By Jude Opara, Abuja
Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday said the administration of President Bola Tinubu is using the engineering methods to ensure that Nigeria succeeds in her dream of building a nation that will be the pride of all citizens.
Shettima who spoke at the 15th Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Lecture organised by the Nigerian Institute of Mechanical Engineers (NIME) in Abuja on Tuesday, added that just like Engineers who apply the principles of science to real life situation, using their skills to create, stabilise, and sustain, the present administration is also using its knowledge to create and build a sustainable economy that will endure.
The Vice President while presenting his goodwill message at the event, insisted that national challenges are not due to lack of knowledge but because of our difficulty in applying chase principles with discipline and clarity.
He also stated that the theme of the 2025 Mechanical Engineering lecture could not have come at a better time, for the fact that it speaks to the need for coherence between planning and execution, which his said the present administration is already implementing.
“The theme of the 2025 Mechanical Engineering distinguished lecture could not have come at a better time. It speaks to the need for coherence between what we plan and what we execute. In Engineering, as in budgeting, you cannot altar one variable without recalibrating the others. If you do, you lose harmony. This is the reality we face when public policy ignores the logic of proportion and alignment.
“We look forward to learning from your expertise and working with you to bridge the gap between ideas and implementation, between theoretical knowledge and practical governance. Nigeria reflects the quality of our collective thinking and I trust that your interventions will continue to inspire the transformation we seek.
“Let this gathering emphasis a simple truth; that budgeting, like engineering, demands structure, accuracy and foresight. A nation that hopes to rise must learn to plan like an engineer. Every figure must make sense. Every decision must serve a purpose. That is how we build the Nigeria of our dreams,” he added.
The former governor of Borno state further argued: “The true measure of any thriving civilisation lies in its respect for numbers, for data, for geometry, and for the guiding principles of mathematics. Our national challenges do not stem from a lack of knowledge but from our difficulty in applying chase principles with discipline and clarity.
“Contrary to those who regard quantitative rigour disconnected from reality, nothing could be further from the truth. We are driven by interaction, balance, and response. Just as the laws of motion govern machinery, they shape the fortunes of nation.
“This is why Engineers are indispensable to every society. They apply the principles of science to real life situation, using their skills to create, stabilise, and sustain. Whether in refining energy systems or designing infrastructure, Engineers remind us that life itself is powered by numbers, calculations, and calibrated choices, without these, our lives would be marked by chaos and uncertainty,” he said.
Delivering his lecture with the theme: “Imperative of Mechanical Engineering Strategies for Aocio-Economic Development based on National Budgets, Challenges and Potentials”, distinguished lecturer and former National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Iyiola Omisore noted that Nigeria is faced with numerous challenges that urgently require mechanical engineering solutions.
Omisore said the lecture topic was with the view to examining the significant roles mechanical engineers play in improving the socio-economic status of the society in line with the nation’s budget for the year under review.
“The Nigerian budget is drafted for the upliftment of the people in the hope of exploiting available potentials towards solving all palpable and latent challenges of the citizenry.
“The lower and the upper houses as well as the executive have done what they probably knew best to do, but the budget without innovative implementation strategies would remain like the carcass of a vehicle, though with an engine of enormous capacity (potentials), but without the wheels -we aren’t going nowhere,” he noted.
Speaking specifically on the relative analysis of the lecture, the former Osun state Deputy Governor said; “Our country Nigeria of today is faced with numerous socio-economic challenges, some or all of which require mechanical engineering solutions to urgently fix.
“Few of the problems include poverty; despite being Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria has a significant poverty rate with more than half the population living on less than N1,500 a day.
“In the past 10 years, the monetary worth of all goods and services in Nigeria has shown unfavourable decline and it is important to ask, what are the challenges mechanical engineers may solve in terms of improving the level of industrialization and quality of labour in contributing to government policies and businesses capitalisation, towards improving the national GDP.
“Unemployment: currently, the country is characterised by high unemployment rates, especially among the youths, with the consequence of contributing to social unrest, the concurrent deindustrialisation and the declining GDP are pointers to the reality of unemployment.
“Nigeria has tremendous potential for socio-economic development, but it needs to address its challenges and seize its opportunities to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. While the anticipated budget is not unattainable, the Institute of Mechanical Engineers surely has huge role to play, deploying all of its specifications in wheeling the country to the desired destination”.
In attendance at the event were: Former National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, former governors of Ondo and Kogi states, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and Capt. Idris Wada respectively, former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi, and some members of the National Assembly.
