Nigeria’s Infrastructure at Risk Without Local Engineers, Warns NSE President

Fadekemi Ajakaiye

Citing President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda and the push for a “Buy Nigeria First” policy, the Nigerian Society of Engineers has said no nation can build sustainably while sidelining its own professionals.

Engr. Ali Alimasuya Rabiu stated this during his inauguration NSE’s 35th President, promising fo position Nigerian engineers at the heart of national development.

Engr. Rabiu made it clear that “this is not a routine change of guard but a defining moment for the profession.”

He said the Renewed Hope agenda offers a rare opportunity to reclaim engineering as the backbone of Nigeria’s industrial growth, stressing that no nation can build sustainably while sidelining its own professionals.

The new NSE President praised the immediate past President, Engr. Margaret Oguntala, for restoring visibility and professionalism to the Society, but warned that the next phase must go further, aligning engineering practice firmly with national priorities and public policy.

Drawing from his experience as a former President of COREN, Engr. Rabiu said his return to leadership was driven by concern that the Society had drifted from its founding ideals.

He pledged to rebuild the NSE into a standards-driven, ideas-led institution capable of shaping policy, driving innovation and delivering real value to both members and the nation.

Central to his vision was strong backing for the Buy Nigeria First policy, which he described as a historic chance to reposition Nigeria as Africa’s infrastructure and industrial hub.

While noting that laws such as the COREN Act and Executive Order 5 already support this direction, he expressed concern that many government projects running into trillions of naira still exclude Nigerian engineers, often with costly consequences.

“It may shock Mr. President to know that MDAs, especially infrastructure-related Ministries such as the Federal Ministries of Works, Power, Water Resources, and the Federal Capital Territory Administration, have largely observed these laws in the breach”.

He warned that weak enforcement has led to poor-quality delivery and inflated costs, and urged the President to ensure that Nigerian engineering consultants are compulsorily engaged in the design, supervision and certification of all major projects.

According to him, engineering deserves the same level of institutional respect accorded to law and accounting in national decision-making.

“Mr. President that engineering training and practice is regulated by the COREN Act, and that the Council is under the supervision of the Honourable Minister responsible for Works. But Sir, this arrangement appears to have become an albatross: the Federal Ministry of Works has failed or neglected to discharge its responsibilities towards building a sustainable engineering practice.”

Beyond advocacy, the new NSE President outlined plans to strengthen professional capacity, support technical and vocational education and restore engineering’s influence in national planning and budgeting.

The NSE President, welcomed the Federal Government’s move to upgrade technical colleges nationwide, pledging the Society’s full support to develop skills, empower youths and reduce dependence on foreign technical labour.

Engr. Rabiu called for unity, urging engineers to rise with a renewed sense of purpose.

He said the reset of the Nigerian Society of Engineers is ultimately about delivering Nigerian solutions, by Nigerian professionals, for Nigeria’s future.