1.

INTRODUCTION

Engineering is a profession of art that deals with the creation of systems, designs and building of machines, devices and structures. It involves creativity, imagination, logical thought and vision. The role of engineering in industrial and economic development is massive as it not only prescribes the machines, production processes but also concerned with the management of the resources and the balancing of the multi various constraints of the industrial environment. Engineering must therefore not be seen in terms of screwdrivers and spanners but must be seen as encompassing all areas of knowledge needed in ensuring that resources of all types are effectively translated into desired products. Such areas must necessarily include management science, economics and political science. Institutional framework for the development of engineering refers to the basic plans intended for the development of engineering. Here, we refer to the strategies put in place and contributions required from all and sundry for the development of engineering. 1.1 Basic Indices of Engineering Development.

As engineering is vital for the development and progress of a country, the following basic indices can be used to measure the level of engineering development and advancement in any country. ship building, aircrafts, level of industrial production: automobiles, machine tools,

domestic equipment (refrigerators, cookers, air conditioners, etc), materials production (iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, polymers and ceramics), consumer goods (textiles, papers and fibres), small, medium and large scale industrial and manufacturing equipment, petrochemicals. earthmoving equipment and farm level of agricultural development: tractors,

implements, food processing equipment, planting and harvesting equipment, food preservation and storage facilities. electric power produced and utilized for level of energy produced and consumed:

industrial production, domestic use and public facilities, solar energy development and utilization, nuclear energy development and utilization, biomass energy, petroleum and gas development and use. motorable roads, railways (surface and underground), airports, seaports. development and inventions as level of research and development: new product level of development of transportation :

evidenced from patents, fundamental research and investment on research and development. development of information technology and telecommunication: telephones, telex and facsimiles (fax), internet services (e-mail, etc), computers, communication satellites in orbits, radio and television facilities. aircraft, missiles, planning, potable water, equipment such as mortuary defence capability: military transport vehicles, tanks carriers, military

guns and ammunitions, bombs and incendiary devices, naval warships. Infrastructural development: building and general town

sewage and waste disposal, roads and other transport facilities. development of public facilities: health facilities (hospital

facilities, incubators, x-ray, dental equipment, laboratory and other test equipment, hospital furniture), sporting facilities (stadia, gymnasia, sports equipment and wares), recreational facilities (theatres, swimming pools and amusement parks), post offices and courier services. 2.0 ENGINEERING IN NIGERIA Nigeria is rated amongst the worlds poorest countries (IMF, 1994; UNESCO, 1991) despite her abundant natural and human resources. This is based on low gross national product (GNP), high unemployment rate, low income per capita, crippling national debt and high inflation rate. The overdependence on one product (crude oil) which is subject to vagaries of international markets coupled with unstable political situation in the country has continued to make the future more bleak and precarious. The economic indices used by the various world bodies in classifying Nigeria as a poor country even tend to under-emphasise the near desperate underdevelopment of engineering in the country. Oil proceeds seem to give a false picture of some prosperity. Without proper development of engineering, Nigeria cannot expect to effectively develop its economy, infrastructures or improve the standard of living of its people. It has been suggested in various quarters that an obvious solution to the nations economic and even political problem is through accelerated production of agricultural and industrial goods. This can only be possible through the development of a solid engineering base. Engr. Uujamhan, one time President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, put this more forcefully in a press address in Kaduna (NSE, 1997), that the economic, social and political crises in the country can be
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traced to the lack of initiatives aimed at developing the technological sector to boost the sociopolitical economy of the country 1996.

2.1 OUR ENGINEERING RESOURCES Engineering resources can be human, financial, physical and informational. 2.1.1. Human Resources The human resources in engineering consist of engineers, technologists, technicians, craftsmen and artisans. They are together known as the engineering family. Classification of the various groups is as defined by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (Faluyi, 1993). The following problems are associated with the development of engineering human resources: poor scientific and technological background. ill-conceived educational programmes through inappropriate curricula and programme. structures not relevant to national development both on the short run and long run overemphasis on certificates at the expense of skill. squabbles over status of the various cadres. poor regulation of the profession (overregulation). training and skill acquisition (institutional training, laboratories, workshops, field studies, basic instructions), SIWES, Industrial training, post-qualification NYSC engagement, industrial engagement. The neglect and underrating of the education and training of roadside artisans. All the cadres of the engineering family must be properly educated and trained to be

