Engineers Institute moves to address quackery, building collapse
The Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE), says it has adopted proactive measures to check quackery and address the menace of building collapse in the country.
The Chairman of the institute, Miss Aishatu Umar, made this known at the 17th Annual General Meeting of the association on Thursday in Maiduguri.
The conference themed: “Innovative and Sustainable Civil Infrastructure: A catalyst for socio economic development of the nation,” was designed to address critical issues affecting the civil engineering sector.
Umar disclosed that the measure was imperative to check quackery, encourage specialization, and address challenges in housing and construction sector.
She attributed indiscriminate cases of collapse of buildings to non-professional practices perpetrated by quacks in the country.
The chairman noted that cases of collapsed buildings could be prevented with collective efforts of professional engineers.
“Our profession is facing significant threats by action of non-professionals who, over the years, infiltrated and hijacked the profession.
“We have taken steps to address the problems; we are collaborating with regulatory bodies to put in place, measures to eliminate sharp practices and intensify efforts in capacity building of our members.
“We have organized workshops and seminars for professional development and asked state chapters to intensify technical sessions during meeting and other events to check the trend,” she said.
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According to her, the institute met with relevant stakeholders in the engineering industry to promote synergy and encourage sharing of ideas for sustainable development.
Umar added that the institute was working in collaboration with the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority (FCDA), to enable qualified civil engineers enroll in its register.
“The relationship between international affiliates and other countries is now second to none, civil engineering bodies have been revitalized and are now more beneficial.
“I feel humble to let you know that we have been accepted into the World Council of Civil Engineers during the world convention in Lisbon, Portugal, in September 2018.
“We have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the institute of Civil Engineers of Ghana and Russia.
“We equally renewed MoU with American Society for Civil Engineers.
“The MoU seeks for the advancement of civil engineering profession between our institution and other countries, through a reciprocal collaboration and mutual beneficial affiliation.
“It also focus on the provision of necessary support and platform for registered members to collaborate on project, exchange of technical publications, sharing of design software, as well as promoting innovative best practices,” she added.
On his part, Mr Adekunke Mokuolu, the President of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), revealed that a disciplinary committee was set to try defaulters of shoddy projects, to serve as deterrent to others.
Mokuola, represented by Mr Babagana Mohammed, cautioned against patronizing quack engineers for building and construction projects, to check spate of collapsed buildings.
Also speaking, Alhaji Usman Kadafur, the state deputy governor, described the conference as timely, noting that it would fast-track Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR) programmes of communities ravaged by insurgency in the state.
Kadafur, who was represented by Isa Hussaini, the Commissioner, Ministry of Higher Education, advocated for development of sound housing programme to check building collapse in the country.
