Every family in Nigeria has been advised to ensure they have an engineer, particularly a female, in their homes to contribute to a greater society.
Engr Joan Ogwuche, Kogi State Coordinator of the National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC), made the appeal while speaking as the guest speaker at the inauguration ceremony of Engr Attach Cecilia A., MNSE, as the 4th APWEN Chairman and 2024/2025 Kogi Chapter Executives in the Confluence State.
The Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria, Kogi State Chapter, is a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
Speaking on the topic Striking the Balance as a Successful Professional Career Woman, Wife, and Mother, Engr Ogwuche pointed out that where families cannot produce female engineers, they should encourage their daughters to marry engineers, describing female engineers as good home makers.
She emphasised that for a functional society that tackles the challenges of antisocial vices among children and husbands, working mothers must strike a balance between their careers and their home lives.
While stressing the importance of women contributing to the home through employment, she noted that building a better society and family requires professionals and working mothers who are precise, time-conscious, and well-rounded—qualities exemplified by female engineers.
No matter how busy your schedule is, failure to strike a balance as professional women, without paying attention to your husbands and children, is an error, she said.
Engr Ogwuche advised mothers and women to instil morals and values in their children to prevent bringing shame upon their families.
What you get in your old age is a product of what you sow in the lives of your husband and children today. As mothers and professionals, we must make time to balance our work and family life.
Find a definition of balance by making sacrifices and being flexible in addressing the peculiarities of your home. Concentrate on your husband and children, being honest about their needs through effective time management. As women, we need to be disciplined in values.
Use effective communication strategies to set boundaries for work and family. As women, let us be transparent with our husbands and children.
Let us embrace effective communication with our husbands and children to reduce conflict. We need to understand our roles in the home. Let us ask for help with household chores, and since we work for money, we should also allow our money to work for us when necessary.
Let us take proper care of our mental health by ensuring we find time to rest, she said, adding that a happy mother has a happy home and that a healthy home translates to a productive working environment.
Where society, husbands, and children benefit from the attention of working mothers, both family and society become the greatest beneficiaries, contributing to national development.
Earlier in her remarks, Engr Christina Ojoyi Omotola, the 3rd APWEN Chairman, Kogi State Chapter, said the vision of APWEN is to encourage women in Nigeria to become engineers, describing the engineering profession as a catalyst for the much-discussed advancement of the nation in technology.
Engr Omotola added that towards the national and global technical development that Nigeria envisions, APWEN aims to inspire women to achieve professional excellence as engineers and leaders.
She described the objectives of APWEN as providing a forum for promoting camaraderie among female engineers and encouraging the study and practice of engineering among Nigerian women. She noted that beyond increasing membership and advocating for girls to show interest in engineering, her tenure had taken the association to new heights.
A key highlight of the inauguration was the administration of the oath of office to Engr Attah Cecilia. Born in 1967, an indigene of Dekina LGA, she is a graduate of Civil Engineering from Kaduna State Polytechnic, specialising in Water Resources. Engr Attah holds a PGD in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Minna and later pursued a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, which is currently in progress.
The new APWEN Chairman pledged to increase advocacy for the girl child to embrace the engineering profession and vowed to justify the confidence placed in her.
The ceremony concluded with the oath of administration of APWEN and the decoration of Engr Attah Cecilia, the new Chairman, by the outgoing Chairman, Engr Christina Ojoyi Omotola. Similarly, the new Chairman inaugurated the new state chapter.
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