OUR PRESIDENT MUST HEAR THIS!!!
•
The paved and motorable roads under
states and federal government control, according to National Planning
Commission, NPC, are less than 40% of the total network. Also, over 90% of the
local government roads are unpaved and over 50% unmotorable.
•
With generated power averaging
5000MW, Nigeria’s population is approaching 200 million, same population with
Brazil, a country which currently generates over 100,200MW. According to World
Bank, Nigeria ranked 2nd largest electricity access deficit in world as 80
million homes live without power.
Rural to urban migration in search of
greener pastures still persist in Nigeria in the 21st century despite government’s
claim of several rural development programs. This trend portend negative signal
for the already saturated urban environment, particularly in areas of housing,
sanitation, crimes and food security……NSE,KADA, (ABUJA) 2018
By Ayo Ademokoya
Leaving my hotel room so early for
the opening ceremony of the 51st National Engineering conference and the annual General Meeting of the great
and honourable Nigerian Society of Engineer which was supposed to be held in
Kaduna by the Kaduna branch of the NSE but postponed and hosted in Abuja for
obvious reasons was a bit cumbersome due
to fatigue from traveling for almost 10 hours by road all the way for my base
to the sit of power in Nigeria, Abuja
But that would not stop me from
getting to the venue of the opening ceremony of the epic event which coincides
with the 60th anniversary of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) early enough where thousands of
Engineer all over the country already converged at Chida event centre to
celebrate themselves, yet informed others as well as get educated through
various papers to be delivered by distinguished personalities who had made
indelible marks in their chosen profession and contributed to the development
and the growth of our dear Nation, Nigeria, Africa and the entire wide world as
a whole.
One of such personality who gave a heart-warming
and very expository key note address at the event was an erudite professor of
Engineering in the country; Professor Oluwatoyin Ashiru a distinguished
Materials and Metallurgical Engineer is a graduate of the University of Sussex,
Brighton, UK where he obtained B.Sc in Materials Science and Engineering. He
concluded his Ph.D at the University of Birmingham, UK in Industrial Metallurgy
in 1983.
I was shocked when his Curriculum
Vitae was reeled out to thousands of the the crème de la cream who had
converged from all works of life to listen to the professor speak on the topic ‘Sustainable Engineering Infrastructure for Accelerated Rural
Development’
Earlier, the President of the NSE
Engineer Adekunle Mokuolu,FNSE I his welcome address told the mammoth crowd
present at the auditorium that for many years discourses at various conferences
of the NSE have been weaved around topics aimed at making contributions towards
Nigeria technological, political and socio –economic advancement .
‘Again, this year, the council
approved the theme of the conference as Sustainable Engineering Infrastructure
for Accelerated Rural Development. Admittedly, this has been the central focus
of dialogue at different workshops and seminars since my assumption of office
and I believe that there is more to be discoursed as far as the topic is
concerned’.
Indeed there was more to be discussed as Professor
Ashiru, who has utilized his diverse experiences in the academia and industry
to provide technical advisory services for the enhancement of productivity in
major oil and gas industries worldwide. He has served as consultant to NNPC,
SHELL, CHEVRON, EXXONMOBIL, ADDAX, SAUDI ARAMCO, QATAR OIL, etc. He has also
served worldwide on various governmental multi-disciplinary task forces and
technical committees for UNIDO, UNESCO, and the World Bank did justice to the topic
as well as profer lasting solution to these problems confronting our nation.
I was amazed to further realised
before he delivered his lecture that Toyin Ashiru is the inventor of the first
known instrument for in site detection of steel cracking in sour petroleum
production operations. This sophisticated device is used worldwide in oil
industries. He holds patents in the USA, UK, Brazil. He has carried
out many projects to solve corrosion and materials degradation problems in
petrochemical, chemical processing, fertilizer, and steel manufacturing
industries.
What gladdens my heart
was to realise that Professor Ashiru is
not just an academician but someone with great passion for community service
especially educational counselling for Nigerian youths an attribute I
personally adored and cherished which we promotes through our medium as we all
thrives to see a Nigerian Society that would be at par with other developed
countries in the world especially in Europe and America. Now wonder he has
received many merit awards and citations worldwide in recognition of his work,
including an acknowledgment in the USA as a “Professional with Extraordinary
Ability” Professor Ashiru has.
