Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, has reiterated the imperative of technology in the overall development of any nation, saying that the future belongs to people who were ready and willing to adopt or adapt it.
The deputy governor stated this on Wednesday while delivering the keynote address at the Induction Ceremony of the University of Ibadan Engineering Graduands 2021/2022 session, into the graduate membership of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), with the theme: “Developing Innovative Strategy for Building a Sustainable Career as a Young Engineers in the 21st Century.”
Speaking at the event, which took place at the Faculty of Technology Large Lecture Theatre, Ibadan, Oyo State, Hamzat said technology development is highly flexible and can be adapted to suit various life issues and circumstances, adding: “The most interesting aspect of technology development is the manner it has transformed governance, socio-economic growth and development through its application and implementation of innovative strategies and initiatives.”
According to him, the bedrock of socioeconomic growth and development in a country is the provision of infrastructure to stimulate socioeconomic activities that will transform the society, saying such include intermodal transport systems, road construction, affordable housing, and food security through the provision of mechanized farming and grain storage in silos.
The deputy governor, while noting that these activities would generate economic empowerment for the people through employment generation, stressed that engineers are central to the achievement of these activities or strategies.
He, therefore, urged the new inductees to see the ceremony as a stepping stone to the fulfillment of their dreams as engineers and achieve success in building up their career profile.
“As you grow in the engineering profession, you must learn, unlearn and relearn due to constant changes in knowledge and development in technology.
“They have seen phenomenal growth in Artificial Intelligence (Al) and the impact it has had on the way people live, work, and interact,”. he said.
Hamzat stressed that 21st-century, with its myriad challenges, offers opportunities to engineers in a country like Nigeria, saying that they cannot be armchair engineers, but rather solution providers, just as he added that education provides only a foundation, the reality check being that they must put their theoretical training to design great engineering feats.
“Our challenges are your opportunities, Climate Change, agricultural production, housing challenges, infrastructural development and maintenance are all areas of opportunity.
“We have recorded incidents of building collapses in some areas and incidents such as this bring our profession into negative perception by the public. We must, therefore, put it at the back of our minds that we must reshape the negative mindsets created by the various activities,” the deputy governor said.
Speaking further, Dr. Hamzat stated that the world of engineering was filled with opportunities waiting to be explored, pointing out that there were boundless opportunities in the public sector for young engineers to achieve their potential as young engineers, being their turn to contribute their quota by coming up with ideas and concepts that would further enhance life experience in the country.
He further urged the young engineers to go back to the drawing board and think of innovative ways and means by which they can make a meaningful impact in their chosen field with the necessary guidance and inspiration from their mentors.
“If you want to build up a sustainable career, three things are very important for you; never stop learning, nothing is impossible and if you can dream it, you can achieve it,” he charged.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, enjoined the graduating engineering students to be of good character and good ambassadors of the institution as well as put all the training they had acquired in the institution into use for the development of the country.
Adebowale, who was represented at the event by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academics, Prof. Aderonke Baiyeroju, added that the country required their expertise for her socioeconomic and political development.
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