Boosting Capacity Of Nigerian Engineers

In recent times, Nigeria has witnessed a very high incidence of collapsed buildings and bridges at different locations across the country.

The development, no doubt, has elicited a lot of concern from many citizens.

A major question bothering the minds of many Nigerians is: Why is it that the country has not been able to produce enough qualified engineers to stem the menace?

The emerging situation has somewhat tainted the image of Nigerian engineers, particularly civil and structural engineers, some observers says.

They also note that for a long time, foreign construction firms appear to have maintained an unchallenged dominance of the construction industry in Nigeria.

Mr Oluwole Da Costa, a mechanical engineer, says that the dominance of expatriate engineers in the construction industry is probably due to the fact for many years; Nigerian engineers subtly exhibited some apathy towards construction works.

“Those who had the courage to venture into construction, rather went into consultancy aspects. Even at that level, the consultants entered into partnership with foreign consultants from the U.S., Britain and other European countries,’’ Da Costa says.

“Unfortunately, the partnership arrangement, which is line with the government policy aimed at boosting transfer of expertise via partnerships, was not successful, as many of the consultancy jobs were undertaken in overseas countries without the involvement of the Nigerian counterparts,’’ he adds.

Da Costa stresses that by the time such collaborative projects were concluded, no knowledge would have been transferred, while no data on the executed projects were kept in the Nigerian offices of companies involved in the partnership arrangement.

Development experts, nonetheless, argue that tangible efforts should be directed at integrating plans to develop the engineering profession in national development plans so as to stimulate the physical, economic and industrial growth of Nigeria.

The recognition of the invaluable roles of engineers to nation-building efforts, perhaps, compelled the Federal Government to inaugurate Presidential Committee on Strategic Plans for Engineering Development and Control in Nigeria.

The committee’s inauguration was part of a Federal Government’s policy designed to put Nigerian engineers in charge of all development projects in the country.

The policy is aimed at reversing current practice, in which a greater percentage of government contracts is awarded to foreign firms.

The policy is particularly hinged on the time-tested belief that a country’s growth could be partly measured by the competence and strength of its engineering sector, while true growth can only be effected by a country’s citizens

From indications, the recurrent cases of collapsed buildings and bridges across the country tend to signal a downward trend in the quality of engineering practice in Nigeria.

Against this backdrop, the Council for the Regulation of Engineers in Nigeria (COREN) appears to be apprehensive about the development and is determined to tackle the menace.

The President of COREN, Mr Mustapha Bulama, considered it very expedient to convene a stakeholders’ conference last November to examine the pertinent challenges facing the road sector, in particular, and proffer solutions.

The meeting was also convened to address issues relating to the rising concern about the activities of unqualified engineers in the country.

The participants resolved that all the stakeholders in the engineering field should collaborate and initiate pragmatic strategies to deal the menace regarding the incessant collapse of buildings and bridges in the country.

Their concern is heightened by increasing fears over the structural state of many bridges across the country. This is because experts believe that some of the bridges may even collapse before their expected lifespan.

The experts’ apprehension stems from the recurrent instances of bridges’ collapse in the country.

They recall that in 2005, for instance, heavy rains caused an overflow of River Jalingo in Taraba, which led to the collapse of a bridge that killed several people.

The list of collapsed bridges and houses appear endless, forcing many people to question the capacity of the engineers who handled their structural designs.

Observers say that the incidents are often blamed on the defective structural designs of the bridges, adding that the development tacitly gives the government the leeway to award contracts for major construction works to foreign engineers and firms.

The Minister of Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, particularly stresses the need to enhance the capacity of Nigerian engineers so as to enable them to compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.

The minister notes that the improved capability of Nigerian engineers will be quite helpful in efforts to reduce the costs of construction projects in the country.

“As government, we have a responsibility to help build the capacity of Nigerians in the engineering field and we are closely working with officials of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) and COREN in that regard.

“We have challenged them on the need to build the capacity of our engineers so that they will be able to compete with their counterparts in foreign countries,’’ he says.

Onolememen bemoans that fact that about 90 per cent of the projects of the Ministry of Works are still handled by multinational firms.

He says that this explains the rationale behind his call on Nigerian engineers to come together and set up big construction companies that could effectively compete with multinational companies.

“I have challenged the indigenous engineers to collaborate and form companies and corporations that can compete with the multinationals.

“What we have in place is that many of our professionals are still contented with just providing consultancy services,’’ he says.

The minister reiterates that Nigerian engineers and construction companies should bring themselves up to a level that will enable them to vie for big contracts.

“We are talking of the second Niger Bridge, we are talking of the Oweto Bridge; no Nigerian company is indicating interest in the projects because of the lack of capacity.

“This is not because we do not have the requisite manpower; it’s because the entrepreneurial spirit is just there,’’ he says.

Onolememen pledges government support for Nigerian engineers if they are able to come together and form synergies.

He also notes that the proposed cooperation in the engineering sector will boost efforts to enhance the local content – the development of local skills, technological transfer, as well as use of local manpower and engineering products.

The general consensus among experts and observers is that efforts should be made to streamline the engineering profession and make Nigerian engineers more efficient in their service delivery.

Tikyna writes for News Agency of Nigeria

Bridget Tikyaa