immediately productive in industry. The Nigerian public and industry had always regarded university-trained engineers as esoteric theoreticians whose usefulness to the public was in doubt. The general consensus as revealed in a survey carried out by Aderoba (1990) is that an engineer in a developing country should be able to use his hands as well as his brain. Overhaul of Engineering Curricula The curricula of degree programmes need to be overhauled to reflect the real needs of the Nigerian Society. Presently, engineering curricula in the Universities and polytechnics are patterned after those of British and American Universities. The British and American graduates have ample opportunities in their industries to acquire needed skills and

experience on the job whereas the Nigerian engineering environment lacks this. Some provisions made to gain skills within institutions in the past such as SWEP, SIWES are falling apart for lack of funds and because they have not been accorded the right priority. Commercialisation of Engineering Facilities in Institutions The Universities need to commercialise their facilities as well as develop the concept of industrial villages within their campuses as avenues for translating research and development efforts into viable engineering products and services and as avenues to provide skills and experience to both students and lecturers alike. Such commercialization must be done without sacrificing the quality of students training. Indeed it should be done to enhance students training. The problems of such commercialization are numerous. They are identified by Aderoba (1988} to include the following: (a) Overcoming the initial inertia of a change to a commercial enterprise. Academic staff is not used to the regularized production facilities in factories. They are not attuned to producing engineering jobs of a marketable quality. Their promotion had hitherto not depended on physical production but on research publications and teaching but very little on extension services. They tend to view with disdain the introduction of a production system which may demand a lot from them in terms of additional responsibilities and which may not possibly contribute to their promotional prospects. (b) The society outside the educational communities doubts the practical skills of learned people, their ability to execute production jobs in a timely fashion and the slow decision making consequent upon their bureaucratic set up. They are unwilling to approach the Universities or Polytechnics for execution of a commercial job and will really need to be persuaded to do so. (c) The administration in a University is usually manned by the non-technical staff that do not always appreciate the initial difficulties of commencing commercially productive work. It is usual for them to believe that once the machines are there, any delay in the commencement of production is most likely due to incompetence of the technical boys. This can be very frustrating to engineering people especially when they themselves are probably going into commercial production for the first time. (d) There are other technical problems such as technical manpower requirements, funding and sourcing of raw materials, production scheduling and control, product design and
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product

costing

which

have

to

be

given

detailed

consideration

before

commercialization can effectively commence. The study by Aderoba (1988) provides a methodological systems approach through which commercialization can take place in a University setting and has demonstrated this with an application to the engineering workshop at Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA). Development of Basic Skills A typical mechanical engineering graduate ought to be fairly skilled after five years of University education in the following areas: basic design of simple machineries and equipment involving simple mechanical transmission systems such as shafts, gears, pulleys, chains and hydraulic and pneumatic transmission systems. practical working experience in manufacturing processes such as turning, milling, grinding, welding assembly and disassembly methods. be able to diagnose faults and repair commonplace machineries and equipment such as automobiles, refrigerators, air conditioners. repair of industrial equipment such as motors, pumps, materials handling equipment and production machineries such as lathes, milling machines, hydraulic and pneumatic equipment. Training for Self Employment. The engineering graduate must also be trained for self-employment (Aderoba, 2000). Adequate provision must be made in the school curricula for him to acquire basic appreciation of entrepreneurship, engineering project management and works management, basic accounting principles particularly those involving costing and financial performance indices and principles of marketing. Combined honours degrees in engineering and management sciences may even be introduced to achieve this. Status of Various Cadres in Engineering The dichotomy between the engineering graduate and polytechnic graduate is counterproductive. If one were to look at it objectively, this dichotomy is a British elitist idea. There is virtually no difference in the course contents of the degree and HND programmes to warrant the discrimination. Indeed, both programmes are presently lacking in skill development and are gravitating more and more into engineering sciences. The British who introduced polytechnic programmes into Nigeria have already phased them out in their country. All the polytechnics are now converted to Universities and University colleges. The
5

