Experts have advised engineers to embrace tolerance, competency and always shun the temptation for ethnic, religious politics and other parochial considerations in making crucial decisions for national development.
This was said at the monthly meeting of the Nigerian Society of Engineers NSE, Abuja Branch held at the NSE’s headquarters Abuja with theme:”Made In Nigeria”
Speaking on the theme of the meeting, the guest speaker, A Performance Poetry, Artist and Author Dike Chukwumerije, noted that in Nigeria, there are always two ways of doing things; the normal way and the Nigerian way. It is only a newcomer that does it the normal way, but all of us in Nigeria we always know how we do things in our way.
According to him, in most Nigerian agencies, the written processes of doing things, for example, obtaining a licence, are different from the actual processes of doing the same. So there is always the formal way and the Nigerian way.
Chukwumerije said, if you go to foreign countries, it is what you see on the paper that the citizens follow, but if you come to Nigeria and you read the rules on paper, but we do it in our way. It is always confusing to somebody that arrives new, and it takes you a while to understand the Nigerian way of doing things and to know it is not by reading but by doing it exactly the way they do.
“You cannot change Nigeria by changing the visible things that you see, it is not by changing the laws or institutions because there is a Nigerian way of doing things that will always undermine the laws of the institutions. So for you to change Nigeria, you have to deal with the Nigerian way of doing things, and we all know that Nigerian way of doing things. To change Nigeria is not by building roads, bridges and all that, but to change Nigeria you have to change the mindset of Nigerians. You have to change our attitudes, culture and how we deal with issues.
“Our problem always comes whenever the need for public policies arrives, but in other things, we are good. When it comes to coming together in stealing public funds you hardly find an issue, but when it comes to politics and public services, we become so problematic.
“Tribalism is the cancer at the heart of the Nigerian system, and I found it so funny that many of us have forgotten that Nigeria was born out of a struggle to end racism. After the British came, conquered and colonized us, our forefathers accepted Western education, and many of our people went and acquired education and came back and found that they have the same skills like their British counterparts but were still facing racist barriers in life. They were not given the same opportunity as the British. That was why Nnamdi Azikiwe and others formed the National Youth Movement,” he said.
The poet-writer said I find it ironical that a country that was born to kick out racism has ended up institutionalism tribalism; a country that was born to kick out discrimination from the basis of race has ended up worshipping and institutionalism discrimination on the basis of tribalism.
He, however, stated that there is need to be a product of made in Nigeria. If you were ever taught in school by a southerner or a northerner, you’re a made in Nigeria. If a Muslim or a Christian or your mate in school is a southerner or a northerner, you are made in Nigeria. So today, we are so similar to each other.
He further added that Nigeria’s biggest problem is not our constitution, structure and all that, but it is our mentality. We must learn to begin to tolerate each other. So as engineers and scientists, you know better than I do that if a Yoruba man builds a bridge, the bridge will be there for everybody. So science does not care about what your colour, religion and tribe are. If you put the foundation right, it will benefit everybody.
“So we have to break away from tribalism intentionally, but it does not mean your tribe does not matter; it just means that you will not place it over common sense. So let us end these religious and ethnic sentiments and put competent leaders.”
The President of NSE, Engr Tasiu Gidari-Wudil while thanking Dike for the lecture, said that if he had a choice he would have told his mother not to born him a Nigerian but because he had no choice. So let us love each other, let us be made in Nigeria, adding that I’m a made in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Chairman NSE Abuja Branch, Engr Ben Osy Okoh, during the review of the major activities that happened during the month of February 2023, disclosed that the Branch has listened to the advice given to us by the elders to explore the possibility of getting assistance from the Satellite Towns Development Department for the Borehole Project. He also stated that other agencies have pledged to support the project.
He also said that the management of the FCDA has promised to implement the proposal by the Branch on the need to create more departments to solve the problem of stagnation.
According to him, the Branch recommended that some of the divisions be made full departments with directors, while the present director can be the coordinating director.
“We also raised the employment issue of young engineers, and they asked us to compile the CVs so that when the opportunity comes, they will do something about them. We are also planning to do a stakeholders workshop on vandalism of engineering infrastructure in the FCT, which is a matter of serious concern,” he said.
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