It also gladdens my heart to know that in the private sector and the business world, Prof has proven his worth as I'm made to realise that Prof Ashiru is a Non-Executive Director of FCMB Group Plc, CSL Securities and is currently the Group Managing Director/CEO of Tricontinental Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in Oil & Gas services and industrial technologies
Toyin Ashiru is a COREN registered
engineer and a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and that is why www.harohkah.bolgspot.com.ng
went extra mile to bring to you the unedited version of the paper delivered by
this foremost Professor of Engineering in Nigeria and Africa.
Enjoy it
SUSTAINABLE
ENGINEERING INFRASTRUCTURE
FOR ACCELERATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT
FOR ACCELERATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
by
Prof. Toyin Ashiru, FNSE. FAEng
MD/CEO, Tricontinental Group
51st Annual Conference of the
Nigerian Society of Engineers in
Abuja, Nigeria, on
27 November 2018
·
The
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR,
FNSE; Your Excellencies
·
The
President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Members of the Executive of
NSE; Members of the NSE; Friends of the NSE
·
Distinguished
Guests; Gentlemen of the Press; Ladies and Gentlemen
I
greatly thank the President of the Nigeria Society of Engineer for giving me
the honour to be the keynote speaker at this year’s conference which coincides
with the 60th anniversary of our great society.
it
is also most elating to me that the theme of conference is a highly topical
issue - SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ACCELERATED RURAL
DEVELOPMENT.
For
nations to grow their economy, they must develop key infrastructure; when the
economy grows and there are more productive activities, they results in
increased demand for infrastructural services and then more infrastructure has
to be built. This is a continuous cycle of infrastructure development, economic
growth, further infrastructure development and further economic growth.
Role of Infrastructure
•
Infrastructure remains the bedrock on
which economy flourishes. These infrastructure are needed in every sector. In
power, telecoms, transportation, healthcare, business ventures etc. Provision
of infrastructure is widely regarded as promoting economic growth. Moreover, infrastructure
has a critical and often irreversible role in locking in patterns of
development. It needs to be emphasized that good quality infrastructure is
important not only for faster economic growth but also to ensure inclusive
growth
•
The
expansion in infrastructure facilities such as irrigation, rural
electrification, roads and road transport will promote growth and setting up of
industries, which propel development and improve quality of lives in rural
areas
•
The availability of good quality infrastructure
raises productivity levels in the economy and brings down costs of the
enterprises.
•
With our wealth of natural resources, we
do not only have what it takes to build for the present, but to also build for
future generations to come. the provision of infrastructure varies across
different levels of development and growth performance..
Rural
vs Urban Nigeria
•
Over two thirds of Nigeria's population
resides in rural areas. Increasingly, poverty in the country is wearing a rural
face. From 28.3% in 1980, poverty among the rural population grew to 51.4% in
1985, has since risen to 69.8% in 1996. In 2018, Nigeria became the
poverty capital of the world.
•
Access to infrastructure, safe water
supply, sanitation, health, modern energy, telecommunications and roads remain
important in reducing vulnerability and increasing prosperity.
•
It is also important to state that
infrastructures needed in rural areas usually vary from those needed in urban
areas in view of the developmental levels and evolving needs of each areas.
While infrastructural ideas may be towards provision of railway from Lagos to
Abuja, attention may be on provision of power supply in less developed areas.
•
In urban environments, sustainable
infrastructures promote financial growth and stability, and for the rising
low-income population, provide otherwise unavailable opportunities to improve
living conditions.
•
58 years since independence, absence of
proper roads, non-availability of electricity, poor communication and
connectivity, lack of education facility and medical facilities, are some of
the major challenges dragging Nigeria behind
•
The paved and motorable roads under
states and federal government control, according to National Planning
Commission, NPC, are less than 40% of the total network. Also, over 90% of the
local government roads are unpaved and over 50% unmotorable.
•
With generated power averaging 5000MW,
Nigeria’s population is approaching 200 million, same population with Brazil, a
country which currently generates over 100,200MW. According to World Bank,
Nigeria ranked 2nd largest electricity access deficit in world as 80 million
homes live without power.
•
Rural to urban migration in search of
greener pastures still persist in Nigeria in the 21st century despite government’s
claim of several rural development programs. This trend portend negative signal
for the already saturated urban environment, particularly in areas of housing,
sanitation, crimes and food security. There cannot be a better pointer for the
need to provide sustainable engineering infrastructures in the Rural areas to
address the growing pace of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, disease
outbreaks, poor developmental pace, and avoidable deaths.
•
The overdependence on nature by rural
dweller to make a living exerts greater pressure and damages on the ecological
system such as deforestation, environmental degradation and pollution.
Development of rural areas is measured by the provision of infrastructures and
economic opportunities made available to the people.
