The Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NIEEE) says it is ready to promote innovation to reduce the search for jobs by engineers in the country.
Mr Felix Olu, the new Chairman, Abuja Chapter of NIEEE told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after his inauguration as the 6th chairman of the institute in Abuja.
”We want to broaden the minds and scopes of our members to be employers, rather than employees, through germane technical activities.
”We will provide platforms for convergence of experience and vigour; the young and the old with a view to cross-fertilise ideas for overall benefit of the country at large,” he said.
“Looking ahead, we see joblessness, we see unmet yearnings, we see waning self-confidence, misplaced politics and other issues among our professional colleagues.
”To us, these are not flaws, but opportunities to make a difference, opportunities to impact humanity, opportunities to prove who engineers are,” he said.
Olu, who pointed out that everyone could come up with myriads of reasons responsible for the anomalies, stressed that the calling of engineers “is to solve problems”.
”We will not do less than our calling by the grace of God,” he said.
The Director-General, Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Prof Eli Bala, told NAN that NIEEE “is a very important institution of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.”
Bala, who called on the new chairman and his team to hit the ground running, said the responsibilities required a high level of commitment.
”This institution has a great role to play in the effort of our country to develop technologically,” he said.
Dr Collins Agu, who was the guest lecturer, said no nation could develop without recourse to science and technology.
Agu, who is the Director, Corporate Planning and Strategy Development, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said the greatest challenge facing inventors in the country was poor patronage of their products.
In a lecture titled: ”Research, Engineering and Innovation: A Tripartite Necessity,” he also attributed the problem to poor budget for research and development.
He lamented that currently, Nigeria is still a consumer in the world of science and technology, urging the government to step up effort toward changing the trend.
The outgoing NIEEE’s chairman, Mr Simeon Isibor, who congratulated Olu, said within the two years of his tenure, members’ training, acquisition of some training equipment and a parcel of land for the institution’s headquarters were among the achievements. (NAN)