thats what we love about ya

Reserved

True talk

Oh, like the Nigerian government will have a level playing ground for you with your innovative ideas.

They'll just shove it all under their desks and tell you they'll look into it. This isn't about people not looking towards other aspects of engineering. When you do, they'll choke all your ideas until you're an empty shell

I D̶̲̥̅̊є̲̣̥y̲̅ come, too long a write-up. #myreadingmentalityisbad#

Nigeria has been producing Mechanical Engineers that cannot repair their cars since 1809

the problem is that we always wait for the government for everything. private individuals and rich dudes can sponsor some intelligent dudes.
remember the guy who constructed an helicopter in Nigeria some years back, are you hearing his name anymore.
we have guys here that constructed some mini engineering projects but they don't get the monetary push from private investors. u remember how the Google and yahoo guys started.

baba11:
OK I get u...is it because of the buhari I wrote there?no problem.. I put it there because I believe he can change the present conditions of Nigerians... I'm not a politicians in whatever forms!!!!!!

you dey find trouble ooo...

The op is copy and paste guru,plagiarism specialty

Well articulated.enlightening

diversification of the economy is what Nigeria need.There is little an engineer can do when the country is focused on crude oil export.

Typing..........

ceejayluv:


you dey find trouble ooo...

Ceejay..I c u...are u going to be around next wk Tue...I want to do updating......

How will engineers not run to the oil when everything has been bastardized.

@OP..the reason is not far fetched. Most of the job opportunities available for engineers are advertised and provided by oil and gas companies. The government is not helping matter too. Our nation’s economy’s biggest shortcoming is its over-dependence on oil which is also one of the reasons for most people wanting to develop a career in the oil industry. I don't quite agree with you that most engineers envisage a career in the oil and gas industry. The numerous number of engineer who wants to end up in the oil and gas industry is offset by a corresponding increase in the number of engineers who are very passionate about their field which is not petroleum related (Civil Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical, Mining etc). Most importantly, engineers must be very flexible and able to adapt to changing circumstances.

Feraz:
It is a well-known fact that when the average Nigerian undergraduate studying Engineering is asked what path of career to choose from after leaving school, the person echoes “Oil/gas”. When you ask the person the reason for choosing that path, they have various reasons majorly being the pay for entry level is very attractive and other reasons like “the stress in the oil/gas industries is not much compared to other professions. Imagine sitting in the office most times doing nothing and at the end of the month, your phone rings and you see alert of N1.2m. I mean, who wouldn’t want to live the good life? Hahaha!!!” and it gets you wondering what good life? Is it a life where you provide your own water supply, your own security, your own electricity etc.? Is that what one terms a good life?

From the above, one wonders if the only branch of Engineering being studied in Nigeria is Petroleum Engineering. In my varsity, there are various branches which include – Mechanical, Electrical/Electronics, Civil, Chemical, Computer, Petroleum and Production Engineering. The same can be said of other universities in Nigeria as some offer other branches of Engineering in addition to the above. If various branches of Engineering is being offered, then why the oil/gas mentality? We have so focused in the oil/gas industries thereby leaving other branches to go comatose.

According to Wikipedia, Engineering is defined thus “Engineering (from Latin ingenium, meaning "cleverness" and ingeniare, meaning "to contrive, devise" is the application of scientific, economic, social, and practical knowledge in order to invent, design, build, maintain, and improve structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes”. From the above definition, it is seen that Engineering goes beyond the oil/gas industries.

Here is an excerpt from Greatman5’s post and I quote – He also goes ahead to say (Apologies to my friends in the Medical fields. I mean no disrespect to your noble profession).

Looking at Mechanical Engineering for example as that is my field, there are fields to specialize in like Robotics, Aerospace, Aeronautics, Energy, Automobile, Automotive, Marine etc. but you wonder why we do not have so many firms that focus on the above listed. Just recently, India joined the leagues of nations that have sent space probes to Mars and you wonder, where are the Mechanical Engineers in Nigeria? This same country also make various machines and export to nations and it was not long they started doing all these. USA has the likes of NASA, Boeing and other Engineering firms not related to the oil/gas industry. Japan the same with Toyota, Nissan, Kawasaki Heavy Industries etc. What about South Korea? We use their product Hyundai and they also design and build ships for nations. These are just few examples and they all have one thing in common, they are not related to the oil/gas industries. What crime is it if we as Mechanical Engineers come together and create our technology to match our climate while designing also, for other nations?

