The Engineers' Blog

NSE Categories of Membership

2010-05-15T05:19:00.000-07:00

As a result of many calls and inquiries from members regarding the NSE categories of membership, we are writing to reproduce in tabular form the detailed.

For those who are not familiar with the categories on membership we believe the following may be of help to you:

1. STUDENT MEMBER
A Student Member shall be a person who is undertaking an approved engineering course of training leading to a degree in an institution recognized by the Council of the Society for the purpose of training professional engineers.

2. GRADUATE MEMBER
A person seeking admission to Graduate Membership shall possess an academic qualification acceptable to the Council of the Society and registrable by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) under the provisions of the Engineering Registration Decree (No.55) of 1970 or such amendments thereof. Post-qualification practical experience shall not be a requirement for entry into this class.

3. CORPORATE MEMBER
CANDIDATES ARE GROUPED INTO VARIOUS CATEGORIES THUS:

A1 Candidates who are holders of the Bachelor's degree in engineering whose institutions' programmes are accredited by COREN and with such candidates having been registered by COREN as professional Engineers.

A2 Candidates who are already Corporate Members of Engineering Institutions (licensed as Professional Chartered or Registered Engineers) recognized by COREN.

B1 Candidates who are holders of the Bachelor's degree in Engineering whose qualifications are accredited by COREN or any overseas accreditation board recognised by COREN. Such candidates must have acquired a minimum of 4 years post-qualification experience.

B3 Candidates who obtained HND in Engineering from approved institution and have successfully completed the NSE Graduateship Examinations and have had additional 2 years of engineering practice. However, those with up to 15 years post HND experience will not be required to wait for 2 years.

B4 Candidates who have obtained HND in Engineering before proceeding to do an accredited Master's programme or post Higher National Diploma in Engineering in addition to a minimum of six (6) years post HND experience; plus.

(a) Minimum of 2 years post bridging qualification from accredited Nigerian University/Faculties/Bodies.

(b) Minimum of 4 years post-bridging qualification from unaccredited Nigerian Universities/Faculties not later than 1991. Membership Committee shall ascertain that the Master's programme or post Higher National Diploma programme has adequately corrected the deficiencies inherent in the earlier programme.

B5 Candidates who are graduates in the sciences with post graduate qualifications in Engineering accredited by COREN and have been working in Engineering related fields?

C1 Candidates who are holders of correct and adequate basic academic qualifications by COREN Standards and Regulations who are 40 years and above. Such candidates as at the time of application must have a minimum of 10 years post-qualification experience. The candidates must appear in person.

C2 Candidates who are holders of correct and adequate basic academic qualifications by COREN Standards and Regulations and are top executives in Government parastatals or Industries etc who are not only 45 years and above with respect of age, but who, as at the time of application have minimum of 15 years post qualification experience. They may be accorded Presidential interview on the recommendation of the Membership Committee. The candidates need not appear for interview.

4. ASSOCIATE
A person seeking election, as an Associate of the Society shall posses an academic qualification at the level of a university degree in the sciences allied to engineering science, or the qualifications approved by the Council of the Society. In addition, he shall have been engaged on work related to the practice of engineering for a minimum period of 5 years.

5. REQUIREMENTS/CONDITIONS FOR FELLOWSHIP AWARD BY THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS
· All candidates must have been corporate members of the Society for 10 years in addition to what we have in the Memorandum and Articles of Association of NSE.

· All HND holders must have additional academic qualification(s) before Fellowship.

· All referees must be financial members of the Society and their reference letters must be received before the consideration of the candidate’s application.

· Only the President can waive this option.

· Must have attended at least 5 AGMs in the last ten years prior to the year of application.

- Must have written and presented four (4) Technical/Management papers at NSE and or any other fora acceptable to the Board of Fellows. All papers must have been presented in the last 10 years.

· Must have worked on some outstanding projects (that stand out from the ordinary).

· Attended the yearly refresher Engineering Courses/Workshops to make him or her current on engineering practice and not with obsolete knowledge – must show evidence of this in the application form.

· Must be active in his or her Branch and Division activities.

· Financial status must be consistent. There must be evidence of consistency in the payment of dues to NSE in the last 5 years.

6. HONORARY FELLOW
The Council of the Society may at its discretion elect distinguished persons to Honorary Fellowship. Such persons, though not necessarily engineers, would normally have used their positions to render notable assistance to the practice of engineering science.

If you have any question please email us at icenigerian@yahoo.com, nseikejabranch@yahoo.com, isqilnajim@yahoo.co.uk. If you have trouble getting the NSE registration form or NICE form, please email us.

Thank you.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF THE 27TH PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS, ENGR. CHIEF OLUMUYIWA ALADE AJIBOLA, FNSE, C.ENG.

2010-05-15T05:11:00.000-07:00

INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF THE 27^TH PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS, ENGR. CHIEF OLUMUYIWA ALADE AJIBOLA, FNSE, C.ENG.

ON 16^TH JANUARY, 2010 AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, ABUJA

1.0 INTRODUCTION

I give God all the glory for making this day a reality. Though the journey has been long and arduous, like the proverbial King David in the Holy Bible, I humbly testify that the Lord has been my help and my guide in the journey to date.

Today indeed is special in the history of our great Society, as it marks the beginning of the second decade of the millennium. Thus the challenges are in legion and multifarious in nature and dimension, due to the exceptionally rapid rate of development ushered in by the millennium through the explosion as it were, in Information and Communication Technology which has dictated paradigm shifts to the ways of life, the world over, from Governance to Trade and Commerce.

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) is a professional society founded and nurtured by our great forebearers, Past Presidents, Secretary Generals, Council Members, etc as a common voice for the engineering profession in Nigeria on the basis of high ethical standards to enhance competence in service, promote professional development, and welfare of its members. It is also the point of connection of Engineers with the Society, including government, public and private sectors of the economy.

I salute the tremendous work done before me by these great men of vision. One can only build on the magnificent foundation that has been laid. This I promise to do as the 27^th President of the Society. I must not fail to mention in particular my immediate predecessor Engr. Kashim Abdul Ali FNSE from whom I have learnt a great deal.

My sojourn of over 20 years in the NSE service has been informed by my deep rooted vision for the role that engineering can play in the transformation of our nation into an advanced and prosperous economy. This has been a dream that I have nursed since my school days and which has powered my career to date.

My vision is to see NSE develop into a world class professional body, able to satisfy all the professional needs of its members as well as the Society, thus conferring on the Nigerian Engineer the respect, dignity and recognition, he/she deserves from the Government and the Society alike, to assure his/her active participation in all Engineering based aspects of our national Economy.

In this regard, I would like to take this opportunity to call on my very resourceful professional colleagues within the executive committee, in council and the entire membership, to join me in re-creating a positive future, for Engineering in Nigeria, and by extension, the Nigerian Engineer, which will be based on high ethical standards, hard work and commitment to the true spirit of service to the profession and our dear Nation Nigeria.