existing HND programmes in Britain are gradually being phased out and replaced with degree programmes. To avoid unnecessary squabbles over cadre categorization and to promote skills at all levels, a unitary system of engineering education has been advocated by Aderoba (1990). This consists of a six year post secondary programme with: The first two years devoted to advanced craft training leading to the award of craft certificate. The next two years should be devoted to technician training leading to the award of a technician diploma followed by the last two years in engineering leading to the award of a degree in engineering. Only students with good results at one level should be considered for admission at the next level otherwise that candidate would only earn the terminal certificate of that level. The implication of this unitary system is that engineers would have been properly trained as technicians and as craftmen before becoming engineers. This approach makes engineers more useful to the Nigerian industry. The technical college system has been utterly neglected and relegated all over the country to the extent that only those who dropped out of high schools or failed school certificate examinations patronize these institutions. This is an unfortunate trend. The technical college system must be upgraded and equipped to provide sound basic science education and craft training. The NABTEB certificate must consequently be preferred over WAEC certificate for admission into the engineering schools of this country if this country must make technological and industrial progress. The 6-3-3-4 educational system is good in principle but deficient in its implementation. All products of the Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) practically go to the Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) into science or arts classes. The technical content of the SSS has almost been totally abandoned. The OND programme is more of a watered down HSC programme with excursions into technical territories. It should be restructured to fit the technician phase of Aderobas unitary engineering training system. Training of Artisans Roadside artisans account for more than 80% of the engineering family in this country. Indeed, they have been the saving grace for preventing the total collapse of many engineering infrastructures and facilities. They include automechanics, welders, plumbers, bricklayers,
6

electricians, plant mechanics, radionics, painters, etc. They are however not certificated in the formal sense and no provisions have been made for them to upgrade their skills for flexibility and ability to innovate. Governments must institute a programme of continuing education for these groups of artisans in league with the guilds and craft associations. The practical training imparted by roadside workshops need to be complemented by a formalized programme of extension education to improve the scientific, technical, business and civic abilities of the artisan. Such a programme will have positive effects on the general level of productivity of Nigeria. Details of an approach for organizing such a programme including its curricula development, finance and programme management are provided in a study conducted by the lecturer (Aderoba, 1994c) The test certificates are rarely evidence of skill. They are in the main bought from Government officials. There is a need to get the guide and crafts associations involved not only in the continuing education for artisans but in the issuance of trade test certificates. 2.1.2 Financial Resources This is capital or money for engineering development. It is required for: development of appropriate engineering institutions and training centers with adequate

provision of machinery, equipment, tools and training aids including suitable textbooks, journals, etc. development of engineering infrastructures research and development dissemination of engineering and technological information. Development of industries and industrial goods (small, medium and large scale).

Machinery Nearly all industrial machineries, equipment and tools are imported except for few locally fabricated machines. This is very unhealthy for the national economy. Machineries must be developed from within through individual engineers and developers, engineering institutions, research and development centers, industries etc. Many policies for machine development have been advanced. They include: Fundamental development through recourse to basic design principles and progressive trial and error development. This is cumbersome, long and capital intensive. Collaboration with overseas machine developers. This may work if such overseas collaborators are sure of deriving great benefits from such joint ventures. Conditions for
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attracting collaborators include favourable local markets, stable political and economic policies such as those concerned with foreign investments and repatriation of proceeds, stable currencies. This option has been known by names such as technical collaboration, transfer of technology, etc. Copy technology. This process consists of identifying needed machines, disassembling various models of such machineries; identifying the most efficient designs within the various models; copy such designs and develop them. This policy is known by various names such as copy technology (Balogun, 1989), reverse engineering (Nwachukwu, 1988), adaptive technology, etc. The process of copy technology can be expensive as money must be available to buy various models of the machines in the first place. Also some copying techniques may require destructive testing to determine the types of materials required. India, Malaysia, Japan and many newly industrialized economies adopted this approach successfully. It however requires a lot of governmental or centralized planning and inputs for success. Also, successful machine development requires adequate capital, solid development of raw materials (ferrous and non-ferrous), stable electric power and skilled manpower. Infrastructure: The energy infrastructure primarily under NEPA is the biggest infrastructural problem limiting engineering development in Nigeria. Productivity is reduced drastically as a result of low electricity generation and usage. Other infrastructural problems include NITEL, Roads, Rail, Air and Seaports. NITEL has virtually cut off all national and international links which can promote engineering development. The INTERNET is still news to many Nigerians and industrial concerns such as NITEL cannot provide the needed services to effectively link up with the rest of the world. Rail link must also be established all over the country. This requires specialized industries for producing rails, coaches, signal equipments, etc. 2.1.4 Information Resources Information resources constitute the knowledge for engineering development. This includes knowledge for development of basic and applied science, acquisition and dissemination of technology and engineering: and for training and development of skilled manpower. Related to this is the development of data banks for engineering and technology, the establishment of engineering extension centers and industrial villages. 2.2 ENGINEERING PROCESSES

