Funmi Ogundare
‘Civil/Structural Engineers and the Burden of Infrastructural Collapses in Nigeria’ will be the focus of all discussions as the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE) performs the investiture of Engr. Johnson Adegboyega Adeyoye as its 22nd President next week Tuesday.
The guest speaker is Professor Ikponmwosa Efe Ewaen, the event will be chaired by the President, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, and the guest of honour is the President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, (COREN), Prof. Sadiq Abubakar.
Addressing the press yesterday, Adeyoye said the “NIStructE is a body of registered structural engineers in Nigeria. A structural engineer is a civil engineer. Structural engineering is actually a core branch of civil engineering.
“In civil engineering there are so many branches even within civil engineering. therefore, a structural engineer is a specialized professional within civil engineering practices. That also mean that the structural engineer is a civil engineer but it also means that not all civil engineers are structural engineers.
“That’s what I want to state out. Because structural engineer is a very very rigid aspect of civil engineering which incorcate knowledge. If you’re not mathematically inclined you cannot study structural engineering. In civil engineering we have water engineering, geotechnical engineering, highway engineering and other branches of civil engineering.but structural engineering is the core part of it. How do you become a member of Nigeria Institution of structural engineers? for you to come to even attempt to register with NIStructE you must have been a registered member of the council of Registered Engineers in Nigeria and that also presupposes that you must have practiced engineering in Nigeria after graduation, after NYSC for a minimum period of four years.
“So you don’t come to NIStructE to even be considered if the COREN has not deemed it fit to approve and satisfy.
“Okay, so we only consider people that are certified by COREN, that’s the body for registered engineers in Nigeria. All the institutions we all needed to in Nigeria society of engineers, let me also put it on records, Most of the other institutions were founded were established by the Nigerian society of engineers NSE. Except one of such institutions is NIStructE, NIStructE was founded by some seasoned engineers some of whose pictures are there at a particular time. And then they started out as Nigerian Institute of structural engineers. But NSE had the structural division not Nigeria Institute of structural engineers. So at the time, they came together to now merge and formed they still retain the name but they’ve changed it from Nigerian Institute of structural engineers to Nigeria institution of structural engineers and that is just about NIStructE.
“Now, what we do we stand for so many things. Ensuring the landscape of Nigeria all over Nigeria is adorned by very solid well built well designed well built structures provided structural engineers are involved. You see, you can see all the collapses here and there. I want to put this on record, not a single COREN registered NIStructE he’s certified structural engineer has been found wanting in all the cases we’ve heard that is the beauty of it that is that goes to show. You see how solid we are, how professional we are I’m going to limit what I’m going to say because on the Investiture day im going to say more, but I just want to analyze it particularly to our friends here. So, that is about NIStructE structural engineering and structural engineers in Nigeria. for you to even get registered? I’ve said it the must have been COREN registered for you to be CoREN registered. You must very first degree. And then after NYSC you have done at least four years. There are instances where we will do 10 years. They still don’t pass COREN you must pass COREN before you come to NIStructE any when you come here, unfortunately I’m not also happy to to announce the pass rate is abysmally low because the provisionals are very, very, though the October series that we did last year.”