In order to achieve these objectives, we must work together as one body regardless of which part of the profession we are working from, Public or Private sector. It is just a career path, our professional destiny is the same in the long run, i.e. ability to practice our profession in an environment that allows us to serve humanity make a decent living, and even excel in the process! Given the rigours of our education and training, I humbly submit that we deserve a pride of place in Infrastructure development and national wealth creation.

2.0 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

What we claim to deserve must however be earned. Engineering is an intellectually based profession. We must therefore first continuously deepen and widen our intellectual base through periodic knowledge updates in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Programmes to bring us to speed with current knowledge in our various specialized fields.

Fortunately this has been recognized in the restructuring exercise carried out at the Secretariat in which a full fledged Directorate of Professional Development has been created. It is our desire to put this department to work by supporting programmes that will be run at our Engineering Resource Centres in Lagos and Abuja, and at such locations as may be dictated by specific needs. It is therefore our intention to upgrade these centres to International Standards and work in close association with the Oil and Gas, Engineering-based and Engineering Delivering Ministries and Agencies, Private Sector Industries, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Bureau of Public Procurement, COREN, ACEN, Specialist Divisions of the NSE, World Bank and other multilateral donor organizations, universities and other professional bodies (Local & International) to meet the capacity building needs of our members.

3.0 ALIGNMENT WITH GLOBAL PRACTICE

As observed earlier, in this Information and Communication Technology driven age, there is an urgent need to align ourselves with emerging Engineering practices in project delivery. This will equip us with the capacity to cope with procedures in a management setting that allows many complex activities to be performed in an optimal manner for effective project cost, quality and time frame control.

It is our aim to update our members in the Procurement Process, Construction Practice, Software Applications to Design, Entrepreneurship, Quality Assurance Quality Control (QAQC), Health Safety and Environment and the art of Project Management through relevant seminars and workshops.

We shall also maintain the thrust already given to the development of Nigerian Codes and Standards as applicable to Engineering Practice within the Nigerian territory. Arrangements are at an advanced stage for the hosting of stakeholders workshops to realize the process. The first of such working workshops is to hold before the end of the first quarter of the year.

We recognize the relationships that have been established by my predecessors, between our great Society and International organizations such as WFEO, FAOE, CEC, ANSTI, UNDP, UNESCO etc. and other Engineering Institutions. We hope to strengthen these ties through active participation, with the aim of deriving maximum benefits for our membership. We shall also encourage as a matter of course, our members to present papers in international fora to showcase progress and challenges of engineering practice in Nigeria. This would help to project our nation as one with active professional engineers who fully understand their challenges and can find solutions to them.

Our Annual Conference for the year 2010 is planned to be an International Conference.

4.0 ROLE OF DIVISIONS AND BRANCHES

Our real professional strength in providing service to the nation lies in our Expert Divisions and Branches. We recognize the growth and definition of the major Divisions. However, we shall endeavour to re-define and strengthen them through constant interaction, to be alive to their responsibilities for the professional development of their members. They must be equipped and prepared to promptly respond professionally to national and international challenges and issues.

They must also serve as the points of primary contact with the Society. They must therefore advance the role of the Engineer in the Society so as to maintain our relevance to the lives of the people and by so doing court their confidence and retain the professional role of Solution Providers.

As part of the role of the Engineer in the Society, we hope to explore a partnership with Government through the initiation of an Infrastructure Rating Programme (IRP) with the active participation of Nigerian Engineers in the diaspora.

5.0 WELFARE OF MEMBERS

The welfare of our members has always being paramount in my heart. To the glory of God, it was during my tenure as Chairman Welfare Committee that members began to enjoy discount on hotel accommodation cost of building materials etc in different parts of the country. It is my belief that considering the important role that we play in our nation’s economy, we should have a good reward to live well with our families. We shall continue the pursuit of better conditions of service for our members in public and private sectors, good remuneration, and other welfare packages. We shall also continue to impress on our compatriots in Government and Private sectors of the economy, the need to use the services of Nigerian Engineers in their project execution. This is the only way to build a lasting economy and engender all round prosperity.

6.0 NSE WEBSITE

One of the significant steps in our move towards enhancing our performance in a world class setting as a professional body is the upgrading and re-branding of our website to International standards and populating it with information, materials and appropriate data of interest to the Engineering world, particularly our own members. To this end an Editorial Board will be inaugurated soon in the new year to collate, edit and control the quality of information/data to be posted on the Web.

The portal will also carry a Professional Networking Database the “PRONET” of Engineering firm members of the Society with adequate information on fields of specialization, services provided, size of organization, management structure, experience etc. This will provide the foundation for a structured capacity enhancement of Local Content as well as further Policy development in this direction. More details on how to subscribe to the PRONET will be given soon.

7.0 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT AND OTHERS

I can say with confidence that Nigerian Engineers have appropriate Professional and Managerial competencies to midwife strategic dreams of Government on infrastructure Economic and National development and are ever ready to be involved, but have been distanced from the policy stages of such plans in many instances! Could it be because Engineers are involved at the project execution ends of the policies? Even this is not strictly so in our country! That stage is most often ceded to our foreign counterparts to the detriment of the project, our selves and the nation!

What most often happens is that many errors which may lead to infrastructure failures, occur at the policy development stage, thus rendering an otherwise positive looking project, a white elephant of sort after implementation. Examples abound where foreign experts have been relied upon to lead Project development without sufficient knowledge, of local conditions, available support within existing infrastructure or local material and economic environment etc. The result is that the Nigerian Engineers who inadvertently inherit the project for maintenance will have an uphill task in realizing such objective since they were not part of the project evolution!

We therefore solicit government to involve us in Policy making positions, which are pivotal to Infrastructural Development, such as, Works (Highways and Housing Urban Development etc), Power, Steel, Agriculture, Oil & Gas, & Energy, Water Resources, , Transportation (Aviation, Railways, Waterways etc), Information & Communications. Mining and Industry, Human Capacity building, Environment, Manufacturing, Health, Education, Science and Technology, Rural Development, Immigration< Foreign Affairs etc.

It is our view that the 7 Point Agenda, Millennium Development Goals, and Vision 20-2020 can only be realized when the main Engineering and Technological responsibilities thereof are driven by Nigerian Engineers supported, by other professionals and if required by their foreign counterparts.

8.0 IMPORTANCE OF ENGINEERING PROFESSION TO NATIONAL OBJECTIVES IN A DEMOCRACY

When I ponder on the profession of Engineering, its immense benefit in shaping the lives of mankind, it sometimes comes through to me as a human being of limitless capacity and an intimate ally to every aspect of the human life. Let us for a moment suppose that Engineering is a human being! What sort of person is Engineering?