•
In providing the engineering
infrastructures, the concept of sustainability must be etched in the minds of
those saddled with the responsibility, as the solution must be considered
beyond the present day needs and people.
Major
Adverse Issues:
•
Corruption and bad politics in terms of
location, resource allocation, membership of policy boards, awards of contracts
etc.
•
Organizational inadequacies in terms of
administrative capacity (staffing, planning, monitoring, evaluation, etc.)
•
Improper mobilization of people (host
communities) leading to a high level of non-compliant behavior.
•
Problems associated with setting
over-ambitious and unrealistic target usually, not matched with sufficient
resources.
•
Wasteful duplication of scarce energies
and resources.
•
Lack of continuity with change of
administration
Sustainable Strategies in
Engineering Infrastructure
•
The Concept of Sustainability has been
defined from different views since its prominent evolution in recent times.
However, the most popular definition of sustainability is that from
the Brundtland Report of 1987, which stated: Sustainable development
is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In essence, the
Concept of Sustainability considers the immediate realities and those to come
in the future in addressing needs and answering questions. ‘Sustainable’ from
the concept of ‘Sustainability’ is a growing discourse world over which
emphasises among other things, planning for the future.
Way
Forward
•
Sustainability
in Engineering Infrastructure
•
Diversify rural economy, increase rural
employment and reduce migration;
•
Stimulate job creation and small
business development;
•
Develop partnerships between public and
private sectors and local communities;
•
Harmonize public and business interests,
optimize industrial and social infrastructures in the countryside;
•
Introduce efficient rural development
management based on EU standards to minimize the environmental impact caused by
technogenic factors.
•
Gains
of Accelerated Rural Development
•
End to urbanisation crisis
•
Imbalances in the provision of rural
infrastructure when compared with that of the cities have negatively impacted
cities’ sustainability
•
The provision of adequate
infrastructures in the rural communities will turn out to be an alternative
solution to the sustainability of the cities by reducing its rate of
urbanization and the decay of its infrastructure.
•
Economic development.
•
The state of rural development growth in
Nigeria has overtime impacted profoundly on all sectors of the national
economy.
•
Revitalising infrastructure at the rural
level is key to sustainable economic development because it gives room for
wealth and employment creation.
•
Poverty
reduction
•
The creation of sustainable
infrastructure in rural areas will enable dwellers to engage in viable economic
activities that can improve their well-being and conditions of living.
•
Most rural dwellers make up the informal
sector of the economy and this informal sector contributes over 60% of
Nigeria’s GDP
•
Employment
Opportunities
Unemployment opportunities are one
of the major reasons why individuals move from rural areas to urban areas.
However with proper infrastructure in place, more industries will set up in
rural communities due to closeness to natural resources and this will in turn
create rooms for other smaller industries to flourish and create jobs.
- Promote Integrated Planning
- Promote coherent
and integrated planning to unlock economic potential by ensuring
alignment of infrastructure planning and investments to key developmental
nodes in line with the Spatial Development Frameworks of the
municipality.
- The concept of
growth points or nodal development is based on spatial targeting, where
resources are co-ordinated and directed to selected areas in response to
identified development opportunities.
- Public housing
and infrastructure development programmes is being prioritised in these
places to unlock the development potential and opportunities for
job-creation that they hold.
What
is expected is that our engineers take up the challenge as individuals, groups
or a body to device innovative and cost-effective solutions to visible
infrastructural gap and develop robust capacities with local manpower and then
compete with foreign companies for our construction projects. The truth is no
one can build Nigeria like Nigerians, because we have a stake.
The
many challenges in Nigeria are an opportunity for our engineers to invent
breakthrough technologies or form clusters that can become a seedbed for
innovations and employments. These clusters might end up being the great
corporations of tomorrow.
We
have talked about what we know, but there are still a lot of things we don’t.
Like what the world will look like in 2050. What global warming and its effects
would have done to our home. What the fate of Nigeria will be when oil becomes
dozen-a-dime considering how the world is moving towards electric vehicles?
Nations of the world have set out dates for the ban on the sale of petrol and
diesel vehicles: Netherlands and Norway by 2025, India and Germany by 2030,
United Kingdom and France by 2040. In fact, Volvo will stop producing petrol
and diesel cars by 2019.
Obviously,
there are quite a lot of challenges for humanity to surmount, while Nigeria is
teething on basic infrastructure. Certainly though, we will all be part of the
future to some point. But in the end, would the world become better because of
you?
Let’s
work with what we have, based on what we know to address our current challenges
and impact the world so much that what we don’t know now will not become what
we cannot fix tomorrow.
