Members of the Nigerian Association of Engineering Craftsmen (NAEC), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) Chapter have been charged to imbibe the spirit of working towards the national development through their skills and craftsmanship.
The charge came from Quantity Surveyor Ojo Michael from the Department of Quantity Survey, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta who was the guest speaker at the 1-day Seminar organised by members of NAEC, FUNAAB Chapter.
Speaking on the theme, “Engineering Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurial Growth As A Veritable Tool for National Development” Quantity Surveyor Ojo noted that Nigeria as a country has invested a lot to train its citizenry to acquire Engineering skills, but lamented that in spite of that, the country has failed to believe in itself by importing skilled craftsmen from other countries to do the job when the need arises.
Surveyor Ojo said that until Nigeria believes in itself and its citizenry, it will continue to import technological innovations from outside. He noted that the country is blessed with rich natural resources, but it has failed to put such into good use.
According to the guest speaker, “Our major factories are closing down, while we only concentrate on oil money whereas; many nations had moved on and turned their attention away from crude oil to new innovations by giving maximum support to their trained engineers, challenging them to come up with a solution to a particular problem(s) or provide better alternative to ways of doing things”.
Surveyor Ojo equally described as pathetic the state of best researches in the country which is either left in the Library book shelves or the supervisor’s archive. He said that until our researches are result oriented and our vocational centres repositioned to provide training, the best we can do is to produce certified electricians that can only design and install a building with conduit (pipes), cables and fittings whose function is at the mercy of power distribution company.
Adding that as a country, we must be emancipated from mediocrity, review our curriculum to better provide trainings that offer competitive edge between our products in terms of personnel with that of other nations, without which, our vision 2020:20 becomes an illusion, paper tiger and at best, figment of imagination.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kolawole Salako, represented by Professor Olawale Dairo from the Department of Agricultural Engineering, in the College of Engineering (COLENG) described the engineering craftsmen as skilled men that assist the engineer in achieving his vision.
He noted that as craftsmen, engineering problem solving and decision making have a long term planning skill, charging them to endeavour to learn from the guest speaker.
In his welcome address, the Chapter Chairman, NAEC, Mr. Ademola Sobote described the engineering craftsmen as those that interpret the minds and bring into reality the conceived ideas of the engineers in various engineering fields and discipline.
Mr. Sobote said that NAEC members are crops competent artisans, craftsmen, technicians and technologists, who under the auspices of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) have been given National and Legal recognition by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He equally tasked members to tap into the lecture, which will be delivered by a seasoned, competent and registered Quantity Surveyor, because it will go a long way in enhancing members’ professional morale, enlarge their scope of experiences and bring about better performances of NAEC members in FUNAAB.