I would say Engineering is a very wise and powerful person indeed, deriving its great all round prowess from the Creator Himself. He is not a native of any particular country, yet a potential citizen of every country that adopts him. He has no ethnicity! That is why after turning Europe and America into places to behold, his work in Asia has gained significant acclaim, not to talk about China which is now tending towards a kind of paradise on earth with facilities! If I may ask, Is Engineering a Nigerian citizen? Its hard to answer, it appears that its adoption papers are still being processed and my information is that the process cannot be abridged! It started from the Executive and must pass through the upper and lower houses of legislature and finally sworn in by the Judiciary! Several attempts have been made in the past to shorten the process to no avail. I would like to take this opportunity to call on members of the Engineering family and genuine admirers, as well as all citizens to whose eternal benefit, Engineering citizenship will be, to come together with one heart and voice to prevail on the major players to shorten the process.

Seeing the feats performed by Engineering in Europe and America, and after becoming a citizen of countries in South East Asia etc. I would say that it is about time that Nigeia gives citizenship to this ‘wonder being’ in the Nigerian Engineer. It is then that sustainable progress can be made in our developmental efforts as well as production through industrialization.

It was the Industrial Revolution mid-wifed by European Engineers with the active support of Governments and all and sundry, that put Europe initially ahead in the league of Nations. This was realized by successive Governments in that region of the world, and up till this moment, Engineers enjoy special status in those nations who appreciate that the success of Engineers and Engineering determines their real competitiveness and market shares of the world trade, and high quality of life.

Little wonder, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, while addressing the first U.K Engineering Assembly in Birmingham on 3^rd September 1985 said, ‘the success of the Engineering Profession and Industry is the key to our future and prosperity’. She had earlier commented that the fact that she spoke at the opening ceremony at all, as the Prime Minister, demonstrated her Government’s commitment to Engineering in Britain. Distinguished Chairman Sir, I commend this spirit to our leaders if we are expecting similar results from the profession. The effect of Mrs. Thatcher’s action is clearly evident in the superb state of Infrastructure in Britain to this day.

In the same light, more recently, President Barrack Obama in his widely read book, “ The Audacity of Hope” while discussing his political philosophy that saw him clinch the Presidency of the strongest Nation on Earth, the USA, demonstrated a clear vision of the route to prosperity when he wrote “I believe in the free market, competition, and entrepreneurship, and I think no small number of Government Programmes don’t work as advertised. I wish the Country had fewer Lawyers and more Engineers”.

I believe these thoughts were not meant to berate Lawyers, the profession to which himself and his wife belong! He only confirmed that for rapid actualization of National objectives, the Engineers’ role is crucial. Later, as President of the USA, his economic recovery strategy could be seen to leverage on Engineering and Technology projects. He has also embarked on intensive efforts to put America ahead in Technology once again through new Science Engineering, and Technology education policies.

9.0 THE FUTURE

For the future to be better than even our dreams as a nation, our National policies on Engineering and Nigerian Engineers, must go through a complete ‘rennaissance’. The Nigerian Engineers must be the focus for development. If we fail to appreciate this principle we may learn later in the hard way! I made this same passionate plea fifteen years ago, when I delivered the 1^st Engr. Lawrence Arokodare Memorial Lecture in Ibadan. Sadly enough, it does not appear that much has changed since then! Although some infrastructure have been added, the Nigerian Content is rather low. As shown above, nations achieve prosperity and greatness through the commitment of their Engineers and encouragement by all. Unless we adopt this strategy, real economic development may elude us for a long time.

Any Nigerian project, no matter how complex it is perceived, in which Nigerian Engineers don’t play an active role throughout its project cycle, may be likened to the acquisition of what I will describe as a luxury toy’ in that they may not be maintainable in the long run, at costs considered reasonable, when put against the procurement of a replacement!

It is time to legislate the Nigerian Content into projects in all sectors of the Nigerian Economy with well specified conditions to be met by all if we are looking at a future of sustainable development, industrial production and general prosperity.

10.0 SUGGESTIONS TO GOVERNMENT

· 1^st the White Paper on Strategic Policy on Engineering Development and Control must be reviewed immediately and enacted into law.

· Our country should device a means of growing existing well conceived and managed Engineering Companies who are distinctive in their performance and production into sustainable and growing concerns so as to boast of a big basket of Highly Competent Nigerian Technical Companies, able to compete favourably with their International counterparts.

· Engineers must be more involved at the highest levels, in policy formulation for Engineering based Ministries, Departments and Agencies, in order to achieve effective and sustainable policy frameworks and implementation thereof.

· Nigerian Engineers in the Public sector must integrate themselves with those outside in order to advance the common goals of the profession. They must realize that, the benefits in the long run are immesurable!.

· Nigerian Engineers must take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Nigerian Society of Engineers to further develop and kit themselves up with modern tools and practices in order to become more effective in their professional delivery.

11.0 GRATITUDE

My gratitude goes first to my parents Canon Emmanuel Olajuyitan and Chief (Mrs) Julianah Tijuara Ajibola of blessed memory, who provided the high quality education and opportunities for me in life to attain my goals. My Partner, for 33 years Engr. Dr. Gabriel Olatunbosun Adefolaju also of blessed memory, who worked tirelessly with me to realize this lofty goal!

Mr. Chairman Sir, distinguished colleagues and guests, kindly join me in observing a minute’s silence for the souls of these great people whose lives were nothing but exemplary.

I thank all my other Partners at INTECON PARTNERSHIP LTD, INTERWORKS ENGINEERING LTD, and AUTOMATED GEOTECHNICS LTD, for their patience, tolerance and support. They are wonderful people and outstanding Engineers ready to sacrifice all for our much loved profession and Country Nigeria.

My sincere thanks goes to my predecessors, the Past Presidents who have all demonstrated their love for me and the profession without any reservation.

I must also thank my colleagues who chose me to lead our great Society. I appreciate you and promise not to disappoint you. Let me also take this opportunity to thank all my relatives and friends from different parts of the world, for being there for me.

I must particularly thank my children Babajinmi, Omololu, Modupe, Olufemi and Eniola, for their understanding and support throughout and for showing me that they appreciate my goals, when the all chose careers in Engineering and Computer fields. My thanks goes to our Royal father of the day HRM, Kabiyesi, Oba Okunade Sijuade, Olubuse II, whom I owe a lot of gratitude for the love he has showered on me since my childhood. Apart from honouring me with the distinctive chieftaincy title of ‘Agbaakin’ of the source, Kabiyesi has been key to my professional confidence through the high level assignments which he has entrusted me with, even from the early stages of my professional life. I am truly grateful, your Royal Majesty Sir. Ka abiyesiAde a pe lori, bata a pe lese.