These are the processes through which resources are translated into engineering products. The processes include the knowledge, the technical and managerial skills required for design, development, operation, management of engineering products, facilities and infrastructures. Girvan in 1981 (cited in Akinbinu, 1997) defined these processes as technological capability which consists of the ability to identify the most relevant technology for a particular purpose, to acquire it on the best possible terms, and, once acquired to assimilate the technology internally. It also includes the ability to modify the acquired technology so as to adapt it to the specific circumstances of the user. Ultimately, it includes the ability to create innovations from within and to apply these innovations internally as well as market them commercially These processes can be acquired basically through the following means (Akinbinu,1997). (i) education and training within and outside the country (ii) flow of books, journals and other published information such as trade literature, standards, patent information and more lately on the internet. (iii) informal personal contacts and observations through travel, meetings and conferences and visits to production sites. (iv) exchange of information and personnel through technical cooperation programmes (v) employment of foreign experts and consultancy arrangements (vi) import of machinery equipment with literature and technical information supplied (vii) import of intermediate products in particular those considered technology intensive (viii) reverse engineering (ix) technical specifications, standards and training provided by importers (x) license agreements to use proprietary know-how, patents, production processes and trademarks (xi) foreign direct investments which bring with them all the necessary elements of technical know-how. 2.2.1. Basic Engineering Research Engineering research in Nigeria has been basically unguided. In the Universities, lecturers and researchers initiate and conduct their research primarily to enable them to publish articles which will earn them promotions. The more esoteric and analytical the research, the more recognized it is in matters of promotion. Worse still, articles published in international journals which rarely find their ways to Nigeria are more recognized.

This however does not mean that engineering research in Nigeria has not focused on the needs of Nigerian society. There have been genuine attempts by many engineering researchers both in the universities and the research institutions to develop machineries for agricultural and industrial production and to introduce new methods of processing engineering materials and goods. The results of many of these efforts are rarely known to the public and most are not commercialised. Engineering research needs to be directed primarily at solving the nations immediate and long term problems. Governments cannot be indifferent to engineering research activities. Government organs must identify areas of research needs, publicise such areas, contract such research to interested experts, fully fund them and ensure that such research is conducted within a specified period. The application of research findings must be emphasized. Establishment of industrial villages in all the Universities in the country is a viable means of promoting the application of research findings. The private sectors may be encouraged to establish prototype industries within the industrial villages of universities. The research institutes of government should not be merely avenues for employment but must be expanded with production facilities to carry out research and to translate research findings into physical goods and services. They should be empowered to develop their own industrial villages and settlements. 2.2.2 Development of Indigenous Technology

While admitting that the adoption of Western Technology is mandatory for our technological takeoff, it behoves on us to apply western science and technology to improve on some indigenous production facilities and processes such as textile production (aso-oke), blacksmithy, foundry works, etc. Some efforts which have been made in these directions include the mechanization of local textile looms by Mohammed and Aderoba (2000) and the mechanization of local blacksmithies by Oke and Aderoba (2000). The magic of today is the science of tomorrow. In the 17th century, certain present day knowledge in chemistry, astrophysics, computer science and military science would have been regarded as heresy. In the same vein, certain traditional believes in tele-transportation (Egbe), sound energy (incantations ogede), immunity to physical attack (okigbe) which are now carelessly being dismissed as arrant nonsense under the guise of religion needs to be scientifically investigated. They may well provide the basis of our engineering prowess
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and superiority in the twenty-second century.

2.3.1. Establishment of Industries and Engineering Service Facilities. Many industries of all types and categories need to be established to create national wealth and to provide employment for the teeming population. Large scale industries such as iron and steel, petrochemicals, machine tools, heavy electricals, automotive plants etc. are so capital intensive that they can only be embarked upon by governments and few wealthy Nigerians. Recent experience has even shown that such projects established by governments are facing hard times as a result of poor funding, poor management and the absence of essential engineering infrastructures in the country (Oyeyinka et. al., 1997; Akinbinu, 1977) Many of such projects such as the steel mills, machine tools, fertilizer companies are of a high technology nature and can only be effectively sustained with foreign participation. Such foreign participation is only possible when the country is seen to be buoyant and stable. The present situation in Nigeria does not technological collaborators. The way forward seems to be through the establishment of hundreds of thousands of small and medium scale industries. technological requirement that is more tractable within a Nigerian setting. The management of such industries poses less difficulty than is the case with large scale industries. The private sector is also better 23 placed to develop small and medium scale industries with greater effectiveness than the large industries. To develop the country economically, greater attention must be paid to the development of small and medium scale industries. India, The Koreas, Taiwan, Malaysia and a host of newly emerging industrial powers in the Far East choose this path of growth. Today, many of their small and medium scale industries of yesteryears have metamorphosed into giant international concerns. The growth of small and medium scale industries in Nigeria has been rather slow. This is as a result of the following factors (Aderoba, 1998): (i) (ii) the dearth of entrepreneurs who are appreciative of the technical processes of production. lack of capital by many interested persons
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give much confidence to foreign investors and

