, on the normal parlance, we call it concrete or asphalt. Each one of these has its own advantages and disadvantages.

“We in NSE are not canvassing for anyone, rather we are convening a national discourse where the professionals in highway, in materials engineering, geotechnic, civil engineering other stakeholders wil chat the way forward.

“These are choices that mostly depends on the situation that the engineer finds himself, so if we are going to go for one solution it cannot fix all.”

According to the president there are situations whereby the best option to use is concrete, while in.other situations asphalt is used.

Gidari-Wudil added: “I am not going to preempt that discourse because i am not an expert on that subject matter.”

The NSE president, however, said that the society was going to set up a committee to work out the modalities for a national discussion on the issue.

He added that it would be a holistic event with all the stakeholders in the field both in and outside the country including the Federal and States’ Ministries of Works would be invited

Gidari-Wudil said it would be tagged ‘National Highways: Between Asphalt and Concrete’.

He said: “As a major stakeholder in infrastructure development and maintenance in Nigeria, we take interest and lend our voice to matters that concern the engineering sector and, by extension, the wellbeing of Nigerians.

“Recently, we called a press conference to release the NSE Position Paper on the proposed increase in electricity tariff by the DisCos, which generated some controversies across the country.

“Before then, there was also a press conference on flooding in Nigeria where we proffered engineering solutions to mitigate the devastating effect of flooding.”

Gidari-Wudil explained what the society wanted was an option in infrastructure that would endure and add to national development.

In her remarks, the Chairman, Board of Fellows/College of Fellows, NSE, Mrs Ebele Okeke, commended the conferees for having scaled through the procedures, adding that the process had remained very thorough but fair.

“This is why, even though the membership strength of the society is currently about 82,000, only a few percentage had been elevated to the Fellowship grade.

“Therefore, any engineer with the appellation ‘FNSE’ is always accorded appropriate recognition and privileges.

“I welcome you all to this occasion where we will interact to celebrate the new Fellows, as well as exchange ideas on how to play active roles in the infrastructural and economical growth of our dear nation,” she said.

One of the conferees, Mr Adetunji Adenuga, Chairman, NSE, Abeokuta, Branch, said the conferment would give him more reason to be more purpose-driven in mentoring the younger generation of engineers.

Adenuga, who is also the Director, Flood and Erosion Control, Ogun Ministry of Environment, said that he would also look out for more innovations that would transform the society.

“This is especially in the areas of flood and erosion control to ensure that the country has zero ecological retardation and avert the issue of gully erosions,” he said.

Another conferee, Mr Olalekan Lateef, Chief Engineer, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) said he felt elated being awarded the apex honour in his profession.

He said: “Having reached the peak of my profession, i will keep mentoring young engineers and delve more into research.

“If the government will implement it’s Execution Order 5, that encourages the use of local content, Nigerian engineers will be engaged.” (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Prof. Idris Bugaje, the Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), has advocated a mandatory 50 per cent skills acquisition for every secondary schools students.

He said it would help the students to better understand their interests and abilities, improve them in decision- making, thereby leading to their personal and professional development.

Bugaje said this in an interaction with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the board’s newly launched top-up programme for HND holders to acquire a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in their choice course.

He said that repositioning the Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) of Nigerian students at the secondary levels would greatly assist in identifying talents that would be nurtured to become profitable enterprises.

He added that the country should expose students to skills at their early stage, to be able to develop them.

“If you go to Germany that operates a dual system, right from basic education, they expose their children to skills and at the secondary school, students spend three days in schools and three days in the industries.

“By the time they are ready for higher education, three quarter of them go to the polytechnics and less than one quarter only goes to the university because they have already been exposed within the training received under the dual system.

” In Nigeria, when students come out from tertiary institutions, they have no jobs because they are not fit for the industries.

“So government must change the direction and insist that 50 per cent of our secondary school leavers should go for skills training in polytechnics, maybe 30 per cent can go to the university and 20 per cent to the College of Education (COE),” he said .

The executive secretary added that this step would enable the government to reposition the polytechnics so we can have experts to deliver on our projects.

He expressed concern over the rate at which the country engaged the services of foreign technicians when we had expertise to handle the various projects in the country.

“If you look at the Abuja railway track, it was delivered by the Chinese technicians and we should not allow that to continue because this is leading to capital flight and our youths are there unemployed.

“Why not give our own people the job and the good thing about skills training is that within six months you can finish one level and within four years you can cover eight levels.

“That is why we say the days of degrees are over. In the past degrees were important. In the 19th century, the polytechnics was the best mode of training, it was after the first world war that university began centre stage.

“All the innovations we are talking about, most of them never came from the universities , electricity that was discovered in the 19th century was not from the university, inventions were from artisans and craftsmen.

