Mark Anthony “Baz” Luhrmann the Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor famously asserted “Trust yourself that you can do it and get it.” As a young professional in Drake and Scull, I was thrust very early into professional leadership with responsibility for oversight and timely delivery on major projects including the construction of 19 airfields e.g. the Makurdi Air Force Base, Benue State. Apart from these, he supervised other projects like the Sokoto and Makurdi Rice Mills, Taraku
Oil Mill and the Sokoto University Teaching Hospital. I was further charged with contribution to strategic growth of the organisation operations in Nigeria.
These initial exposures prepared me for an expansive experience in engineering services, consulting (The World Bank Assisted Projects include: Enugu State Multi-State; Road Project, Ondo State Multi-State Road Project; Kano/Jigawa Multi-State Road Project, Ondo/Enugu IDF; Sokoto/Zamfara Multi-State Health Project, Ondo/Bauchi; Multi-State Health Project, Ogun/Kaduna Multi-State Health Project) and more recently training and policy at all levels; national, regional, and global. I remain grateful to providence for the professional network and continuous improvement these have afforded of my skills and competencies.
Management and leadership capacities gathered in each of these deposited a range of skills beyond engineering in my repertoire. They prepared me to intersect with public policy and multi-sector collaborations in my leadership journey at sub-national and national levels.
They built soft skills in project management and team focused performance reviews such as you can only find in the engineering profession. These remain common attributes of those identified by their own peers for awards as prestigious as this. My colleagues and I are very humbled to have been so recognised through this fellowship award by the Nigerian Academy of Engineering.
Infrastructure stock
Although one must acknowledge the import of inter-professional contribution across sectors to social transformation and economic growth, the inter-sector binding agent towards national development rests on the vast contribution of engineering to the development and maintenance of critical hardware and software assets in each sector – energy, transportation, mining, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), vital registration and security as well as defence and the social sector infrastructure (agriculture, water, health, education, housing etc.)
It is estimated that the current stock of infrastructure in Nigeria is about 40 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with the target of raising it to 70% by
(Figure 1). This is a very poor show relative to comparator countries with infrastructure stock as high as 80% of GDP in Poland, and 87% in South Africa. Financing Infrastructure
According to the Reviewed National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, the country requires an investment of $2.3 trillion over the next 30 years to close its public infrastructure deficit. The master plan says Africa’s most populous nation must spend $150bn annually to achieve this target. On the other hand, Agusto & Co, a pan-African credit ratings agency, projected a higher figure for Nigeria to bridge its infrastructural gap. Augusto & Co, firmly asserts in one of its monthly newsletters entitled, “Rethinking Nigeria’s Models for Infrastructure Development.” that “Nigeria has a huge infrastructural deficit and requires up to $3 trillion over the next 30 years to bridge this gap.”
However, examination of current budgetary pressures affirms limited investment across all asset classes of infrastructure with below 75% actual release of budgeted sums. Highest releases are reported in subsectors of transport, vital registry, and security with a near neglect in housing and ICT both at less than 2% (Table 1).
Table 1: Summary of Federal Government Infrastructure Expenditure per Asset Class in (N) Billion, 2009-2018
Whichever figure one decides to go with, two things are certain. First, there are high infrastructural gaps in Nigeria. Secondly, a huge investment is needed to bridge the gap. Sadly, government revenue is on the decline, and continued borrowing has become amajorconcern.
Human Resources
Well beyond financial resources, the profession like others requires a well-trained, motivated, and accountable workforce. By the end of 2020, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), reports registration of 1,494 engineering firms and 67, 548 engineering practitioners, in Nigeria, of which only 1,610 (2.4%) are expatriates. According to the COREN, of the 65,938 Nigerian engineering practitioners it had registered, 56,752 (86.1%) are engineers, 5,612 (8.1%) engineering technologists, 2,703 (4.1%) engineering craftsmen and 871 are engineering technicians (1.3%). Nigeria’s engineering talent pool may be the hardest hit by the impact of Nigeria’s ‘JAPA’ (a local slang for international migration) phenomenon. This i.e., Japa has resulted in significant depletion of the country’s engineering stock mainly in technology and communication science. Inadequate motivation and limited incentive systems including the cost-of-living crisis has made the retention of skilled local talent a real challenge across all engineering subsectors. Skilled Nigerian professionals are a globally premium as they are innovative, skilled, and competent, if policy and performance environments allow them. Software engineers & developers, data analysts, product managers, UI/UX designers, growth hackers have anecdotally left in their drones to seek employment with foreign companies that pay them in stronger currencies. The impact of this talent loss is severe with compromise of Nigeria’s technological capabilities, and a reduction in her market competitiveness.
A call to action
It is pertinent to note that the Asian tigers, export engineering across all sectors to all nations, and by so doing have contributed not only to their global economic emergence but also to their political dominance.
During the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, France, Australia, Germany and ultimately the European Union (EU) refused to sell medical equipment and personal protection equipment outside the members of the EU until domestic and EU regional needs and stockpiles were satisfied.
Exportation was completely closed. Ultimately, China, the Americas and Canada did the same thing, extending this to global supplies of much needed lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines in Africa, our deficits in engineering means is that if you cannot produce what you will use, you are as good as ready to die.
George Eliot, the famous wrote that ‘It’s never too late to be what you might’ve been.”The manifesto of our party ‘Renewed Hope’ and policy thrust of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has rightly placed investment in, and partnerships to bridge our national infrastructure deficit centre stage. Without an iota of doubt, bridging the gaps in infrastructure stock and financing this gap is an imperative.
The Presidential Policy Council has effectively addressed these in the recently released advisory report to His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Success will require meticulous monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) such has been proposed by the Nigerian Society of Engineers for an independent working group for infrastructure delivery in Nigeria. This platform will assure professional efficiency, accountability, transparency, and sustainability. It will track path to the 2043 target to build the infrastructure gaps in both stock and financing,
The pivotal role of sector leadership cannot be overstated. It is important to appoint and place persons with the requisite experience as heads of ministries, departments, and agency. As a cross sector asset in national planning and development, persons with engineering experience and skills are required across all sectoral development.
To achieve this, it is important to motivate and retain our engineering workforce. This involves assuring their engagement and prioritization as may be appropriate in public protocols, committees, and procurement. Brains like hearts go where they are both valued and appreciated.
On our part as fellows of this great academy, we must commit to the professional integrity of the sector through meaningful policy dialogue, mentoring, promoting cutting edge research and innovation from our technology institutes, universities, and professionals.
Closing
As I close, I recall the words of President John F. Kennedy, the 35th President, of the United States of America “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” My commitment to the profession of engineering is transgenerational, ensuring that we invest in tomorrow today through mentorship, creation of equal opportunities for advancement, enable pathways to innovation and maintain the core contribution of engineering to national development.
I thank you all.
*Senator Omisore PhD ,FNSE, FAEng; CON, National Secretary, All Progressives Congress delivered this address at 2023 induction of Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering(NAE)on Thursday, 22 June, in Lagos.
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