Such industries require comparatively less capital with a

(iii) (iv) (v) (vi)

non provision or poor provision of necessary infrastructures such as electricity, water, telephone and motorable roads. lack of information on technology of manufacture stiff competition from importers poor development of basic raw materials such as ferrous and non-ferrous metals (e.g. steel, aluminium, copper, cast iron), plastics, agricultural produce, etc. poor development of basic industries e.g. machine tools industry, foundry, transformer plants, chemicals and petrochemicals. ineffective support from government bodies. poor emphasis on engineering education.

(vii) (viii) (ix)

It is a matter for regret that many engineers are happy enough to seek employment in government and private sectors. This is unlike the medical profession where virtually every Nigerian doctor wants to establish his own hospital. Engineers, technologists, technicians and craftsmen must make it part of their dream to have industries or engineering service facilities of their own right from the time they are admitted to engineering or technical schools. If engineers fail in this, then our industrial future would have been totally left in the hands of others who by virtue of their not having the right engineering background have a greater risk to fail. This does not however imply that non-engineers should not and cannot aspire to establish industries and engineering service facilities. There is no law in Nigeria that prevents engineers (whether employed in the public or private sectors) from establishing an industry. If such laws exist, then they are unprogressive laws and should be scrapped. The only regulation is that engineers engaged in public service should not run industries for themselves or for others on a day to day basis. This regulation is also morally justifiable. All engineers should therefore take up this challenge either in the development of industries or engineering service facilities. Electricity Supply of electricity is the biggest operational problem facing industries in this country. An interview of the Nigerian Journal of Engineering Management (NJEM) with a distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering Prof. P. A. Kuale (2000) reveals the following about the electricity demand and supply problem in Nigeria. We need to close up the national grid from Kano through the eastern wing, so that any part of this country can tap electricity from the national grid.
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There is very little generation in the eastern part of the country except AFAM. This does not create the necessary balance for electricity generation. This balance is necessary to reduce losses in the grid. Worldwide, the utilization of coal is still supreme in electric generation. Why has this country refused to produce electrical energy from coal? The coal deposits in Nigeria are said to be nearly inexhaustible. The only coal generating plant in Orji river has been closed down. Even the railway designed to carry coal from the coalfields of Enugu have been closed down. In addition, the coal miners are not working as they should. Attempt is being made to export coal and not use it for ourselves. The technology of coal fired plants which we all need in order to diversify our method of energy production has been stifled by those who plan energy generation in Nigeria. 2.3.2. Development of Infrastructural Facilities The major infrastructural facilities requiring immediate attention for engineering development of Nigeria include electricity, telephones, airports, railways and roads. We must get in our fingers tips, in our brains, in our minds, all the methods now available for electric energy production so that there are Nigerians who are capable to design, to install, to operate, to maintain, and to run each of these well known methods of energy supply be it hydro, gas turbine, steam turbine and even solar.