“So let us develop our own, train them to acquire skills because you can have the degree but have no job,” he said.

He added that the board had already taken steps to unbundle the curriculum to include skills qualification.

Bugaje said that polytechnic students would now be made to learn a skill relating to the course of study before such a student could graduate.

“From this October, we are adding a skill qualification to every curriculum in the NBTE and if you do not acquire the skills qualification you will not graduate.

” We are starting with HND computer science, we have unbundled the course into four. Students will now have to go to Cisco, Microsoft or any of these big players and get a skills certificate on a particular skill.

“So we call this dual certification and this will create employment for Nigerians and as well provide a market for Nigerian youths.

“Indians are taking advantage of that, Bangladesh that has the same population with Nigeria has 11,500 youths working in different part of the world. Morocco export almost half a million youths in the middle east.

“So we are saying that Nigerians should not be left behind. They must take advantage of the skills opportunity they have around them,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Sokoto State Commissioner for Solid Minerals Development, Isa Tanbagarka, says the state government will collaborate with foreign and local investors to exploit the abundant solid minerals in the state.

Tanbagarka made this known on Sunday in Sokoto when he received a team of experts from a consortium, ‘Solid Minerals Development Funds,’ led its by Exploration Manager, Sheikh Mukhtar.

The visit was to seek the consent of the state government and partner with it in the exploration of the phosphate mineral resources around Dange-Shuni Local Government Area.

He explained that the partnership would enable the state to tap into the potential of mineral resources for its even socio-economic development.

Tanbagarka expressed optimism that the efforts would translate into substantial and rapid development in improving the living standard of citizens.

This, according to him, is in line with Gov. Ahmad Aliyu administration’s nine-point agenda.

He, therefore, urged the state traditional rulers to be fully involved in” this quest in mining our God-given resource as they know the terrain better.”

Tanbagarka expressed the state government’s commitment to harness and utilise the resources efficiently.

He said:” We will do this proficiently to make solid minerals the next economic power house in the state and the country at large.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by Aminu Abubakar-Gawo, Permanent Secretary of the ministry and Vikas Dhiman, Engineer in-charge of drilling and a Geologist, Lawal Abdulrahman. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Two truck drivers on Saturday died in a chain collision involving five trucks, reportedly caused by poor visibility as a result of fire raging along the road at Bere on the Trans-Kalahari Corridor (TKC) in Botswana.

TKC Secretariat spokesperson Ankwetse Hunda on Sunday in a media statement confirmed the incident, saying that two drivers died and one was hospitalised.

He said two of the trucks that were involved in the accident were Namibian registered and the other two are Botswana registered.

“One truck unfortunately burnt to ashes and its registration and the identity of the driver is yet to be determined. According to reports from the authorities, the road crash was a result of poor visibility that was caused by fire that was raging along the road. The first two trucks collided due to poor visibility and the rest then piled on them,” Hunda said.

Furthermore, TKCS informed the public that the road has been cleared and opened for use and encouraged drivers not to take unnecessary risks when driving as it is always important to be safe and take calculated decisions in the interest of road safety.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) on Friday officially launched the roll-out of Community Service Orders to the Gobabis, Witvlei, Otjinene, Leonardville and Talismanis courts.

The new launching to the five Omaheke Region districts has brought the total number of courts with community service orders to 51 courts out of the 71 targeted courts in the country.

According to Head of Division, Community Service Orders Deputy Commissioner Natacha Booysen, the new orders are targeting first-time offenders, repeat offenders with minor offences, offenders with a fixed abode, young offenders, breadwinners with family dependents and those who commit non-serious offences.

Booysen further said that those who fall under the above transgressions will be cleaning and rendering maintenance work in public schools, clinics, hospitals, parks, police stations and magistrates’ courts among other institutions.

“Rendering of specialist or professional services to the community for the benefit of the community like teaching, providing medical services, providing social welfare services and providing counselling services,” she added.

Other services or types of job according to the division leader will be to perform duties involving sharing of skills and knowledge, and performing duties to gain skills.

“We are considering the using of private entities, and all the duties to be performed are without remuneration and for the benefit of the community,” she emphasised.

Furthermore, Booysen emphasised on the sensitisation and stakeholders’ engagements to all communities in the Omaheke Region, and urged everyone involved to maintain teamwork, co-operation and dedication of their invaluable partners within criminal justice and others.

NCS Commissioner Raphael Tuhafeni Hamunyela who officiated the launching said the roll-out of this programme to this region is part of their strategic plan and their commitment to ensure that the orders are rolled out nationwide.

“The idea is to make sure we are done with the remaining 24 in the next five years, on condition we are getting other magistrates who are willing to work with the correctional service. The community service order is an adopted child of the NCS, it is a product of the Office of the Judiciary and the Office of the Prosecutor General respectively,” he said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency