To prevent job losses, the Head, Engineering Services, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, Mr Michael Adesanya, has advised engineers to evolve innovative solutions to keep organisations afloat as the nation goes through recession.
Adesanya gave the advice on Tuesday in Lagos at the Annual Public Lecture of the Apapa branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) where he was guest speaker.
Delivering a lecture titled “Solutions to Managing Private Sector Business Infrastructure in a Recession” he listed the causes of recession to include inflation, dwindling oil revenue, low purchasing power, insecurity and bad debts.
He said the effects of recession on businesses include low demand on goods and services, job loss, inability of firms to purchase new equipment, poor funding of researches and compromise of product quality.
Adesanya said that the job of the engineer to manage staff and equipment was important in time of recession to mitigate its effect on businesses, which include closure of several firms.
“In times of recession, waste must be an aberration.
“It is at times like this that companies realize the importance of engaging professional engineers
“There are new technologies to manage consumption of water and other resources,” he said.
Adesanya said recession in Nigeria had caused a decline in growth of businesses and the GDP, with an increase in unemployment.
“It is worthy of note that a recessive economy is a cynical condition; it will come and go and would not be permanent.
“However, to survive the recession, engineers, as important members of the business management team, must assiduously ensure that innovative solutions are deployed to keep the organisation afloat in a recessive business environment,” he said.
The President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Mr Otis Anyaeji was represented by the National Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronic engineers (NIEEE), Mr Emmanuel Akinwole at the event.
Responding to questions after the lecture, he said that the NSE was already tackling the issue of influx of foreign engineers.
Anyaeji said that the society was already pushing for legislation to ensure that local engineers were not made redundant while the foreigners take all the engineering jobs.
“The Local content Law is being reviewed. We want the participation of foreign engineers, but at the same time we must take decisive action.
“As engineers, let us make our input to both the review of the Procurement Act and Local Content Law before the National Assembly so that all the issues can be put into the law,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Ombugadu Garba, Chairman of the Apapa branch of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), advised Nigerian engineers to use their potential and expertise for wealth creation.
Garba told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the public lecture that the nation’s growth depended on its technology.
He said that engineers were required to use their professional expertise to make Nigeria great again.
“We challenge our young and experienced engineers to be creative and forward looking; looking for white collar job is getting difficult by the day.
“It is pertinent for engineers to realise their potential and use their expertise to create wealth and contribute to nation building.
“No nation can develop more than its technology, and we must make use of our professional expertise to make our country great again,” he said.
Garba said that the annual general meeting of NSE branch was designed to help Nigeria out of recession and put it on the path of sustainable growth.
He said that the lecture would go a long way to assisting the country’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
“Over the years, most national infrastructures have been plagued by poor maintenance and non-adherence to regulatory guidelines.
“To resolve these issues and others that caused the present economic recession, the government recently released the ERGP for 2017-2020.
“Our beloved country is in dire need of economic recovery and this lecture will challenge us to bring our experience to bear to help our country out of recession,” he said.
Many engineers and members of NSE across the country attended the lecture. (NAN)
KAE/GA/OFN/SOA