We need to develop technology from within. The knowledge for making transformers is readily available to use. The British have little or no copper but import it and use for transformer production. The next material for making transformers is iron. We are hopeful that when our iron and steel companies are producing, we should be able to produce transformer laminations in the years ahead. Meanwhile, we may wish to invite foreign companies to set up transformer manufacturing plants in Nigeria which will be able to serve the West African sub-region. The Ministry of Science and Technology needs to act to ensure domestic production of vital equipment such as transformers. There is a strong need for a transformer refurbishment industry. There are many broken down transformers which could be easily refurbished. A study conducted by me (Kuale) sometimes back show that there are over 170 broken down transformers of various capacities lying between Warri and Benin. Governments, NEPA or private investors may wish to look at this area.
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It is true that the Nigerian Electricity Supply Company (NESCO) sells power to NEPA and the power is consumed in Jos. Private participation in electric power supply is welcome but we must be aware that investment in small-scale electric power plants in uneconomic. Big power stations should be encouraged because of the need to feed the national grid. The private sector should be allowed to participate in electricity generation and distribution. However, privatization based on foreign controlled companies is dangerous and not self-sustaining. Indigenous privatization is more healthy and more enduring. Nobody will come to develop this country for us. We may need their help but we must learn to control our destiny by ourselves. The same thinking holds for NITEL, Nigerian Railways, Airways, Sea Ports and other public utilities. The accurate forecast of the real electrical energy demand in Nigeria over a planning horizon so that commensurate plans can be made to fill this need. A doctoral student under me is already working in this area. The review of present NEPA tariffs to favour industrial production rather than domestic consumption. The decoupling of electricity management particularly distribution to state levels without affecting the national grid generation concept.

Telephones An efficient telephone system is fast replacing communication by land, road and sea. The telephone system in Nigeria is in utter state of despondency. Up to 1989, Nigeria was served by an analogue telecommunications network. However, NITEL has been tying to effect modernization through digitalization of its trunk network, introduction of new radio systems, use of optical fibre cables and use of satellite communication facilities and the trans-atlantic submarine cable. The constraints faced by NITEL in its modernization programmes include high cost of technology (machinery/experience, technical expertise, licensing fees, etc), high replacement costs of systems, lack of adequate foreign exchange to import machinery and lack of indigenous machinery manufacturer (Akinbinu, 1998). The telecommunication industry is a fast changing high-tech industry. The present engineering
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base of the country is too weak to sustain rapid growth in telecommunication industry without suitable collaboration with developed countries by way of joint ventures, partnerships and direct 27 foreign ownerships. In doing this however, we must be careful to protect the security of this country.

2.3.3 Development of Information Systems Books including journals, monographs and other technical brochures, computer facilities such as Internet constitute the major information system for the development of engineering. The naked truth is that there are very few engineering books to give adequate training to our engineering personnel. The imported books are very costly and out of reach of the average engineering student. Before the issue of handouts became a taunt by the general public on lecturers, I have been convinced that there is a strong need to develop the engineering book industry from within. This was the basis for my authorship of five different books in engineering for which I am immensely proud. Handouts should be standardized and controlled and not banned or treated with decision as being done now. Handouts can provide the impetus for the development of the engineering book industry. It behoves every University to set up a standard press to produce engineering books. I am glad to have set up such a publishing press in which my colleagues are now turning to for publication of their books and monographs. 2.4 ENGINEERING ENVIRONMENT The engineering environment presents opportunities for and limitations to engineering growth and development. 2.4.1 Engineering Environmental factors The engineering environmental factors can be classified as follows (Aderoba, 1995): (i) Socio-economic This includes the labour market, the commodity market, prices and wages, customs, norms and attitudes, income per capita and income distribution, rate of growth of the economy, demography, unemployment rate, etc. All these socio-economic factors affect the rate of engineering development in no small

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measure. For example, the labour market structure has been the cause of collapse of many small and medium scale industries. The typical Nigerian worker exhibits low productivity at work. He is often frustrated as a result of low wages, unstable tenure and inability to cope with the harshness of the Nigerian economy. The employer in the same vein is often saddled with the inexperienced low skilled workers who often resort to pilfering to make ends meet.

(ii) Technological This relates to the availability of materials, equipment and technical services, technical knowledge and supporting infrastructure. It also includes the absorptive capacity for new technology and the existence of organised efforts for the acquisition or transfer of technology. (iii) Political This concerns the stability of political and governmental organizations, laws and regulations as they relate to engineering development. It also includes the efficiency of government actions and the reactions of all the stakeholders of engineering development. (iv) Physical This includes geographical factors relating to sources of materials and to potential sites of engineering projects. It also includes problems of environmental sanitation and pollution. These factors must be adequately considered in the planning and execution of engineering projects. Of importance in this wise is the need to protect the physical environment. Many industries in Nigeria are already known to be polluters of the environment. The major pollutants include oil spillage and gas flaring by oil companies, and solid wastes by many other manufacturing companies. Federal and State Governments have established environmental protection agencies for protecting the physical environment. Most industrial building projects now need to be backed up with environmental impact reports before they are approved. It is a matter for concern that such environmental impact reports are just official requirements requiring no detailed scrutiny. Effective guidelines and framework such as those developed by Aderoba (1996) must be adopted for assessing public and private projects with regard to promotion of employment generation, infrastructural development, and growth in investment level per capita while limiting the negative impacts of overpopulation and atmospheric pollution to acceptable levels.
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2.4.2 The Role of Governments in Improving the Engineering Environment A local politician on a campaign trail once asserted that political power is next only to gods power. The inference from this assertion is that once the political base is healthy and strong, the sky is the limit. This inference holds true for the role of governments in the development of engineering environment in Nigeria. Governments have a strong role to play in the development of engineering resources, engineering processes, engineering products as well as the engineering environment although it is in itself part of the engineering environment. Governments, particularly the Federal Government, have established or encouraged the establishment of organizations to promote the development of small and medium scale industries in Nigeria. These organizations include:

