Mr Olusola Adesanoye, Branch Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Mowe, Ogun, on Friday said that engineers had benefitted more from government’s directive on border closure.
Adesanoye made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Mowe branch as the 79th chapter of the NSE.
NAN reports that NSE led by its President, Mr Adekunle Mokuolu inaugurated the Mowe chapter as the 79th branch of the body.
The inauguration of the Mowe branch was held at the Redeemer’s College of Technology and Management, Redemption Camp, Mowe, Ogun State, while Mr Adesanoye was sworn in as the first chairman of the branch.
Adesanoye reflecting on the gains of the government’s recent policy on border closure noted that the policy would engender more employment opportunities for the NSE members.
“For me, I am happy with the decision of the government to close the borders because of the high influx of goods into the country is responsible for the closure of many industries.
“The influx of goods is a burden to our economy and has not made the country self-sufficient with what we have the capacity to produce as a nation.
“Nigeria needs to be self-sufficient economically and technically and we should encourage local manufacturers.
“We have the manpower to fulfil the needs in Nigeria. So the closure of borders has benefitted us immensely.
“We need our small scale industries to be running because engineers are trained to be employers of labour,’’ he said.
The Vice-Chairman, NSE, Mowe branch, Mr Kola Afolabi, said that Nigeria’s industrialisation should start with a revolution in power generation.
“If we want to consider real industrialisation, then, there must be a revolution in the power sector. The hydro and thermal should be mixed with renewable energy.
“Nigeria needs to invest in researches on renewable energy, especially in capacity building. It will be good to mix our thermal and hydro energy with renewable energy, ” he said.
The new executives of the branch are Mr Olusola Adesanoye, Chairman, Mr Kole Afolabi, Vice Chairman; Mr Outlay Adedayo, General Secretary; Mr Ayodeji Afolabi, Technical Secretary and Mr Oluseyi Odunuga, Public Relations Officer.