We may cite Innoson, ANAMCO and other firms the government has allowed to set up industries in Nigeria as examples but is that enough? We are well aware of the power issues we face as a nation. Energy development is still in its infancy stage in the country so why must we kill ourselves looking for a career in the oil/gas industry? Energy is the second most lucrative industry in the world after oil/gas so whatever happened to advancing this sector? This is time for us to come together and develop our power sector instead of relying on others to do so for us. We have the resources to push for constant power supply and other means of using energy but why is it not so? What of the ergonomics aspect of Engineering? Or do we think the way we seat and relax aren’t thought about? The chairs we use in the office, who do we think design them?

How about having firms in Nigeria that can rival that of Lockheed Martins, Rolls-Royce and co? Producing just engines to power automobiles (planes, cars, trains etc.) could employ nothing less than 10, 000. If opportunities abound in these, why do we rush for the oil/gas industries? Is it wrong to have a stake in the International Space Station? We always want to work in the oil/gas industry forgetting that some of the equipment needed there is designed and manufactured by the Mechanical Engineers. Just some days ago, we heard of the Dockwise Blue Marlin and opened our mouths in awe. Was that vessel not built by Engineers who saw a need for improving the transportation of water bodies instead of wanting to work in the oil/gas industry?

We should also not forget the bio-medical field where equipment like Magnetic Resonance Imaging - MRI, CT, Ultrasound machine, X-ray machine, Anesthetic machine etc. are designed to specifications, taking into consideration the materials to be used for the above since it deals with life which are all manufactured by the different branches of Engineering (components like the controls, the nuts, bolts, gears, shafts, the programming aspect of it, the micro-controllers to be embedded etc.)

Coming down to other fields like Elect/Elect, Computer and others, is it a crime if Nigeria is known to produce the best chips, processors and fiber optics cables in the world? When are we going to have our own Silicon Valley? What about having a large conglomerate like Schneider? What about aspiring to be like Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, Acer etc.? We all use their phone – Samsung, even argue about how it is better than Nokia and we are yet to make one. I have a friend, my set mate who is already thinking of setting up her own electronics firm and believe me, with dedication to it, she’s going to be big.

The Civil Engineering in Nigeria is one field I must commend as they have tried as can be seen in the various constructions they are involved in but it still not enough. I believe we can still take this branch of Engineering higher by designing and constructing buildings that will make the world wow at our structures.

There was a topic I created about students’ inventions and check all; none has to do with oil/gas. What they all invented is something the world will come to later appreciate; inventions like 3D nail polish, the odorless toilet, the spidey suit, the gel that stops blood flow, the nail polish that tells if your drink is spiked etc. and they are all undergraduates.

Most times, we tend to insult our brothers across the Niger River but most are self-employed and not roaming the streets with this oil/gas mentality making things that we need. Things ranging from clothes to shoes to spare parts (we say it is substandard but have we ever thought of getting into this business and forming a firm while raising production to international standards instead of castigating them? I am not encouraging substandard products by the way).

And do not get me started with the supposed Engineering bodies – COREN and NSE of which I honestly do not see their functions in Nigeria except to depend on government handout and bribe while forgetting their primary function which is to advance Engineering in Nigeria. I have not seen or heard of any event being sponsored by them to aid students’ interest in the field of Engineering. Check the contents of both websites and tell me what you think. Check the contents of the Energy Dept. of Nigeria. No news on innovation except the never-ending promises of the government.

If we really must advance Engineering in Nigeria, we need to do away with the mentality of working only in the oil/gas industry and focus on other aspects of Engineering that will help us solve the numerous problems we as a nation have; which will put us in the developed nations of the world while according us the respect we deserve and this in turn will make our African brothers pick up and realize their potentials reducing wars and dependency on aids being offered us by nations.

