Okechukwu Onwuka
10 May 2009
opinion
This is the concluding part of this piece which was first published in our last edition
HOW many of us will be proud to encourage our sons and daughters who are engineers to take up the challenge and go into enterprise that will produce an engineering solution to a critical social need? Will our mindset appreciate the opportunity of future financial reward, a national award or a legacy that may require 5 or more years of disciplined, committed research, inventions and industry?
Wikipedia defines an engineer thus: An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of engineering. Engineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. As such, the work of engineers is the link between perceived needs of society and commercial applications. Some consider this profession to be the link between art and science. From the above definition, you see clearly what an engineer's role is designed to be. Of course there will always be engineers who work for companies as part of the spectrum of application but it becomes a problem when the best in the land all focus on working in firms where their engineering knowledge or abilities will scarcely be developed beyond rudimentary levels. Interestingly, Nigeria is full of practical problems needing engineering solutions. We need our engineers to develop software solutions, potable water supply and distribution systems, mass-production systems that reduce power consumption and yield higher efficiency on a wide range of consumer products. There are negligible in-country engineering solutions for the manufacturing sector. The list is endless.
There is established need for oil and gas equipment such as valves, pipes, fittings, pumps, compressors, turbines, vessels yet our engineers become procurement experts who identify overseas manufacturers of choice while we pay extra costs for crating, shipping, handling and delivery plus mark-up. What if some of our engineers decide to set up manufacturing facilities for these materials locally? It may take some years to get it rolling but when it finally takes off, the profits will follow. Other engineers focus on running after contracts and end up sub-contracting the jobs to foreign firms on job award. We can surely do with other types of engineers besides employed and contracting engineers. There has to be a balance.
Some of you may argue, where will the funds come from? I'll ask where did the funds for setting up the several bottled water plants, diesel and DPK tank farms come from? We can hope to find answers only to questions we ask or opportunities we seek. When no one is looking in those directions because we lack the will to go against social traffic to establish a legacy, blaming the banks who won't grant loans will get us nowhere. The same banks will rush to become your partners if you pay the price by starting small and growing diligently over time. When success beckons, many "friends" arrive including bank CEOs. Instead of a mortgage loan of N55m or more to buy a big house in Lekki, a mortgage of less than N5m can secure land in a cheaper location that can serve as base location for your future industry, school or hospital with less repayment stress.
The engineers in the banks are another sorry group. I have no issues with those who studied engineering as a result of parental pressure and are into banking as a true expression of self. The problem is with the creative, intelligent engineers who end up as bank marketing officers or bank executives who have no plan whatsoever to create any institution of value for Nigerians besides quick profits, forex round-tripping, crashing the stock market, using greed-bait Lotteries and promos to attract deposits and a permanent inclination to venture into any area of the economy that promises quick returns i.e. telecoms, bureau de change, real estate, etc.
These engineers may be doing well financially but they may have gotten too deep into the more-money-quick syndrome to remember any engineering values or aspirations. What are the chances that they'll engage in Engineering based enterprise solutions when they retire from paid employment?
When the most intelligent, brilliant and hardworking citizens are working in the banks, Multinationals, Oil & Gas companies, who will be left to design, implement and steward the complex processes in manufacturing and production, the bedrock of any country's growth? The United States of America lost their foundational principles when it became fashionable to do less work and outsource the manufacturing to China and Asia. When beautiful PowerPoint presentations, boardroom flair and mellifluous language replaced the values of hard work, dedication, patience and productivity that gave rise to the industrial revolution, the decline became inevitable. Now China and Asia have become dominant forces in the world economy.
For Nigeria, the time to start is now. I will contribute my quota by the grace of almighty God. Even if the results do not show now, my children can at least see evidence of my contribution. Someday, someone may continue from where I stopped. Hopefully, we'll have a Nigerian brand that that is able to communicate positive images in the subconscious mind of Nigerians and non-Nigerians.
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