The former secretary to the state government of Adamawa State, Engr. Umar Bindir, has attributed Nigeria’s inability to overcome infrastructural challenges to weak industrialisation policies and intellectual property protection.
He called on the federal government to dedicate one to three percent of its GDP, directly or indirectly, to research so that “we can understand our problems and solve them.”
He also advocated for a strong collaboration between the government, academia and industries to overcome challenges.
Meanwhile, Engr. Kashim Abdul Ali, past president of NSE, called for the establishment of the Federal Roads Authority.
Engr. Bindir stated this in a keynote address at the 1st Engr. Sen. Adefemi Kila’s annual colloquium with the theme “Bridging Nigeria’s Infrastructural Gap: Financing, Innovation, and Sustainable Policies” in Abuja.
The event was organised by the Nigerian Institute of Civil Engineers (NICE), a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers for Engr. Adefemi Kila.
He said that while there were many policies and research, they were not tailored to the local problems.
He, therefore, urged researchers to research what Nigeria needs and produce them.
He said institutions in Nigeria must be made to sell what they produce and solve local problems.
“This presentation addressed the technical reasons why we have gaps in Nigerian infrastructure delivery. Infrastructure, as you know, includes civil or physical infrastructure. There is also economic infrastructure. We have challenges everywhere. Now, in our country, the ones that people can understand are roads, railways, electricity, water supply, and physical infrastructure.
“The reason why we are having these challenges, grievous challenges, is because I don’t think we have understood the contributions that science can make, connect that science to technological evolution as solutions to our problems, and take those solutions and implement them as innovations so that we can be able to start seeing Nigerian products, Nigerian skills so that we can be able to supply our people with the required elements of the infrastructure or provide services.”
He explained further the need for evidence-based policies that target exactly what is needed.
“We need to renew the way we develop our policies. They must be evidence-based, target exactly what we want, and have data. Number two, we have to recognise the contributions of our tertiary institutions in these elements.
“Our universities must be good, to produce the critical mass of young people who should solve problems in this country. Therefore, the universities have to change. Their laboratories must be good, their workshops must be good, and so on and so forth.
“We must also learn to get the benefits of partnership and synergy. Institutions must cooperate to share human and financial resources to ensure that things that are coming are also shared.
“We must deploy ICT at the highest level and ensure that information, communication, and entertainment technologies are everywhere in Nigeria.
“We must also invest very heavily in research and development. What we are doing now can only be measured based on what TETFund is doing in trying to support universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and affiliated research facilities. This country has to dedicate between one to three percent of its GDP, directly or indirectly, to research so that we can understand our problems and solve them.
“We must also ensure that our policies recognize the models linking intellectualism to industry. If, as long as we neglect this, we will see unemployment, we will see poverty, we will see lack of skills, and we will see other people coming from other countries, taking our jobs, taking our money, selling us their products, and so on and so forth. So, we must address this, and so on and so forth. I went on to demonstrate that, yes, Nigeria has science. The universities are working. The polytechnics are working.
“The colleges of education are working. But we are more heavily concentrating on the science level. We are publishing very well.
“We are getting promoted at the fastest rate. We have large pools of PhD holders and many professors. But now we have to also understand that unless we get the translation of this hard work into solutions, then literally the hard work is not working for us.
“So, we must be able to ensure that we strengthen our intellectual property system. We must ensure that technology experimentation, release of prototypes and processes and pilot plans are everywhere to demonstrate that we’re working. And then, on that ladder, we must be very innovative.
“We have to see the wealth being created. We should not be importing rice or simplistic equipment for our leaders to use in their constituencies as constituency projects.
“Tailoring machines, generators, hair dryers, and so on and so forth. This should be Nigeria-made. That is when you will know Nigerian knowledge is working for Nigeria.
“And so on the intelligentsia side, I think we too must change. We have to speak the right language. We must make politicians understand that we can make it.
“We must be able to say to the politicians that we can create one million jobs every year using the technologies that are coming to us. We must convince the industry that what we are coming up with is feasible and profitable. You know, this is now also our fault on the intelligentsia.
“These things are certainly doable. And when they are working, you can just see it. You will see that the roads have been designed and constructed by Nigerians.
“You will see the railway. It’s not the Chinese that will give us railways and trains. We will do it. You will see that telecommunications will work because we know. We will see that this challenge of power will be history. I believe it’s doable. It’s measurable. And the time is never late. We should do it because we have the capacity and capability to actually get on with it,” he stated.
President of the Society of Engineers (NSE) Margaret Oguntala, represented by Engr. Ali Rabiu described Engr Kila as an icon of Engineering.
He said Engr Kila’s contributions helped shape policies.
In his goodwill message, Engr. Kashim Abdul Ali, past president of NSE, called for the establishment of the Federal Roads Authority.
He said the absence of the agency created a gap in road construction.
He called on the president to assent to the bill to set up the Federal Roads Authority, adding that the ministry and FERMA have no mandate to build roads.
In his goodwill message, Professor Jerry Gana lauded the attributes and character of the celebrant, Engr. Kila.
He described Engr. Kila was a “man of innovative ideas” and charged the profession to change the society.
Former head of state General Yakubu Gowon extolled Engr. Kila as one of the young indigenous engineers who impacted the jobs done under his administration with Julius Berger.
Also, Senator Dino Melaye called for unity of purpose to achieve national objectives.
He lamented that the country had been divided along religious and ethnic lines.
He said, “Politicians, Pastors, and Imams have divided us based on religion. We must propagate the unity of this country to progress.”
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