I n d u s t r i a l D e v e l o p m e n t

17

C e nt er s (I D C s) es ta bl is h e d in m a n y st at e ca pi ta ls to

assist small scale industries with feasibility studies and technical advice. Technology Business Incubation Center (TBIC) established at Agege in 1993 with an enabling decree signed in 1995 with the mission to nurture the start and expansion of small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria primarily through the commercialization of the results of research and development from Research Institutes, Universities and relevant institutions. The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) was established by decree 70 of 1979 as a corporate institution with responsibility for promoting the acquisition of appropriate foreign technology required for facilitating the technological and industrial development of the country. The Regional Centre for Technology Management in Africa (RECTEM) established in Lagos is a Federal Government/UNESCO response to the crying need for accelerated human resources development in the management of science and technology to enhance technological capability of African countries. The establishment of RAIDS (Rural Agro-Industrial Development Scheme) as a unit of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in 1981 to develop appropriate technologies to process agroproducts such that the high post-harvest losses can be contained and at the same time serves as the vehicle of rural industrialization. Establishment by the Federal Government of the National Science and Technology Centre Museum. Liaison with national and international organizations dealing with science and technology information activities such as The Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau Interntional (CABI), African Regional Centre and Technology Information (ARCTI), International Nuclear Information Service (INIS), etc. The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) was esstablished in 1992 to facilitate the attainment of a self reliant economy through the 31

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establishment of a national science and engineering infrastructure which will provide the necessary foundation for the local mass production of capital goods by private sector industries. This agency has tried to fulfill its mission by establishing the following five development centers. (i) Scientific Equipment Development Institute (SEDI), Enugu. This center is to develop products and technologies required to meet the national education science equipment requirements in physics, chemistry, biology, integrated science, agricultural science, technical drawing and mathematics in order to enhance the quality of science education. (ii) Scientific Equipment Development Institute (SEDI), Minna. the same mission as SEDI, Enugu. (iii) Scientific Equipment Development Institute (EMDI), Akure. The mission of this center is to develop engineering materials, spares, systems and processes that can be duplicated and mass produced by entrepreneurs. (iv) Hydraulic Equipment Development Institute (HEDI), Kano. The center is to develop the capacity for the local manufacture of hydraulic power equipment. (v) Centre for Adaptation of Technology (CAT), Awka. The center is to develop This center has

the technologies required by the electronic materials and equipment industries. All these centers are being established in addition to several research institutes such as The Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIRO), Nigeria Stored Products Research Institute, Ilorin (NSPRI), National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), and many other specialized Universities and institutions. The United Nations, through one of its agencies, also established The African Regional Centre for Engineering Design and Manufacture (ARCEDEM) at Ibadan to promote production engineering in the African sub-region. These national and international attempts to accelerate engineering development seem to have little effect for the following reasons:

The new promotional facilities are yet to take off effectively as a result of lack of funds and political will.

Many of the older facilities are being managed by uncommitted government functionaries and political appointees whose agenda may be the enrichment of themselves through graft and

hoarding of vital technical information. This attitude is often borne out of the unstable political situation in the country whose appointees know that their tenure is as secure as the governments which appoint them: the tendency then is to make hay while the sun shines.

The performance of these promotional facilities are not effectively monitored through introduction of specific yardsticks of evaluation.

There is inadequate public enlightenment on the work and services rendered by the various promotional activities.