Let me now doff my hat for the woman who chose to tolerate me and my Engineering idiosyncrasies, even when they made little meaning to her initially! Her love for me translated into her love for Engineering through construction, which she loves doing till today. She is the proud Director of Bomason Nigeria Ltd, a company which is reputed for producing the best quality Sandcrete Blocks in her domain! The sweet mother of my wonderful children, my Chief pillar of support, I say a big thank you to you, Ajoke, for being the love of my life and the best wife of the universe. Thanks indeed, Yeye Agbaakin.

To all those present here today from far and near, my heart goes to you in gratitude.

I most sincerely thank our Corporate partners and friends for their support, in cash and kind.

12.0 NATIONAL SECRETARIAT, AUDITORIUM PROJECT

Permit me Mr. Chairman Sir, to intimate this august gathering of the bold step the Society has taken through the initiative of my Predecessor to start the Construction of the Auditorium phase of the New Secretariat project in the Federal Capital, Abuja. This project has already commenced and the contractor, is a Nigerian Engineer of whom we are very proud.

This structure when completed will be an All-purpose Hall, which will serve to house our Council; and provide appropriate accommodation for our planned Professional Development activities, and even International Workshops and Conferences.

I implore you all to contribute towards this project so as to keep the tempo for toward the earliest completion. The project cost is N0.6 Billion Naira.

Your generous donations will be highly appreciated.

13.0 CONCLUSION

Some of our programme thrusts have been indicated. The key is the continuous enhancement of the professional quality of our members through Continuous Professional Development, in readiness for a bigger role in Engineering projects.

I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to our leaders to seize the bull by the horn at this auspicious time in history, by considering the Nigerian Engineers as being critical to the attainment of our National goals and challenging them accordingly. Nations are built by Nationals! The same applies to the Oil and Gas and other Industries.

The value of involving us at the policy levels cannot be over emphasized. The success of the emerging world economies of South East Asia today depend on putting round pegs in round holes!

In essence, this is the time to execute the ‘Citizenship’ of ‘ENGINEERING’ as a Nigerian with immediate effect! This means the adoption of Nigerian Engineers as the vehicle of National Development. The colloquium of yesterday clearly shows that both developed and Developing Nations who are successful have hinged their development on their National Engineers. Nigeria is blessed with a crop of good engineers who if given the opportunity will create the type of self reliance we need as a nation through their services.

We must take this decision to avoid going into reverse development, while the rate is increasing for other Nations. The greatest asset of our Nation is its citizenry.

Once again on behalf of the Nigerian Engineers, I declare that we are ready for the partnership that will result therefrom. The Nigerian Society of Engineers will provide training, guide the observance of ethics and respond to feedbacks on the implementation.

Nigerian Engineers must imbibe the art of entrepreneurship and move to the market place, learn to hawk their skills, and manage their businesses! We must become more creative and innovative and consider ourselves as an integral part of the larger Society.

I am sure we can live up to our tough training and excel in our Nation.

Long live the NSE

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Thank you all.

Engr. (Chief) Olumuyiwa Alade Ajibola, FNSE

27^th President, Nigerian Society of Engineers

SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN (ENGR. A .A. OMOPELOYE) ON THE INAGURATION OF OSUN STATE CHAPTER OF NICE

2010-05-15T04:29:00.000-07:00

His Excellency, the Governor of Osun State, The President of N.S.E, The Hon. Commissioner for Works, Osun State, House of Assembly Member here present, Council Members, Fellow N.S.E, Past National Chairman, the New Chairman, Gentle Men and Women of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen.

With special Appreciation to Almighty God who owes us nothing but we owe Him everything. I feel highly honored to welcome you all today for this great Occasion of Inauguration of the Osun State Chapter of NICE.

Civil Engineering History

In the beginning, Civil Engineering included all engineers that did not practice military engineering; said to have begun in 18th century in France.
The First, “Civil Engineer” was an Englishman, John Smeaton who constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse in 1761. Henry H. White, first KY Civil Engineering Graduate from Bacon (Georgetown) College in 1840.
John Wesley Gunn of Lexington received first Civil Engineering degree from A & M College (UK) in 1890.

In 1818 the Institution of Civil Engineers was founded in London, and in 1820 the eminent engineer Thomas Telford became its first president. The institution received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally recognising civil engineering as a profession. In the 18th century, however, the term civil engineering came into use to describe engineering work that was performed by civilians for non-military purposes.

Civil engineering is the broadest of the engineering fields. Civil engineering focuses on the infrastructure of the world which include Water works, Sewers, Dams, Power Plants, Transmission Towers/Lines, Railroads, Highways, Bridges, Tunnels, Irrigation Canals, River Navigation, Shipping Canals, Traffic Control, Mass Transit, Airport Runways, Terminals, Industrial Plant Buildings, Skyscrapers, etc.

It is traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines including environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, municipal or urban engineering, water resources engineering, materials engineering, coastal engineering, surveying, and construction engineering. Civil engineering takes place on all levels: in the public sector from municipal through to federal levels, and in the private sector from individual home owners through to international companies.

The Chapter been Inaugurated today is the 16^th of its kind in Nigeria. As you may wish to understand that Civil Engineering Profession is the Mother of other professions. We welcome you all.

I wonder if any other period would have been more apt than this Inauguration at this period of economic inexactitude, when the profession has been terribly abused and engineers have been thoroughly marginalized through non-inclusion in policy making.

Civil Engineering family is loaded with intellectual both in the academics, public and private sectors; the functions and purposes of the Institution among others are:

· To develop their members in capacity building

· Continuous Professional Developments and Training.

· Assisting the Government to formulate Civil Engineering Policies

· Monitoring Civil Engineering projects to ensure contractors conformity with the description of items on the Bill of Engineering Measurement and Estimate (BEME).

Ensure that quality materials are used.

· And to reduce or eradicate quarkry in the profession.

It is however pertinent to mention the state of Roads in Nigeria which is a great concern to the Institution. We have started a program suggesting a way out of this predicament to the Government. Not that we do not have enough expertise and experienced Civil Engineers in the public service, but there are factors militating against the engineers in the public service, that is the fear of being victimized for any positive suggestions/ideas.

Other factors are lack of funding, maintenance budget and the political factor whereby a Non-Professional is appointed to head professional ministry, like a Lawyer as a Commissioner in Ministry of Environment or a Journalist as a Commissioner in Ministry of works. These are some of factors affecting solution to roads failure in Nigeria (not in Osun State I presume).

The importance of roads to the economy of a nation is not a “joking matter”, Statistics reveal that we lose 65% daily man hour to bad roads. There is need to review the construction calendar of Nigeria, according to the climatic condition, major road construction and maintenance during rainy season is share waste of public fund as we were taught that “Water is the worst enemy of Pavement”

NICE is coming up with a program to monitor the qualities of road construction all over the Country, we have divided the Country into 8 zones and we are mobilizing to take-off soon. (Osun State Chapter will surely head one of the zones).