N.B: Apologies for any typos here as this was written under the influence of garri and egusi soup. Also, for anything I am ignorant about in the above write-up, please, do correct me as I am still acquiring knowledge. Then again, I am not generalizing in the above write-up neither am I saying one should not work in the oil/gas sector because every branch of Engineering is needed in the sector. Thank you.

We had a Neighbour that kept on advicing me & my folks on the fat salaries associated with Petrochemical Engr/Geology as per Shell+Mobil et al...
Na so homie later enter business ,yall know as it is when small university degree jam business/trading ,The Packaging dey be HardCore

The major reason we cannot develop those industries in nigeria is funding. A lot of nigerians have bright ideas, but our banks and our govt never funds them. Research in universities are not funded properly either

hollandis:
The op is copy and paste guru,plagiarism specialty

I'd appreciate you provide any links to where this was first published since you feel it was plagiarised. The last topic I created before this one, I put up a link so why will this be any different if it was copied from a website?

One of those things that needs to be driven from the top.

oil nd gas mentality.....am part of the crowd oooo.....
dunno y engineering has been waterd down in nigeria ....



we really nid dat right environment!

nwanna89:
The major reason we cannot develop those industries in nigeria is funding. A lot of nigerians have bright ideas, but our banks and our govt never funds them. Research in universities are not funded properly either

Our Banks are allergic to Tech and startups , they are more eager to give you loan for APC forms

Feraz:
I'd appreciate you provide any links to where this was first published since you feel it was plagiarised. The last topic I created before this one, I put up a link so why will this be any different if it was copied from a website?

A lot of folks are obsessed with the "plagiarise" word since the linda ikeji debacle, Ignore them and move on...Nice write up bro,I was educated

Interesting!

I'm a practical engineer myself and this guy is really really on point... Engineering is everything.

african/Nigeria's education system is the problem....

Why do we go to school? The answer u get is that we go to school to learn. To learn what? To basic learn things that have been discovered since the 17th century.

In the developed countries on the other hand, the education system is primmed towards discovering and launching new products and theories.

The students are taught from early age the basics of production (like we do as children producing toys out of scrap)... When u watch cartoons and movies, you will see children being portred as engineers trying to discover new things e.g. Ra One, Endhiran bollywood movies.... We all watched Voltron and other tech cartoons as kids, abi? Those movies and cartoons are targeted at orienting their children to be problem solving, bring out new things out of their environment, mental independence et al.

Practicals, projects and prototype design/building are part of their education system.

But here in Nigeria/Africa, everything is book centered. We are made to read and cram obselete things that have been discovered long ago.... As if that is not humiliating enough, there are no structures on ground to enable students demonstrate/practical the outdated knowledge they are cramming. We only study to pass exams.... After that, we forget about books.

You dont expect Nigeria to be engineering tunned with that kind of education system, do you?

Until Nigeria/African countries overhaul their education goals and objectives from learning/studying oriented to discovery/project oriented, nothing will change.

Look at Ghana... What do they even produce there? Nothing.... They killed their industries when they adopted IMF's liberal trade policy.... Now they're in big mess.

Learning/studying is just useless if you dont put what you have been learning into practice.......!!..

It's a tough one.
Being an engineer myself, I can relate to the OP's feelings.

However . . . there is no gainsaying the fact that Nigerians are mentally and psychologically lazy, as well as greedy and lacking in personal conviction. So you can't single out the engineering profession.

That is not to say that there are many engineering graduates in Nigeria who desire an opportunity to practise, not necessarily for oil-and-gas type of pay. Since we're not building and making things in Nigeria, there are little options for such people. IT has been an outlet for the last decade and a half, and people have done well in Nigeria here.

My brother well articulated.
If only SEUN can tell you, I gave you one of the likes in your post...


Reminds me of a lecturer who taught me Solid Mechanics in school. He always complained about how all our lecturers (Mechanical Engineering) were trying to get an office at the Energy Centre in my school and neglecting the space Centre for Physics And Astronomy Lecturers.