SADDLED with low patronage of its services by government, mechanical engineers have reiterated that high-quality engineering is absolutely crucial to national development, and government must urgently address a number of challenges in its ebbing built sector if it wants to leap frog out of its undeveloped state and compete in the global economy.This was the submission of stakeholders from the engineering sector led by Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, a mechanical engineer, other mechanical engineers, under the aegis of Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers (NIME). Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State also attended the event.Aregbesola while speaking at the 24 international conference and yearly general meeting of the body decried the state of engineering practice in the nation stressing that government ought to lay the groundwork for industrialisation and provide the enabling environment.He lamented the present situation of industrial centres becoming worship centres and proffered improved science education at the primary school level upward as one of the ways to develop engineering.According to him, the failure of government to prepare the ground, for entrepreneurship has became a problem adding that engineering is complex and capital intensive.'It is too risky in an environment of policy inconsistency and absence of government support. That is why a lot, if not most, engineers avoid manufacturing. They would rather engage in consultancy that is relatively safe and where return on investment is quicker.' Our engineers are in top engineering firms and positions in Europe and the Americas primarily because they earned their degrees there or were exposed to their research facilities. The problem therefore is not in their human capacity. However, the evidence of the low quality of our engineering is pasted all around us.'The problem basically, can be summed into just three' government, entrepreneurship and research. We must not shy from admitting that over the years, the educational sector had progressively been geared towards paper certification at the expense of skill acquisition.The engineering courses are also victims of this malaise. It is so bad now that those who read the so-called professional courses are not readily employable but have to be trained and retrained before they can acquire the needed skills for their job competencies. This then requires a comprehensive review of the curriculum of engineering in our constitutions and a re-engineering towards skill acquisition.'One of the ways to develop engineering is to encourage science education at the primary school level upward. Mathematic and physics are the base sciences for engineering.'I did not mention funding, not because it is not a problem, but because it is a problem emanating from the other factors just mentioned. If these other problems are addressed, I believe access to funds would no longer be a barrier. Indeed, part of the duty of the government would have included setting the parameters for accessing funds for engineering development and entrepreneurship.'Mechanical Engineering is critical to development in all aspects. It has been around almost since the known beginning of man. The transition from the primitive era to the slave owning era through the feudal era to the period of Industrial Revolution has always been heralded by technology, especially mechanical engineering.'It is interesting that we have a large iron-ore deposit in the country, yet we are not an industrial nation. Japan, in contrast, does not have iron and is one of the largest producers of iron products, from super tankers to teaspoons. The difference is in its engineering, the capacity to design and manufacture.Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, represented by Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Ganiyu Johnson, an engineer, challenged Nigerian engineers to bring on board ideas to make Lagos a true model city as mechanical engineers hold key factors to boost infrastructure growth.Earlier President Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) Mr. Olumuyiwa Ajibola and engineers, urged engineers to practice effectively to bring members up to date, train themselves further after leaving school.He further advocated the need for integration of entrepreneurship in the engineering profession.National Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Prince Oyedepo stated that tertiary education alone is not enough to make a complete mechanical engineer, equipped for rapid industrial transformation duties.'Education must be sharpened by regular needs-based training, given a continuous practice touch and pimped with entrepreneurial skills. Entrepreneurship in engineering enhances creativity, innovation and business savvy and makes the engineer yearn to transform his practice and country,' Oyedepo explained.
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