To the Chairman and Executive Council, your duties are to be involved in capacity building of your members, training and retraining, in partnership with your State in line with the vision and mission of the State Government.

NICE has lately been undergoing very great landmark transformations. We now have a permanent, well-staffed and computerized secretariat with uninterrupted power supply. We have also organized many courses, workshops and seminars in order to be able to effectively discharge our constitutional responsibilities to our members in the area of Continuing Professional Development. Our various Chapters have been busy organizing workshops, seminars and technical sessions; your chapter is expected to do more, ANOTHER GOOD NEWS. NICE is now a full member of World civil engineering body.

I want to quickly add that the task of running an Institution is enormous in terms of logistics and finance. This therefore calls for the co-operation of all Civil Engineers and their friends to join hands with us in this Herculean task.

Members to pay their annual dues as at when due.

Finally on behalf of the Exco and the Council of NICE, I congratulate the Executives and wish you a successful tenure.

You are permitted to criticize the Government positively but provide adequate solutions. Don’t criticize without provision of alternative solution. Remember NICE or NSE are not political organization, however you are permitted to join politics individually and see what is going on there at various level, let me clear the statement by this shot story of a fowl.

Join the Politics and let us help Nigeria in making a good policy to move Nigeria forward on the area of our profession.

Long live - Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers!

Long live - Nigerian Society of Engineers!!

Long live – Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!

Engr Amos Ade Omopeloye

National Chairman.

Computer Application in Structural Analysis and Design (HouseCAD)

2010-04-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

Dear colleagues,

As you are aware, it is mandatory for graduates and practicing engineers nationwide to undergo refresher courses to upgrade their skills and also qualified for the membership upgrade from both NICE and NSE. As part of our effort to assist members to be up-to-date in current engineering practice, NICE has been organizing regular Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) for members in Lagos and environs.

The objective of this course is to:

1. Provide basic needed skills and professional skills for civil engineers to remain relevant and competitive in the field of engineering

2. Provide training on software application to civil engineering works

3. Serves as prerequisite for membership upgrading

The MCPD is structured in modules and certificates awarded per unit modules. The May Edition of the Mandatory Continuing professional development organized by Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineer, NICE is here. The details are as follows:

Topic: COMPUTER APPLICATION IN STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND DESIGN (HOUSECAD SOFTWARE).

Time schedule: 10:00am - 12noon (first session, lectures)

12:00noon to 12:30pm (Break)

12:30pm – 3:00pm (Practical demonstration)

Dates: 8th, 15th and 22nd May 2010

Venue: U.M.M Centre, 5A, Kudirat Abiola Way Opp. Mobil Filling Station, Oregun, Lagos.

Resource persons are drawn from the experts and professionals in the field.

Corse fee: 20, 000 only

Payment details:

Pay through NICE Secretariat, 2nd floor suite 2, rare wing. Oshopey plaza, Allen Avenue Ikeja, Lagos

Pay directly to and Branch of GTB @

Account Name: Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers

Account Number: 202271876110

For registration and more information, please contact:

Musa Kazeem 0803567483, cpd_nice@yahoo.com

Mr Akinsola T. A. , 08037445365, haricorngrp@yahoo.co.uk

Note that limited spaces are available.

Looking forward to host you.

Signed.

NICE management.

Cluster of Strong Quakes: Coincidence or Trend?

2010-04-18T02:58:00.001-07:00

By KATHLEEN MASTERSON

This week's earthquake in rural China has once again brought to the forefront scenes of devastation and rising numbers of fatalities. Hardly a month goes by this year without news of a devastating quake in some part of the world. It might seem as though earthquakes are increasing in frequency or strength compared with past years, but scientists say that isn't the case.

Every year, there are on average 130 earthquakes in the magnitude 6 range, which can cause significant harm if they strike populated areas. A car is buried under the rubble Wednesday after an earthquake in Yushu county in southwest China's Qinghai province.

The Magnitude 6.9. quakes Wednesday hit southwest China's Qinghai province, in a sparsely populated, mountainous area. Nearly 600 people were killed and thousands were injured or missing. While it marks yet another high-profile, destructive quake this year, scientists say these quakes aren't above average in strength or frequency. Unfortunately, they just seem to be striking more populated areas.

Scientists have analyzed this year's high-magnitude earthquakes -- in Haiti, Chile, Mexico, Indonesia and elsewhere -- looking for any unusual patterns. So far, they've found none.

"We've had six [magnitude 7 earthquakes] this year, and that's within the range of variation we expect," says Andrew Michael, a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif.

Earthquakes are actually pretty common; the USGS estimates that several million quakes strike the Earth each year. But many go undetected because they hit remote areas or have very small magnitudes. It's the ones that hit more populated areas -- like many of this year's big quakes -- that get lots of attention. But even those aren't uncommon.

On average, there are 17 magnitude 7 quakes around the world each year, and an additional 130 in the magnitude 6 range. That would be one quake every 2 1/2 days if they fell evenly spread on the calendar. So while this year's spate of seismic activity actually isn't out of the ordinary, the USGS researcher in California analyzed the data, running various models comparing this year's high-magnitude quakes with the previous 100 years.

"It's definitely more than most four-month periods, but things are not always exactly at the average," Michael says. "This is within what we expect variations to be from random models of earthquake occurrence."

And what's happened so far this year is no indicator of what's to come, he says. "It doesn't tell us more about the future any more than [the idea that] if someone wins the lottery, you should go to the same store and buy a ticket there."

What might be easier to predict these days is which areas are most at risk of devastation if -- or when -- an earthquake does strike.

"What really worries seismologists is that the rapid urbanization of a lot of the world is clustering people together in poorly constructed buildings," Michael says. "There are a lot of improvised buildings being built, not engineered, creating a very vulnerable situation."

That's evident in early reports from the scene of Wednesday's quake in China: In Yushu town, for example, 85 percent of the buildings -- many made of mud and wood -- reportedly had collapsed.

NSE writes Ag President, Goodluck Jonathan

2010-03-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

The Nigerian Society of Engineers has written the Acting President advising him on how to support and use engineering to move the country forward. In a letter signed by the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Olumuyiwa Alade Ajibola, the society called on the Acting President to ensure that round pegs are put in round holes. The letter read in part: ‘One of the proven strategies is to put round pegs in round holes, especially in the appointment of Ministers and Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies for the Engineering based establishments. It is our strong view that Mr. President can select Ministers and Heads of key Departments and Agencies
from a pool of resourceful national experts, with assistance from national
professional and business associations relevant to the different sectors, without prejudice to their political activities. Great Nations of the world have emerged through the application of their professional talents, to drive Government developmental goals efficiently in their areas of appropriate expertise.’ The NSE further said it was time for the nation to
take the bull by the horn and make Engineering a Nigerian. It therefore requested the government to do the following: Putting the Engineering community in confidence in structuring policies affecting the Engineering sector, such as Power, Steel, Mines, Works, Housing, Transportation, Manufacturing etc. Involving Engineers at the highest levels in driving Engineering based Ministries, Departments and Agencies, in order to evolve quality, effective and sustainable policy frameworks and implementation strategies. This is the key to the success of the rapidly developing economies of South East Asia (Asian Tigers) and even in Northern Africa. Finding a lasting solution to the lack of patronage of Indigenous Engineers and Engineering Companies, especially on Government funded Mega Projects which is working against the growth of local expertise and know-how and hence a sustainable all round National Development, and Economic Prosperity. On the part of Engineers, the President assured that the society would continue to ensure professionalism and continuous professional development. In a related development, Engr. Ajibola has described the dissolution of the Federal Executive Council by the Acting President as a decisive action which shows he was ready for leadership. According to him, the dissolution will give him the opportunity to look for appropriate professionals to put in appropriate ministries and departments of government for improve service delivery to the nation.

