Nigerian Academy of Engineering Inducts New Fellows

Nigerian Academy of Engineering inducts new fellows, as Governor Soludo calls for disruptive approach to infrastructure financing.

It was a gathering of the crème de la crème of the Engineering profession in Nigeria at the 2023 Annual Lecture and Life Achievement Awards/Induction of New Fellows Ceremony of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) held on Thursday, June 22nd, 2023 at J.F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium, University of Lagos (UNILAG).

There, in the beautiful precincts of the venue formerly known as the Main Auditorium, three (3) illustrious Engineers received the NAE 2023 Life Achievement Awards just as thirteen (13) distinguished Engineering professionals were inducted as Fellows of the Academy.

The recipients of the Life Achievement Awards are: Engr Gregory O. Ero, Engr. (Mrs) Ebele Okeke, OON, CFR and Engr. Dr. Joseph Uujamhan while the newly inducted Fellows are:  Engr. Professor Sadiq Zubair Abubakar, Engr. Dr. Michael Adedokun Adegbite, Engr. Olasupo Ademosu, Engr. Ahmed Kadi Amshi, Engr. Professor James Olugbenga Aribisala, Engr. Dr. Raphael Sunday Awoseyin, Engr. John Oladipo Ayodele, Engr. Wopa Kamila Maliki, Engr. Kenneth Ngozichuckwuka Nwanze, Engr. Dr Josephat Kanayo Okoye, Engr. Victor Olumide Dania, Engr. Olawale Nelson Ogunshakin and Engr. Senator Iyiola Omisore, CON.

Speaking on behalf of the inductees, Senator Iyiola Omisore, CON appreciated all the dignitaries that graced the occasion. He gave assurances of the inductees’ readiness to avail the country of the benefit of their professionalism; while also being vanguards of meritocracy in appointments to public offices, so that the country’s development can be kept on course.

In his address at the event, the NAE President, Engr. Prof. Azikiwe Onwualu congratulated the inductees on their admission into the apex Engineering organisation in Nigeria, and charged them to be ready to give back to the profession and Nigeria. He noted that the challenges currently affecting Nigeria could be solved with the application of engineering solutions.

According to Professor Onwualu, “Nigeria is currently faced with challenges in almost all sectors of the economy. It is my belief that most of the challenges can be solved if we apply engineering and technology in a sustainable manner. Nigeria is not lacking in policies and programmes. What we are lacking are strong institutions for effective implementation of the policies and laws, appropriate feedback-based monitoring and evaluation systems, and use of engineering and technology to optimise project implementation”.

The NAE 2023 Guest Lecturer, Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State shared insightful analysis into infrastructure demands of Nigeria compared to other countries vis-à-vis the availability of capital.

“The gap between infrastructure demand and capital supply is extremely wide in Nigeria. It will interest you, my audience, to know that currently, Asia accounts for over 50 percent of global infrastructure spend, while China alone accounts for about 60 percent of Asia’s spend”.

In his lecture titled: Financing Engineering Infrastructure, the former Central Bank Governor gave an overview of infrastructure financing options, affirming that globally, infrastructure projects are financed through a mix of budgetary allocations and other external sources. He recommended the Disruptive Big Bang Approach, which would place the country’s development on a better pedestal and set deadlines for Nigeria’s infrastructure aspirations.

According to Governor Soludo, “Public-Private Partnerships, known as PPP models allows for private sector participation through equity and debt. In the United States of America, infrastructure financing is mostly through budgetary allocations; and Public Private Partnership (PPP). The same applies in the United Kingdom where a mixture of public and private funds is deployed for infrastructure financing. The Chinese Government finances its infrastructure needs by issuing Special Purpose Bonds (SPBs) to local governments. In Nigeria, about 90 percent of infrastructure needs is met with budgetary allocations, but alternative financing options must be urgently explored”.

The Professor of Economics affirmed his support for the decision of the Federal Government to remove petroleum subsidy because “the nation’s economy could no longer fund such parasitic arrangement. The country had over the years resorted to borrowing to finance subsidy, a nation like Nigeria that seeks to go in the direction of infrastructure development cannot survive with subsidy”. Dignitaries that attended the NAE 2023 Annual Lecture and Life Achievement Awards/Induction of New Fellows Ceremony included the Governors of Borno and Nasarawa States, Engr. Professor Babagana Umara Zulum and Engr. Abdulahi Sule; the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat who represented the host Governor, National Chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Abdulahi Adamu, among others.

MySchoolNews reporting.