THE ENGINEER

You can reachus onmedia@nseng.orgfor your contributions.THE ENGINEER( Official e– newsletter of The Nigerian Society of Engineers)Vol. 3. Issue 29Friday 6 - 20 May 2011Engr. Ajibola (2nd from l) inspects Buses under construction at InnosonFacility in Nnewi. Leading the way is Chief Chukwuma.Innoson Ltd hosts NSE, donates BusThe President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr Olumuyiwa AladeAjibola has called on government to provide support and incentives to themanufacturing sector in the country adding that only local production andmanufacturing of goods needed by Nigerians in the country will guaranteethe economic development of the nation.He was speaking after inspecting facilities at Innoson Vehicle, Nnewi andthe Innoson Plastics Company in Enugu when he paid an industrial visit tothe company.Engr Ajibola who was elated at the level of investment in technology madeby the company said the efforts by the company have provided employmentfor thousands of young Nigerians.“ The Vehicle manufacturing company that I saw is more than an assemblyplant. It has about 80 per cent Nigeria content and we saw Nigerians fabricating,finishing, assembling. This is what we need in this country. Our nationneeds to look inwards” he said.The NSE president said the country needed to be a productive economyand announced that the societywas keen on developinga data base on Industries inNigerian, their functionality,capacity and number of professionalsand other Nigeriansengaged by such companies.He advocated for a partnershipbetween the InnosonGroup and the Nigerian societyof Engineers in the areaof sharing knowledge, informationand establishment ofquality standards and benchmarks.Engr Ajibola called on theFederal Government to assistindustrialists in the area offunding through offer of softloans saying such monieswould be utilised by companieslike Innoson to generateemployment and bring moreproducts to the market.

Visits to Innoson Group In PicturesSome Finished BusesDrums ready for the MarketFurnace for producing overhead tanksEarlier, the Chairman of InnosonGroup, Chief InnocentChukwuma said he had investedin Vehicle manufacturing,plastic production andproduction of Tire and buildingmaterials because of thedesire to meet the needs ofNigerians. He said his investmentin these areas has ledto production of very standardgoods that werecheaper but of very highquality.He said his activities havenot only led to employment ofyoung Nigerians but havemade available to Nigeriansat a very cheap rate itemsthat were hitherto imported atvery high cost.He said the major challenges, he was facing waslack of electricity supply, importationof raw materialsand patronage of the locallyproduced vehicles. He regrettedthat in most cases rawmaterials needed for his productionwere cheaper ifsourced abroad as a result ofgovernment policies whichencourage exportation asagainst sale to local companiesin Nigeria.Meanwhile, the Chairmanhas donated one of his locallymanufactured buses tothe Nigerian Society of Engineersfor use in their activitiesat the headquarters.While announcing the donation,he said he hoped thesociety would use it to confirmthe quality and encourageother Nigerians to usethe vehicle.