He therefore called on the acting president to ensure that the right people are put in the right places where they training and experience and knowledge will come handy in the execution of their duties for the growth of the nation. For him it was high time the nation rose beyond partisanship and brings in well grounded professionals from various sectors of the economy who can contribute to the growth of the country. In the area of infrastructural development, which he said was key to the growth of any nation, Engr. Ajibola said engineers should be more involved ands commended the government for setting up the Project Monitoring Evaluation
Committee, which he observed had about ten engineers as members.

NICE registered with the World Council of Civil Engineers (WCCE)

2010-03-26T04:09:00.000-07:00

The World Council of Civil Engineers (WCCE) at its last general assembly on June 26th 2009 in Madrid Spain has approved the application of NICE for membership. The Institution is now an affiliate member of WCCE in the category of “National Member” with effect from 1st July, 2009.

With this approval, the Institution will now represent the interest of our profession in workshops & seminar organize by WCCE anywhere around the world including the Council’s yearly general assembly as well as stand the opportunity of educating it members with major up-to-date development in civil engineering profession around the globe.
The National Chairman, Engr. Dr. Olatunji salute the assistance of the NSE President Engr. K. A. Ali

Microsoft To Assist Small Scale Farmers

2010-03-26T03:39:00.001-07:00

Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates on Thursday announced 120 million dollars in grants to help small-scale farmers in Africa and India improve their lives through sustainable agriculture.

The grants, announced on the eve of World Food Day, are from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic organization co-chaired by Gates and his wife.

"Three-quarters of the world's poorest people get their food and income by farming small plots of land," Gates said as he announced grants to nine projects, mostly in Africa, during a speech to the World Food Prize Symposium in Iowa.

"So if we can make small-holder farming more productive and more profitable, we can have a massive impact on hunger and nutrition and poverty."

Gates also paid tribute to the late Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist who is often called the father of the Green Revolution and who has been credited with saving hundreds of millions of lives by developing disease-resistant wheat.

The Green Revolution "was one of the great achievements of the 20th century, but it didn't go far enough," said Gates.

"It didn't go to Africa," where the bulk of the grant money announced by Gates on Thursday will go.

In keeping with the Gates Foundation's approach to promoting development, which Gates described as "investing across the value chain in ways that will benefit small farmers and their communities," the grants will help "bring the technology that has transformed farming in other parts of the world" to Africa and India.

Funds will be used to promote the development of crops which can help the environment -- such as legumes, which are a natural fertilizer -- or improve health, such as a new variety of sweet potato enriched in Vitamin A, which is often missing from the diets of children in the developing world.

Crops will also be developed with the possible ravages of climate change in mind, said Gates.

He cited a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University in California which showed that if farmers in southern Africa are planting the same variety of maize, the staple food of many Africans, in 2030 as today, "the harsher conditions from climate change will reduce productivity by more than 25 percent.

"Declining yields at a time of rising population in a region with millions of poor people means starvation," said Gates.

"We have to develop crops that can grow in a drought; that can survive in a flood; that can resist pests and disease.

"We need higher yields on the same land in harsher weather. And we will never get it without a continuous and urgent science-based search to increase productivity -- especially on small farms in the developing world," said Gates.

Grant money will fund a project to create "community knowledge worker networks" connecting villagers with sources of information via mobile phones in Uganda, where mobile phone penetration is around 80-90 percent.

Grants have been earmarked to create "Farmer Voice Radio," which would broadcast programs promoting sustainable agriculture to African farmers, 70 to 80 percent of whom use radio as a source of information.

And yet more grant money will help to build networks of home-grown expertise that will give Africans greater autonomy when making agricultural policy decisions.

In India, funding from the Gates Foundation will be used to help women's groups improve their land and water management skills, which would in turn enhance their standard of living.

The drive to create a new green revolution that includes Africa must be a global effort, said Gates.

He praised President Barack Obama, who said when he took office that the United States will work alongside developing nations "to make your farms flourish", and hailed the G20's three-year, 22 billion dollar pledge to help the poorest farmers increase productivity.

But he called, too, on the corporate world, research institutions, universities, the United Nations, the World Bank, scientists, farmers groups to step up to the plate and help Africa and other developing regions put more and better food in the bowls of their people, and do it without damaging the environment.

"There is no reason for so many farmers to be so hungry and so poor," Gates said.

"If farmers can get what they need to feed their families and sell their surplus, hundreds of millions of the world?s poorest people can build themselves a better life. by Karin Zeitvogel

The state of the profession

2010-03-25T08:36:00.001-07:00

Fellow Engineers,
Let me first begin by saying that I a sorry that though I was one of the foundation members of this group, I have not been able to contribute to the group until today. I went to the group and I found out that some many of our members are either angry or frustrated with the profession. While some, mostly young Engineers has been pouring out their frustrations and blame the NSE and COREN for their woes.
I want you to indulge me by letting me remind those of you who compare our profession with Law, Medicine and Banking that we are missing a vital point. All over the world, Engineers has to battle the same problems. However, unlike in this part of the world, we have government that will not listen, industries that is not functioning and people that are ultra-negative in their approaches to the problems they are facing as a professionals.
I am one of those privileged to have been on board of NSE Branch executives for more than three years, and in my time, I was also privileged to have served COREN in some capacities as a fringe officer. I can assure you that our leaders are not sleeping and they are not ignoring the plight of younger generation of engineering. The problem is not created by NSE or COREN. We are the creators of the problems. We are all selfish and has not been proactive in pursuing our rights.
I overheard a friend saying that Engineers should go on strike to push their positions. I also am aware that some group with myopic vision thing talking tough will actually solve the problems. Engineers in Nigeria can go on strike for a year, and nothing will happen to the country as long as there are foreigners willing to import cheaper products! We are going to lose!
So what is the way out? How can we lift up our profession? What can we do to ensure that Engineers are respected like other professionals?
I challenge you to join the discussion and let is brainstorm together. Your input will not be a waste as I intend to do something positive with them.

