Lagos -The Nigerian Association of Technologists in Engineering (NATE) on Monday urged the government to remove the dichotomy that exists in the engineering industry.
The NATE Lagos branch Chairman, Mr Kolawole Opadeji, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that it would give technologists a better platform to explode their potential.
“With government’s true intervention on removal of dichotomy/parity, the resultant effect will give technologists a better platform to explode their potential,’’ he said.
He added that technologist in their own field had a lot to contribute as other engineering fields like electrical; chemicals cannot perform their duties without the help from technicians.
He also called on the need for financial support from government to carry out improvement on innovations which, he said, would be graciously welcomed.
Opadeji also said that technologists also had a role to play in the ongoing diversification in the country if carried along by government.
He commended government’s intention to diversify into agriculture, saying that it would have positive implications for technologists as it would serve as a motivator for them to develop agro-processing innovations.
“This is a welcome development and it is an issue which should have been addressed long before now to have the desired impact on the economy.
“Diversification of the Nigerian economy is no more a choice but a matter of urgent necessity; if we are not to sink, we must swim.
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“The long neglect of technology-oriented institutions by the government is the bane of this country. It has stunted our technological growth,’’ Opadeji said.
He said that NATE could boast of a compendium of technologists to fabricate agro-processing equipment given the preservation and processing needs in agriculture.
The NATE chairman said that if the engineering industry was well tapped, it could assist to take subsistence farmers in Nigeria to small and medium-scale processors’ level.
He said it was, however, necessary for the government to match the diversification agenda with actions and incentives, adding that this would bring out the best in Nigerians within the shortest possible time.
He restated that a unilateral dependence on one area of the economy without exploring others resulted in a mono-economy country and would have serious repercussions as Nigeria was presently experiencing.
Opadeji noted that the onus rested on his fellow technologists to sharpen their skills to develop innovations and equipment for the nation’s economic growth.
The chairman said that over the years, the engineering family had had enough of papers and power-point presentations, adding that what needed to be seen in recent time were the experts `walking the talk’.
He called for relevant government agencies to synergise with agro-small and medium scale engineering-based bodies for the development and sustenance of the engineering industry. (NAN)