Besides the above promotional activities connected with establishment of industries, Government must adopt policies which will promote equitable revenue allocation and equitable allocation of public facilities and infrastructures across the country to promote optimization of social, economic and technical impacts. Even for private sector projects, government must through its various arms ensure that private projects with foreign exchange content must be approved to meet the overall socio-economic goals of the country. In doing this, Governments must not be guided by rules of thumb but must adopt modern systems analysis and evaluation techniques. My works which could be useful in this area include goal programming algorithms for equitable allocation of facilities with multiple impacts (Aderoba 1991a), public selection of private projects for foreign exchange allocation (Aderoba, 1991b) and optimization of national revenue allocation (1994a). 2.4.3 Mass Mobilization for Engineering Development The general public must be mobilized for engineering development. Arms of governments involved in information, enlightenment and mobilization must be geared up on an evangelical scale to mobilize the nation for accelerated engineering development. Many people do not know what to produce let alone how to produce them. They are also worried about how to raise capital for engineering projects. These governmental agencies including the IDCs must enlighten the people using electronic media, newspapers, billboards, etc. Scientists, engineers, technologists and economists have a role to play in this mass mobilization crusade by preparing suitable project profiles and technical brochures which can be readily understood by the people.

Churches, mosques, communities, social clubs and associations must be encouraged to start industries. These organizations are rich and can mobilize. While it may amount to heresy to

suggest that the religious organizations should be taxed, it may not be unreasonable to suggest that a law be passed to compel all such organizations to use a percentage of their gross incomes to embark on monitored industrial projects. Registration and recognition should only be given to those religious organizations, social and community organizations who comply with such government industrial proclamations or directives. Industrial estates must be developed all over the country preferably through the mortgage banks and industrial premises should be rented out to investors at reasonable rates. Suitable and well located industrial housing is one of the headaches of project engineering as it unnecessarily escalates the capital investments on projects. The little available capital should be used for machinery and working capital. The development of industrial estates can be enhanced if engineers and scientists can develop low cost building materials. Architects must also focus on developing simple industrial buildings which can be constructed and expanded in a modular form (Aderoba. 1997). National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Community Banks, Peoples Banks, Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry, Industrial Development Banks etc are previous attempts to provide readily available funds for industrial investors. Also pet programmes of the various first ladies known under different cognomens have attempted to provide equipment and machineries for rural and cottage industries. There is a need to overhaul these various financial institutions as well as the commercial banks to ensure that serious minded investors receive needed funds at the right time. 3.0 CONCLUSION

No nation of the world can survive without engineering. Nigeria as a case study has sufficient resources for the development of engineering in the country. Implementation and execution of policies that will promote engineering is all that is required. If the above framework can be successfully executed, then Nigeria will rank among the countries advanced in engineering and technology in the world today. REFERENCES Aderoba A (1998). Science and Technology to the Rescue in the Structuring of the Nigerian Economy. The journal of Technoscience, Vol. 1. No.1. Aderoba A (2000). Self-Employment: A Challenge to engineering Graduates in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Engineering Management (NJEM), Vol. 1. No 3. Aderoba A (2000). Strategies for Engineering Development in Nigeria. Akinbinu A.F. (1998). Improved Technologies and the Performance of the Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd. NISER Monograph. Series No 12, Ibadan , pp67. Balogun S.A. (1989). Copy Technology as Vehicle for Industrial Development. Annual Foundation Lecture. Federal University of Technology, Akure. Bello E.I. (2000). A Study of Product Innovation in Nigerias Manufacturing Industry. Nigerian Journal of Engineering Management (NJEM). Vol. 4. No.1 pp 53-56. Freeman C. (1987). Technology Policy and Economic Performance: Lessons from Japan. Printer Publishers. London. Idris M.O. and Aderoba A. (2000) An Integrated Investment Model for New Jobshops. Nigerian Kuale P.A. (2000). Personality Profile. Nigerian Journal of Engineering Management (NJEM), Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 60-62. Mohammed T.I. and Aderoba A (2000). Time Study Analyses of the Processes of Traditional Weaving Looms. FUTAJEET, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 41-46. NSE ( 1996). The Nigerian Engineer, Vol. 34, No 3. Oke P.K. and Aderoba A (2000). Mechanization of Heat Treatment Facilities in Local Blacksmithies. Nigerian Journal of Engineering Management (NJEM), Vol. 1, No.1, pp20-26. Oyeyinka B.O, Laditan G.O.A., Kajogbola O.D., Akinbinu A.F. (1997). Ailing Public Enterprises: Technological Project Failures, and Prospects for Industrial Renewal in Nigeria, Raw Materials and Development Council. UNESCO (1991). Statistical Year.