Join us on the this discussion forum and let us se what

Be informed that abusing other people is strongly detested. Let us discuss intellectually and come up with a solution that we believe will restore the Integrity of Nigerian Engineers. No hold barred but insulting others or abusing others is strictly prohibited.
Join us on this link! http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=13811&uid=101675413013
Isqil Najim

Bulgarian Academy Scientists Reported to Be in Touch with Aliens

2010-03-15T06:44:00.001-07:00

Scientists from the Space Research Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) have been reported to be in touch with extraterrestrial beings.

The Bulgarian Novinar Daily has reported that the Bulgarian scientists are currently working on deciphering pictograms which are said to have come in the form of the so called “crop circles” with which the aliens answered 30 questions posed by the BAS researchers.

“They are currently all around us, and are watching us all the time. They are not hostile towards us; rather, they want to help us but we have not grown enough in order to establish direct contact with them. They are ready to help us but we don’t know what to request from them in case of contact,” said Lachezar Filipov, Deputy Director of the Space Research Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, as quoted by the Novinar Daily.

Filipov has said that even the Vatican had agreed that aliens existed. In his words, the humans are not going to be able to establish contact with the extraterrestrials through radio waves but through the power of thought.

He has stated that the human race was certainly going to have direct contact with the aliens in the next 10-15 years.

The deputy head of the Bulgarian Space Research Institute has also told the Novinar Daily that the extraterrestrials were critical of the people’s amoral behavior referring to the humans' interference in nature’s processes.

Filipov’s team is reported to be analyzing the 150 new crop circles which appeared around the globe in the past year.

The publication of the Novinar Daily about the BAS researchers communicating with aliens comes in the midst of a controversy over the role, feasibility, and reform of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, which last week even led to the exchange of offensive remarks between Bulgaria's Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, and President Georgi Parvanov.

Engineers Get Crash Course on Quake Damage Assessment

2010-03-11T05:47:00.000-08:00

Reporting from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti - Hector Marie Suze and her family have bunked on a bare lot with 22 other families since the Jan. 12 earthquake here toppled two interior walls and big patches of ceiling plaster in her home.

The building appears inhabitable, but Suze still refuses to sleep indoors because she is afraid the continuing aftershocks will finish the job.

"I want a specialist to come and say, officially, that I can come in," said Suze, 47.

Help is on the way. U.S. structural engineers, including earthquake specialists from California, are putting their Haitian counterparts through a crash course on how to assess earthquake damage and determine whether a property is safe to live in.

The immediate goal is to get thousands of displaced residents to move back into houses that are livable, relieving pressure on the 300-plus impromptu encampments before the impending spring rains. An untold number of people are living in tents or under tarps even though their homes suffered relatively light damage.

"Many people are not going inside because no one has done damage assessment," said H. Kit Miyamoto, a private Los Angeles-based earthquake engineer who was recruited to train Haitian officials by the Pan American Development Foundation in Washington.

Miyamoto, who uses photographs of damage from the 1994 Northridge quake in his class, said half the remaining houses in the Port-au-Prince quake zone are probably livable. An additional 30% can be repaired, while the rest are probably lost causes, he said.

The process for designating Haitian buildings will be familiar to Angelenos who lived through the magnitude 6.7 Northridge quake. Buildings are to be classified by level of damage, with sound structures tagged green, those that require work tagged yellow and unsafe ones tagged red.

About 1,000 buildings in one area of Port-au-Prince have been graded, but authorities won't be able to conduct inspections on a wide scale until hundreds of Haitian engineers and architects are ready to help.

That means hurried, hands-on training for engineers here with little, if any, know-how in seismic engineering.

Miyamoto and several of his engineers spent three days in late February training 10 top engineers from Haiti's Public Works Ministry on how to apply the U.S. assessment standards. Those officials are to teach Haitian inspectors what they learned.

Planners hoped to have 200 engineers out on the streets by the end of last week, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. John Blackwell of the military-civilian Joint Task Force in Haiti, which is also inspecting properties and conducting damage assessment training.

For Haitian structural engineers, the quake delivered a harsh lesson on what can happen when construction is shoddy and a building code apparently nonexistent. "We haven't found [a code] yet," said Dennis Smith, a civil engineer with the task force.

Most structures were made of concrete blocks to withstand hurricanes, but builders often used poor-quality concrete and did not reinforce the structures to withstand a powerful earthquake.

The damage assessment training could lead to new construction standards in Haiti that take quakes into consideration. Before the Jan. 12 temblor, the last devastating earthquake to hit Port-au-Prince was in 1770.

"We are taking part in this to bring corrections, to bring new laws, to do better in the future," said Carlo Lafond, who has been a public works engineer for 24 years.

Led by members of Miyamoto's company, Lafond and nine colleagues recently donned yellow hard hats and split into teams in a neighborhood called Turgeau for some hands-on training.

One team stood before the shattered shell of what a century ago was a majestic hotel and more recently housed a private university. Although much of the exterior was intact, entire floors had plunged into the center of the building. One end was sheared as if by a giant saw, a wall clock left incongruously in place.

One of Miyamoto's engineers, Ken Wong, took the building's GPS coordinates and led the students through a checklist: construction materials, size of building, extent of damage.

Some of the Haitian engineers said that parts of the grand structure could be rescued. But Miyamoto shook his head.

"This is a 100% loss," he said crisply. "This is like a collapsed building."

After more back and forth, all agreed the structure should be red-tagged.

A neighboring site on the same campus offered what Miyamoto called a "classic case" of building failure: The columns were left weakened when flimsy walls buckled.

It's slow work. An engineer might be able to inspect 10 to 15 structures a day, and there are many to check. Haitian authorities hope to inspect 100,000 buildings in the next three months.

Meantime, in another part of town, Suze regards her six-room house much as one might a coiled snake. She passes through it several times a day to reach her outdoor cooking pit in the back but is adamant about sleeping outside.

Suze said she was prepared to stay in the crowded makeshift camp for six months if necessary. Then, if an aftershock claimed the rest of the house, she said, her family wouldn't be there.

"To hell with the house," she said. "It can go down by itself."

NICE Inaugurate Osun State Chapter

2010-02-27T00:17:00.000-08:00

The Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers
(A Division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers)
The National Secretariat wishes to notify you of the forthcoming Inauguration of the Osun State Chapter and the Investiture of her first State Chairman coming up as follows:
Date: Saturday 27th February 2010
Venue: Bishop’s Court Isale-Aro, Oshogbo, Osun State
Time: 2. 00pm prompt
Chairman Planning Committee: Engr T. Olusegun Abiona, MNSE,
Secretary planning committee: Engr Seun Fidudusola, MNSE
Chief Host: Alh. (Chief) Engr Fatai Akinade Akinbade, MNSE,
Secretary to State Government
Members who are able to attend should kindly present at the occasion to celebrate with our brothers in Osun State as they officially join the Chapters of The Nigerian Civil Engineering Families. For further enquiry please call: 07057718456.
See you there!

