NSE Presidential and Interactive Visit to NSE Bauchi Branch held at the PTDF Conference Hall, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi on the 25th August 2015
The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Presidential Delegation arrived Bauchi at about 6.00 pm yesterday to the warm reception of the Chairman, and members of NSE Bauchi Branch. As part of its mandate, the delegation got to work today with an interactive session with the Bauchi Branch members at the PTDF Conference Hall, Faculty of Engineering and Engineering Technology, at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi by 10.00 am. The agenda of the interactive meeting include; the welcome address by the Chairman, NSE Bauchi Branch, a Good Will Message from the Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Engineering Technology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, The NSE Presidential Address, an interactive session of questions and answers, and a vote of thanks by the NSE Chief Examiner for Bauchi.
The interaction got off to a good start with a welcomGe address delivered by Engr. Ali Abdullahi, MNSE, the Bauchi branch Chairman. He warmly welcomed the NSE President, Engr. Isaac Ademola Olorunfemi, FNSE ably represented by Engr. F. Ehimatre Ovans, MNSE to the historic city of Bauchi. He extolled the virtues of the person of the NSE President and his concern over the welfare of Nigerian Engineers. The Branch Chairman also expressed his gratitude to the Management of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University for their support and generosity over time. He noted that the University must be appreciated for always willing to provide logistics support for NSE activities. He further urged member to take advantage of this Presidential visit to ventilate their deeply held views over the performance of the professional society and welfare of its members and seek to reach a consensus on how best to reposition the body for the collective good of members.
On behalf of Engr. Prof. Jibrin Jiya, MNSE Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Engineering Technology, A.T.B.U, Bauchi, who was unavoidably absent from the event, Engr. Prof. Adisa A. Bello, FNSE, FNIMechE , the Dean’s very able representative gave the good will message. The Dean, paid glowing tribute to the Engr. Isaac Ademola Olorunfemi, FNSE, the NSE President and his team over this very thoughtful visit. He also introduced the various Heads of Department in the Faculty of Engineering and proudly showed them off as COREN Registered Engineers and Corporate Members of NSE. He informed the Presidential delegation that the Institution and Bauchi Chapter are blessed with a significant number of NSE Fellows. The Dean enumerated the academic and professional strides the Institution has made in recent times. He noted that in the recent past, the Institution was rated by the NUC and COREN as the fifth best University in Nigeria, and the very best in engineering respectively. He assured the President that efforts are however being made to sustain this enviable standard of academic and professional excellence. He thanked the University authority for providing a befitting meeting venue for NSE activities, and the NSE for providing Bauchi Branch with a professional examination centre. He rounded up by warmly thanking the President and his team for this well conceived visit and meeting which will further endear the NSE to its members and the society in general.
The NSE President, Engr. Isaac Ademola Olorunfemi, FNSE ably represented by Engr. F. Ehimatre Ovens, MNSE, in his speech brought warm greetings and message of goodwill from the National Executive Council of NSE to the Bauchi Branch. He was happy to note that despite the security challenges bedeviling the North –east, Nigeria, the NSE activities in the region is still waxing stronger. However, the main reasons for his visit include; First ,and foremost, is updating the NSE data base to enable the Headquarter keep track of its members for the purpose of information sharing and dissemination. Secondly, he also noted that the team is out on a fund recovery drive, and urged members to pay up and/or clear their outstanding indebtedness to the body that endowed them with the prestige of professional membership. Thirdly, he also encouraged members to participate in the National Engineering Games to synergize and network with senior professional colleagues; according to him such opportunities should not be squandered.
The President also spoke quite passionately about the underlying benefits of the National Engineering Essay Competition for Nigerian Engineering students. In his views the annual essay competition was borne out of the need to improve the communication skills of our student engineers and assist them express their ingenious ideas without any fear of contradiction or misrepresentation. He added that the essay provides a good measure of visibility to the engineering profession in our contemporary Nigerian Society and hence should be roundly supported by members to achieve its set objective. The President was delighted to note that all HOD’s of the Faculty of Engineering of the University are also registered members of NSE and are also COREN certified. He applauded their collective will and urged them to take the crusade of engineering professionalism down to every staff member of the Faculty. He also highlighted the contribution of NSE in promoting engineering professional membership through the novel NSE Graduate Induction Scheme aimed to collectively induct Student members into the ‘Graduateship’ cadre upon graduation from the Universities or equivalent Institutions of higher learning. He encouraged the NSE Bauchi Branch to set up a consortium of professionals to bid and handle very challenging infrastructural projects in the society, to enhance their professional practice experience and also generates funds for the Branch.
While, NSE is also doing its best to ensure that relevant ministries and agencies of government saddled with engineering responsibilities saturate their employment registers with personnel of relevant engineering expertise, he also called on engineers to strive to compliment the present efforts made by NSE, by exploiting all available opportunities in media activism to drive home the case of our collective welfare, by courting the attention of government to their professional plight and welfare. The President cheered up the Branch, when he informed all and sundry, that through several meetings with relevant agencies of government, NSE has pushed the case of the Enhanced Salary Structure for Engineers to a logical conclusion. Hence, all that is left is a policy statement from government on the commencement date for the implementation of the proposed package for engineers. He ended his speech by thanking the Bauchi Branch and the University for supporting the professional body.
The Questions and Answer Session was indeed very interactive as several thorny questions were fielded for the President’s response. Some of which include:
a. It was observed, that, for the reasons of the high academic entry requirements, efforts and rigor put into engineering training, some members are of the view that NSE is not doing enough for its members as compared to the commendable efforts made by other professional bodies – such as, Nigerian Bar Association and Nigerian Medical Association -in pursuance of their members interest.
b. Some contributors lamented the trend of appointing of non-engineering professionals to superintend over engineering professionals is becoming common feature in Nigerian government agencies saddled with the responsibility of delivering, regulating or supervision of infrastructural/engineering services (e.g. the National Communication Commission). How does NSE intend to address such anomaly?
c. Other members hold the view that, if the gap between the industry and the classroom must be adequately bridged, NSE has to do more for pupilage engineering training rather than leaving the responsibility solely to academicians.
d. It was also pointed out that some consulting firm employing the services of qualified engineers under-remunerate engineers providing useful professional services to them. What is NSE doing to sanction such consulting firms?
e. The Bauchi Branch observed that it has not benefited from the 10% remittances of dues- entitlement from the NSE Headquarters to Branches that have paid up the annual dues and zeroed their accounts even having hosted the National AGM in 2008.
The NSE President did justice to the various issues raised to the satisfaction of members. The interactive session came to a close at about1.40 pm, after a vote of thanks delivered by the Baiuchi Branch Chief NSE Examiner Engr, S.Y. Umar, FNSEi