President Buhari becomes Grand Patron, Nigerian Academy of Engineers; Promises to heavily utilize local engineers; Wants Internally Displaced Persons properly resettled

President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja said his administration will heavily utilize talents and skills of local engineers to rebuild ailing infrastructure across the country, describing the engineers as ‘‘competent and cost effective.’’
Speaking at an investiture ceremony by the Nigerian Academy of Engineers (NAE) at the State House, President Buhari said the well-trained and highly experienced engineers had contributed immensely to the infrastructural development of the country, and they remain indispensable.
The President, who was decorated as the Grand Patron of the NAE at the ceremony, said both military and civilian administrations over the years depended on Nigerian engineers for designs and constructions across the country.
‘‘By insisting that we must be cost effective in building infrastructure, we will utilize Nigerian engineers. I respect them a lot, and I know it takes time to be trained as an engineer,’’ he said.
The President noted that local engineers contributed more than 90 percent to the design and realization of two refineries, 2,500 pipelines and 20 depots in the country during his tenure as Minister of Petroleum in the mid-1970s, adding that the success of the Petroleum Trust Fund was largely hinged on their skills.
‘‘Somehow, everytime and anywhere I have served in this country, we found it cost effective to use Nigerian engineers, and we relied on their capacity to understudy, learn and deliver.
‘‘It will be wrong to fault Nigerian engineers for the failure of refineries. You should blame the political leadership. How can you build and not know how to maintain an asset,’’ the President said.
President Buhari said individual political leaders should be blamed for Nigeria’s ailing infrastructure, not the engineers who had always been willing to contribute to national development.
In her remarks, the President of the NAE, Mrs. Joanna Maduka, said science, technology and innovation were the key drivers of growth across the globe, urging the Federal Government to explore and engage the multiple engineering talents in the country for more purposeful results.
‘‘For the country to attain sustainable growth status, the Nigerian engineers need to be adequately engaged in planning, policy formulation, consultancy and construction, as well as industrial process of production and manufacturing,’’ she noted.
Maduka commended the anti-corruption fight of the Federal Government, saying it would turn around the fortunes of the economy.
The President, Tuesday, also warned that the two million displaced Nigerians in refugee camps must be properly resettled if the country is to avert a relapse into another social crisis.
Speaking at a meeting with Sheikh Sharif Mohammed Kabir Ibn Mohammad, the world leader of Tijjaniya Islamic Movement at the State House, the President, according to Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity), lamented the destruction of public institutions in the North East by Boko Haram terrorists.

“Government is faced with the problem of repairing schools, health centres and whole towns. We must repair their schools and recruit teachers otherwise they will become tomorrow’s Boko Haram,” he warned.
President Buhari reiterated the importance of justice in the affairs of governance, emphasizing that men and women in authority must show kindness and justice to all the people under them.
In commending the religious group for the profuse prayers they had rendered for three days in Yola, Adamawa State for the recovery of the economy and peace in the country, the President said that the problem oil production is currently experiencing in the country and in the global markets had forced the imperative of agriculture on Nigerians.
“We are learning the hard way. The mistake we made was to abandon agriculture. We came at a time of difficulty the country has never experienced since the civil war,” he said.
President Buhari also requested the religious leaders to persuade Nigerians to embrace hard work, endurance and patience, assuring that the administration will not relent in the effort to achieve self-reliance and security for the nation.
In his remarks, Sheikh Sharif Mohammad commended President Buhari’s sense of justice and concern for the people of Nigeria.
He assured the President that the Tijjaniya movement was in full support of the administration and will continue to pray for its success.