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NATE pledges to make Nigeria technologically self-reliant

By on September 25, 2013

The Nigeria Association of Technologists in Engineering, NATE, says it is determined to make Nigeria technologically self-reliant and create employment opportunities for the nation’s teeming youths.

The national president of the association, Dr Leo Okereke, gave the assurance while inaugurating the Anambra branch of the body in Awka on Wednesday.

According to Okereke, the aim of forming NATE was to foster, nourish and sustain the self-reliant technological development of Nigeria.

“Every world economy is not oil or water driven but technologically driven; it is only technology that could employ the teeming youths of Nigeria”, Okereke said.

The president, however, said that the nation’s technical education had degenerated, adding that government was paying lip service to technical education.

Okereke criticised policy makers for what he termed “the discrimination and dichotomy against technologists”, warning that the body may take a legal action to seek redress.

“The Federal Government is still discriminating against graduates of polytechnics. This dichotomy has been going on for decades in the system.

“They are the people that make things happen and since they have been neglected, things refused to work technologically in Nigeria”, he added.

He argued that if technology engineers were encouraged, more small and medium scale industries would spring up which would further have multiplier effects in employment generation.

The president blamed the poor selection of materials and execution on the increasing cases of building collapse.

“There are so many factors that lead to collapse of building, chiefly is the lack of professionalism which further leads to poor quality materials, poor supervision and even the poor method of procurement.

“Our people circumvent protocols in selecting contractors, engineers, town planners, builders, electrical engineers, among others.

“NATE is one of the professional bodies that make up the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN; you are therefore, urged to maintain standards in your engineering profession”, Okereke charged members.

He disclosed that the association would in November hold an exhibition in Lagos to showcase innovations in indigenous technology.

In his address of welcome, the state chairman of the association, Dr Emeka Odigwe, said that developed nations measure their level of economic growth by the level of technological development and not its natural resources.

“The role of technologists are recognised all over the world as an essential instrument of positive change”, he said.

In a paper entitled “The role of technical education in Nigeria development”, Mr Chibuzor Asomugha, called on the Federal Government to pay attention on developing technical education sector.

According to him, the federal government had not shown much seriousness about repositioning technical education but rather it was killing the institution with bad policies.

“Admission into polytechnics should not be only when admission seekers failed to gain admission into universities”, he noted.

Other challenges facing technical education, Asomugha said, included low enrolment into polytechnics, dearth of technical schools and dichotomy in tertiary education.

He urged the federal government to restructure the polytechnics to enable it award Bachelor and Masters’ degree as well as post graduate diploma certificates in technology.