Engr Oyebolu, Engr. Fadahunsi and wife and another guest at thepresentationFadahunsi Tells story of his lifePast President, Engr. Chief Fadahunsiin what can be described as a blaze ofglory has launched his autobiographytitled “Reflections on the Events of myLife” in Lagos.The event which held at the MusonCentre was attended by the crème dela crème of the society.Speaking at the occasion, the representativeof the President of the Nigeriansociety of Engineers, Engr. ValerieAgberagba , Vice President, Membershippraised the sterling qualities ofEngr. Fadahunsi and said he remains arole model for up-and- coming engineers.(Below is a report by Tolulope Odeyemi,NEXT Newspaper)The public presentation of „Reflectionson the Events of My Life', the autobiographyof Samuel Olatunde Fadahunsi,took place on May 5 at the Agip RecitalHall, Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos.Since it isn't everyday that a 91-yearoldgets the opportunity to tell his story,family, friends and associates of theformer president of the Nigerian Societyof Engineers came out en masse tolisten to him.Doyen of accounting in Nigeria, AkintolaWilliams; former military administratorof the Western Region, AdeyinkaAdebayo; and chartered surveyor HopeHarriman, were among those whocame to celebrate with the retired engineer.Unique bookAs is often the case with accomplishedprofessionals who value time, therewere no frivolities at the event. The reviewer,Reuben Abati, promptly gotdown to business after the chair of thebook presentation committee, DupeOlatubosun, introduced the guests.Abati, the chair of the editorial board ofThe Guardian, disclosed that he didn'thesitate to accept the task because ofthe uniqueness of the book. He saidthat, unlike other autobiographies,„Reflections on the Events of My Life'doesn't dwell on the author's personallife, marriage, family, chieftaincy titlesor philanthropic activities. The reviewersaid the book offers useful insights on"the makings of Nigeria, the Nigeriathat seems to be lost in antiquity."Abati, who went through the book witha fine-toothed comb, added that,"„Reflections on the Events of My Life'is a story of Nigeria through the eyes ofMr Fadahunsi. This, to me, is humbling.The author, though a family man, didnot dwell much on this; he went to describeNigeria as it was in the 30s, 40sand 50s."The reviewer further describedthe author as a patriot, noting thatinstead of remaining in the UKafter completing his studies in civilengineering at London University,he joined a group of others whoreturned to develop Nigeria."Despite the fact that Nigeria wasnot as developed as it is now,these patriotic Nigerians saw it aresponsibility to come home andbuild." The author's principles andqualities, including love for familyvalues, loyalty and a stanceagainst corruption, did not escapeAbati's attention.Great family manBut the reviewer wasn't the onlyperson who commended Fadahunsi'seffort. The chief presenter,Folorunsho Awomolo, who wasrepresented by his daughter, alsohad great things to say about theman who dedicated much of hislife to the civil service. Other commentatorsalso praised Fadahunsi'sspirit of contentment.One of his children described herfather as a "great man, who willdo anything to protect his family.Grandpa, as he is fondly called byhis grandchildren, is a wonderfulman."Born on March 17, 1920, Fadahunsistudied civil engineering atLondon University and returned toNigeria in 1955. His first appointmentupon his return was as districtengineer in Osogbo with theWestern Region government,where he eventually rose to becomea chief water engineer anda chief adviser on water supply.EDITOR: Ikenna Emeka OkpaniPublished by Media and PublicationsDepartment,Nigerian Society of EngineersMedia@nseng.org . Branch and DivisionalChairmen should contact uson their activities for publication inthe newsletter

(from left) Mrs. Ajibola, Engr. Ajibola,Mrs Maduka, Engr Maduka at the occasionAPWEN Celebrates founding PresidentNSE Inaugurates Boardsand CommitteesThe Founding President of theAssociation of ProfessionalWomen Engineers of Nigeria(APWEN) Engr. Mrs Olu JoannaMaduka turned 70 recently andmembers rolled out the drum tomark the event in Lagos.The ceremony featured presentationof Awards and a BusinessLuncheon held at the NationalEngineering Centre in Lagos.Speaking at the occasion, thePresident of APWEN, Engr. IniUsoro said Engr Maduka championedthe formation of the Associationin 1982 to provide a forumfor sorority amongst female engineersand to encourage engineeringstudies and practiceamongst female Nigerians.Additionally , she said the associationwas formed to create aplatform by which women engineerscan collaborate with otherwomen in other professions in Nigeriaand elsewhere.Since the formation of the Association,Engr. Usoro observed,that the society has continued toorganise carrier counselling sessionsfor female students to increaseawareness and encouragegirls to study science and engineering.She said that the successes recordedby the society since its formationwere worthy of celebrationhence the need to use the opportunityof the 70 th birthday of thefounding president to honour herand other distinguished members.Awardees at the event includedEngr. Mrs Biola Kosegbe; Engr.Mrs. Nnenna Agubata and Engr.Mrs. Bolanle Ilemora. Others areEngr. Mrs. O B Osiberu, Engr.Mrs. Olubukola Ojurongbe andEngr. Mrs Cecelia Olajide.The President of the NigerianSociety of Engineers, EngrOlumuyiwa Alade Ajibola willinaugurate the Boards andCommittees for the year 2011on Saturday, 21st May, 2011by 11 am. Members of committeesare expected to Attend.Publicity and ProgrammesCommittee Holds InauguralmeetingThe Programmes and PublicityCommittee will hold its inauguralmeeting on the 21stof May by 2 pm shortly afterthe inauguration of the Committeesby the President.The meeting will be guided bythe Chairman of the Committee,Engr Mohammed IsholaAbbas