By Tina George, Minna
The Council for the Regulation of Engineering of Nigeria (COREN) has disclosed that the country has registered 58,000 engineers, including 2,000 technologists, 1,000 technicians and 1,000 craftsmen.
The council’s registrar, Professor Joseph Odigiri disclosed this to newsmen during the 1st Nigeria Society of Engineers, NSE, Minna Branch Engineering Conference, which took place at the Federal University of Technology, Minna.
The Registrar, who harped on the need for engineers, technicians and craftsmen to update their skills and knowledge, lamented that many professionals still operated with the residual knowledge they have acquired many years ago.
Odigiri noted that many things in the engineering world were changing, hence the need for engineers to flow with the tide of change.
“We now have change in materials and as materials changes, people need to go for new skills to enable them effectively use these materials.”
The COREN registrar who stated that the collapse of buildings across the nation had other contributory factors, pointed out that it is not purely the fault of the engineers but “a combination of factors.”
He pointed out that updating of skills will enable the engineers to be able to compete anywhere adding that “for now, majority of the engineers are not global competitors.”
Odigiri commended the Minna Branch of NSE for coming up with the conference, saying that it would help improve the skills of its members.
The vice president of the council, Ibitoye Adeniran noted that engineers were problem solvers, adding that without engineering or technology, the nation cannot develop.
He called on the nation to key into what engineers and technologists in the country have to offer and engage their services for infrastructural works that need to be done.
Adeniran said the conference was timely and apt, while urging other states to come up with projects that would develop its members.
The state chairman, Dr Elizabeth Eterigho explained that the conference is birthed for research dissemination and interactions among the researchers and the industry.
According to her, a good number of engineers in the state were researchers, entrepreneurs and consultants, stating that their works needed to be recognized by the government and the academia.
The team which comprised of the COREN Registrar, the NSE Vice President, the NSE Minna Chairman and other officials paid courtesy visits to the state Deputy Governor, Ahmed Ketso and Vice-Chancellor of FUT Minna, Professor Abdullahi Bala where they seek for collaborations between the NSE, the government and academia.
