Past President of NSE, Engr. Mustafa Malarabe Shehu,has emerged as the Executive Vice President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO). Engr. Shehu clinched the post in a keenly contested election which took place at the just concluded World Engineers’ Convention (WEC 2019).
The event which was jointly organized by Engineers Australia and the WFEO held in Melbourne, Australia th rd between 18 and 23 November, 2019.
Engr. Shehu has served the Society in various capacities, crowning it as President of NSE in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, Engr. Shehu assumed leadership of the umbrella body for African Engineers, the Federation of African Engineering Organizations (FAEO) as President.
He clinched the position in an election which held in Nairobi, Kenya. Also at that meeting, Nigerian Engineers successfully lobbied their counterparts across the continent to secure the permanent hosting of the FAEO headquarters in Abuja.
In 2017, Engr. Shehu was backed by Nigeria and several other African countries to contest for the Presidency of the World Engineering body. The bid was unsuccessful at that time. This victory, therefore, serves as a crowning glory for all the previous efforts. It is a victory for NSE, Nigeria and the entire continent.
Engr. Shehu has 35 years of experience in the practice of electrical engineering, mainly in the fields of power engineering, rural electrification, hydro and thermal power stations, high voltage transmission lines as well as building services engineering. He started as a Public Utility Engineer with the National Electric Power Authority and then Kano State Rural Electricity Board from 1986 to 1998. ]
By 1998 he resigned to establish with colleagues, a private Engineering firm, MBS Engineering Limited. For more than 15 years, a lot of his time has been dedicated to the management and growth of the company which he superintends as the Chairman. He has also been dedicated to the growth of Engineering Professional Institutions in Nigeria and Africa – N S E a n d F A E O respectively.
On hand to support Engr. M. B. Shehu, d u r i n g t h e Melbourne outing was a high-power delegation from Nigeria led by the President of NSE, Engr. Adekunle Mokuolu. Other members of the delegation include the Deputy President of NSE, Engr. Babagana Mohammed, Past Presidents, Engr. Ibrahim Khaleel Inuwa, Engr. Ademola Olorunfemi and the Immediate Past President of NSE and President of West African Federation of Engineering Organisations (WAFEO), His Royalty, Engr. Otis Anyaeji.
Also on the team is Past Vice President of NSE, Engr. Valerie Agberagba, President of APWEN, Engr. Dr. Felicia Agubata, Chairman Board of Fellows, Engr. Felix Atume, Engr. Yetunde Halloway, and Executive Secretary of NSE, Engr. Dr. Okopi Alex Momoh.
The New WFEO Executive Board. Our own Engr. M.B. Shehu, FNSE is 3rd from left. Far right is Engr. Nathaniel Matalanga from Kenya Some NSE delegates to WFEO Meeting in Melbourne at a sectional meeting of FAEO where the President of NSE presented a memento to Engr. Ke Gong – the President-Elect of WFEO.
Engr. Ke Gong takes over as President of WFEO on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019
Engr. Shehu is a 1985 graduate of Electrical Engineering from the famous Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He started his professional career upon graduation in 1985 with the National Youth Service Corps scheme where he served with the Electrical Inspectorate Division, Federal Ministry of Mines and Power, Enugu. He got involved in pre-commissioning tests of various Rural Electrification Projects in the then Anambra, Imo, Rivers, Cross-Rivers and Benue states, 27MW gas Turbine Project Angiama Rivers State, Greater Enugu Water scheme and host of other Projects. In 1986 he joined the Lagos Themal Power station Egbin, A NEPA 6 x 220MW gas turbine generation station. He was attached to the switch gear and transformer section and was responsible for the maintenance of protective relays. He is presently the Chairman/CEO MBS Engineering Limited.
He has demonstrated an unrivaled commitment to professional engineering service. He served as Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Kano Branch, between 2000 and 2002; Vice President, Nigerian Society of Engineers, 2006, 2008–2009; Deputy President, Nigerian Society of Engineers, 2010–2011; Member, Consumer Complaints Handling forum for the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, 2008-2011; President, Nigerian Society of Engineers, 2012–2013 and President, Federation of African Engineering Organizations (FAEO), between 2015 and 2016 respectively.
The World Federation of Engineering Organizations is an international, non-governmental organization representing the engineering profession worldwide. The body was founded in 1968 by a group of regional engineering organizations, under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) in Paris; the WFEO brings together national engineering organizations from some 100 nations and represents more than 30 million engineers from around the world. It is the sole body representing the engineering profession of all kind and disciplines at World Level.
The WFEO’s mission includes: representing the engineering profession internationally, providing the collective wisdom and leadership of the profession to assist national agencies choose appropriate policy options that address the most critical issues affecting countries of the world; enhancing the practice of engineering; making information on engineering available to the countries of the world and to facilitate communication between its member nations about the world’s best practices in key engineering activities; promoting socio-economic security and sustainable development and poverty alleviation among all countries of the world, through the proper application of technology; serving society and be recognized by national and international organizations and the public, as a respected and valuable source of advice and guidance on the policies, interests and concerns that relate engineering and technology to the human and natural environment, among others.
The overarching theme for WEC 2019 is “Engineering a Sustainable World: The Next 100 Years”. The year’s event witnessed a legacy moment as the International Engineering Alliance and the WFEO came together to sign a declaration of a new benchmark for engineering education for the future.