Mr Kamila Maliki-Wopa, the immediate past Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), on Monday frowned at the dominance of foreign companies in the execution of major engineering projects in the country.
Maliki-Wopa spoke in Ilorin at the 2019 Engineering Family Forum of the Ilorin branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).
The theme of the forum was “A United Engineering Family: Panacea for National Development.”
Maliki-Wopa decried a situation where foreign firms handle major infrastructural projects that could be executed through local expertise.
The former COREN scribe was the guest speaker at the forum held to unite different professions in the engineering industry.
They are the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Nigeria Association of Technologists in Engineering (NATE), Nigerian Society of Engineering Technicians (NISET) and the National Association of Engineering Craftsmen (NAEC).
The guest speaker harped on development of indigenous capacity for the nation to move forward.
He pointed out that no country could develop with sustainable infrastructure without those in the engineering professions accorded their pride of place.
Maliki- Wopa, who implored those in the engineering profession to cultivate a team culture, warned against corrupt practices in the industry.
“As members of the engineering family, we must work in unity and continue to advocate for our active participation in the infrastructural development process.
“We must always remind ourselves that to whom much is given, so much is expected. We must be prepared to stand for value for money in engineering projects to which we are responsible.
“Engineering practitioners must hold themselves accountable to their projects,” Maliki-Wopa said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Ilorin branch of the NSE, Mallam Moshood Akanbi, said the forum was remarkable, adding that it was used to unite engineering professionals.
He said none of the professions in the engineering sector could work in isolation of others and called for synergy among practitioners.
The Secretary to the Kwara State Government, Dr Mamman Jubril, represented by Ayantola Malomo, described the forum as a welcome development.
He said that the forum would help practitioners in the industry to forge a common front and push forward their objectives in the quest for national development.
