In economics, productivity is measured by the efficient ability of people, businesses and other participants in the economy to turn inputs into outputs. A country’s level of productivity directly determines the standard of living of its citizens. To achieve high-level productivity, countries create infrastructure, advance their technologies, generate employment opportunities for their citizens, and foster sustainable practices through engineering as a source that drives economic growth. Every nation therefore has its engineering technology strategy that prioritizes its industry productivity.
In 2050, three decades from now, the world will be vastly different from today’s rapidly changing and disruptive technological and engineering landscape.
Beyond two-thirds of the projected nine billion global population living in cities and urban areas in 2050, means of living will as well change.
From modern means of transportation to advanced technologies that will be indistinguishable from magic, sustainable smart cities with infrastructure built with smart materials that respond to stimuli instead of being passive structures, – most part of the developed world will be unrecognizably different from where the world was with engineering and technology at the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 18th century.
Unfortunately, in terms of engineering and technological advancement, most African countries are yet to catch up with where the West was in the 19th century. It is doubtful, how Africa, at its current pace of growth, political will, transparent budgeting, honest leadership and commitment to the development of engineering and technology, holds a stake in the future of the world.
Take the steel sector for instance, leaders and engineers in Nigeria know that steel is the world’s most important engineering and construction material, yet, for 45 years, Nigeria’s billions of investments in the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited have failed to achieve any significant result except for the light mills that have been put into operations for small-scale fabrication and the production of iron rods.
It is unimaginable, how we intend to manufacture “made-in-Nigeria” machinery, cars, construction equipment, domestic appliances and other engineering infrastructures, without an advanced and productive steel industry. With just 26 years left to 2050, it is indeed doubtful, how we intend to develop engineering materials with improved properties that enable the creation of efficient products of the future.
Beyond global competitiveness, we need engineering advancement to solve our complex local challenges in almost all sectors of our society, particularly in the security and manufacturing sectors. Nigeria cannot solve problems of non-traditional and unconventional security threats with analogue ways.
We need advanced technologies to identify potential security threats across our 923,769sq kilometres, ensure fast responses, deter criminal behaviour and capture crucial evidence in the event that a crime occurs. With rising food insecurity, we need science, technology and innovation to improve agricultural productivity, reduce costs, enhance food quality, and ensure Nigeria’s capacity to feed its people and region.
Though yesterday was the best time to make our engineering industry productive, today is the next best time to invest in engineering skills and cutting-edge engineering advancements that will position Nigeria at the forefront of innovation in engineering excellence, technological prowess and green solutions.
To survive in today’s world that is evolving at the speed of light, Nigeria must become a known engineering hub, to the extent that we are defined by our engineering precision. This must go beyond assembling of cars in Nigeria or importation of other equipment for self-serving political “empowerment” projects, to manufacturing core components of products that make human existence easy.
A thriving engineering ecosystem can only be fuelled by sustained and strong collaboration between governments, academia, research institutions, and industries, through learning and innovation. Fortunately, engineering and technology fall within the concurrent legislative list under Part II of the Second Schedule (22) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which expressly provides that “nothing herein shall preclude a House of Assembly from establishing or making provisions for an institution or other arrangement for the purpose of scientific and technological research” – hence, subnational governments have a developmental duty to prioritise and leverage on engineering technology to secure the people and optimize productivity and prosperity at the subnational level.
Our ability to improve the standard of living over time will rest entirely on the ability of our governments at all levels to raise our output per worker, by advancing modern engineering technologies capable of improving efficiency and productivity.
While the private sector has a huge role to play, government leadership must make informed choices and decisions to close our existing engineering skill gap. We must invest in engineering technicians and technologists for hands-on application of technical expertise to engineering tasks in a wide range of industries, including agricultural engineering.
The most important role of the government is to create an enabling and attractive investment environment for investors, both local and foreign, to invest in the technology and engineering sector in Nigeria. The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the ministry of technology and other relevant agencies of government must go beyond regulation and control of engineering practice, to ensure a national engineering policy and strategy plan for innovation in the engineering space.
More importantly, as we strive to solve Nigeria’s prolonged problem of poor productivity that has created complex economic roots, we must be in consensus that it demands an equally deliberate, multi-faceted, long-term, and fierce response – this is not a convenient time for window dressing of the problem, we either become known and renowned for our productivity in engineering or continue to tag along at the tail end of human history. In the final analysis, Nigeria cannot truly develop without engineering, science and technology. Whatever you do, we are all engineers in our own rights, let us re-engineer a productive Nigeria that works for everyone.
Ekpa is a lawyer and leadership consultant, wrote from Abuja