NAN-H-64
Engineers
By Taiye Agbaje
Abuja, Feb. 26, 2018 (NAN) An industrialist, Dr Gbenga Olusunle, says Nigeria possesses competent engineers, who require government’s encouragement to drive the country’s manufacturing and industrialisation process.
Olusunle is the Managing Director of Engineering Materials Development Institute (EMDI), Ondo state.
The industrialist, who spoke on Monday with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, noted that Nigeria was not lagging behind in research and manufacturing, adding that appropriate technology and funding were the major hindrances.
“Rather, what experts in science and technology sector need presently is to be encouraged by governments in order to perform at optimum level.
‘’We are doing our best. Although, our best is not good enough for now, certainly, we are not lagging behind, only that we need to be encouraged.’’
Olusunle recalled that Prof. Mohammed Sani Haruna, Executive Vice Chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), recently agreed that Nigerian engineers were competent, but were yet to be challenged.
‘’We need to be challenged by government and we need to be funded. Then, let’s see how well we can perform,” he said.
He said “in my own institute in particular, we have been able to produce a propeller hydro turbine to generate power.
‘’The one we designed and we tested in our dam to produce 10kilowatts of power,” he said.
He said some of the products manufactured by his institute would be showcased at the forthcoming Techno Expo coming up in Abuja.
‘’We have rotary furnace. We use this to melt metals that we can eventually use to cast components or machine parts.
“We have the channel grating that was produced from molten metal. Molten metal is a metal that has been turned into liquid to be melted at the high temperature.
‘’So EMDI produced the rotary furnace, which comes in 10kg, 100kg and 300kg respectively.
‘’We have just developed and produced the 500kg recuperative that has heat ex-changer that can make melting easier and more efficient and with less contamination in the material,” he said.
He listed other products manufactured by the institute to include yam pounding machine, bull gear, train brake shoe, grinding disc and water pump impeller.
The MD called for governments’ collaboration in the innovation sub-sector, saying it would encourage the institute to develop more hi-tech products both for local consumption and exports.
‘’We have over 250 of these in higher institutions in the past sponsored by ETF but thereafter, we have not developed further.
‘’But if the Federal Government can also key into it, we can replicate the innovation across the country.
“The process will engage the youth, take away scraps that litter the streets in our country and change the environment,” Olusunle said.
NAN reports EMDI as an institute, develops engineering materials, using scientific and engineering principles for its products. (NAN)
TOA/KOO/GY
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Edited by Kevin Okunzuwa/Grace Yussuf