Who bought NITEL?

2010-02-26T23:49:00.001-08:00

Despite claims by New Generation Communi-cation Consortium that it had a technical partnership with China Unicom in its bid for Nigerian Telecommu-nication Limited (Nitel), the Chinese firm has again denied having any such arrangement.
But the Technical Commit-tee of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), while confirming New Generation as the Preferred Bidder for Nitel yesterday, said China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd was not part of the consortium.
Rather, the committee said, it was Unicom Europe that was a member of the Consortium, which also had GiCell Wireless of Nigeria and Minerva Group of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
But China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd, the parent company of Unicom Europe, in an advert published in Nigerian newspapers yesterday, maintained that it was not part of the deal.
In the advert signed by Company Secretary, Chu Ka Yee, the Board of Directors of the company restated that it had not commenced any negotiations with any relevant parties involved in the proposed privatisation of Nitel.
The statement contradicts claims by both Usman Gumi, Managing Director of GiCell, the Nigerian member of New Generation Telecoms, and the Director-General of the BPE, Dr. Christopher Anyanwu, on the bid.
While it acknowledged that its subsidiary, Unicom Europe, had indicated that, subject to certain conditions being fulfilled, it would be interested in exploring the possibility of equity investment in Nitel, the parent company said: “As at the date of this announcement, Unicom Europe has not commenced any negotiations with the relevant parties with respect to any substantive and legally binding agreements.
“The company has not participated in any direct discussions or negotiations with any relevant parties involved in the proposed negotiations. China United Network Communications Group Company Limited, the company’s controlling shareholder, has also informed the company that it has not participated in any direct discussions or negotiations with any relevant parties involved in the Proposed Privatisation either.”
In apparent reference to the claims by New Generation and BPE on Unicom Europe, the Unicom Board said: “The company is very concerned about various recent media reports in which the company was reported to have participated in the Proposed Privatisation, and advises investors not to rely on any information concerning the company or any of its subsidiaries in relation to the Proposed Privatisation other than information provided in the company’s announcements. The company has not authorized and the Company is not aware of anyone having authorized any person to release any information regarding the Company’s or any of its subsidiaries’ participation in the Proposed Privatisation.”
The Board’s statement came amid concerns of stakeholders that the bid process, unlike previous ones, was shrouded in secrecy.
Telecom Corp of New Zealand earlier said to be technical partner of Brymedia West Africa Ltd, second reserve bidder, also denied being part of the government auction to buy Nitel.
Despite this controversy, the Technical Committee of the NCP said results of the financial bid opening hold, and has recommended that the preferred bidder should be given issued a confirmation letter.
Briefing newsmen yesterday Acting Chairman, Technical Committee of NCP, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, said the committee had re-checked its record and realised that not only was due process fully followed in the bid process, the transaction was “sufficiently transparent”.
Osipitan disclosed that this was confirmed following a meeting of the Technical Committee where it was also decided that a confirmation letter be given to New Generation.
“You would recall that the Technical Committee on NCP conducted the financial bids opening on February 16, 2010, during the exercise we were very transparent, which was attested to by National Assembly members, media and the winners/losers of the bids.
“But shortly after the announcement of the preferred and reserved bidder, the press and the media was fed with information concerning whether a particular technical was ever a member of the consortium that emerged as the preferred bidder. Statements were made in the press on this issue credited to the technical partner of the preferred bidder, which put us on alert that necessitated the NCP going back to recheck its records to see whether there was anything amiss along the line.
“TC met yesterday (Wednesday) where we exhaustively examined the documents and the processes which led to the emergence of the preferred bidder and the reserve bidder. The result of our exercise is that due process was fully complied with, and there was sufficient transparency in the whole transaction.
“Against the background of our meeting, and our checks, we met yesterday and re-evaluated the whole exercise and we came to the irresistible conclusion that the opening of the financial bid was done with transparency and backed up by integrity, which remains unaffected and untainted. The transactions were done in accordance with the best practices and standards obtainable in the international community.
“In the light of this, we have resolved to recommend to the NCP that the result of the bid be accepted, while a directive should be given for the preferred bidder to be issued with the confirmation letter in the hope that the preferred bidder would pay the required sum within the stipulated time, and take over so that NITEL can roll out for Nigerians to have fixed lines in our offices and homes,” he said.
Osipitan explained, following media reports that the technical partner said it was not part of the financial bid for NITEL, the Technical Committee, received correspondences from China Unicom, the parent company of Unicom Europe, which is the technical partner to the bidder.
Pointing out that Unicom Europe is a subsidiary of China Unicom, Osipitan said it is also a separate distinct entity from China Unicom and has a life of its own.
“The disclaimer was credited to China Unicom, which is not part of the consortium of the preferred bidder,” he said.
He also said: “We have also received a letter from China Unicom confirming that they have since confirmed that Unicom Europe indeed had a working relationship with the preferred bidder. We are also in possession of a letter signed by Unicom Europe indicating their interest to partner with the preferred bidder.
“I believe that there must have been a communication gap between Unicom Europe and Unicom China . In other words, Unicom Europe did not allow Unicom China to know what they are doing, understandably so, because Unicom Europe stands on its own as an entity separate and distinct from the parent company, China Unicom.
“So, that clears any lingering doubt as to whether a technical partner of the preferred bidder actually agreed to participate.”

Who bought NITEL?

2010-02-26T23:48:00.001-08:00

Fuel shortage in Nigeria: Hope in sight?

2010-02-26T23:13:00.001-08:00

Efforts by the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corpo-ration (NNPC), and other private sector participants to find a lasting solution to the lingering fuel crisis has received a boost as Warri and Kaduna Refineries have commenced operation.
The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, confirmed this in a statement yesterday, saying that the Kaduna refinery fully came on stream on February 19, 2010.
“Two weeks earlier, the Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, WRPC came on stream after the re-commissioning of its vital units,” the statement said.
He said the Kaduna refinery currently produces Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO).
“I am glad to announce to Nigerians that the Turn Around Maintenance of refineries embarked upon by the NNPC is beginning to pay off as the Kaduna refinery fully came on stream last Friday and has stabilised at 60 per cent capacity,” he said.
Ajuonuma, who did not disclose the actual daily output of the different petroleum products, however, noted that all the primary units of the Kaduna refinery are back on stream.
This, he said, would go a long way in reducing importation of petroleum products into the country by the NNPC and other importers.
He also expressed optimism that with the refineries functioning, fuel queues noticed in some states of the federation would soon become a thing of the past.
“Already, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, a subsidiary of the Corporation has begun the evacuation and marketing of the petroleum products from the revamped refineries,” he said.
In line with the transformation programme of the NNPC, he said, all the refineries would be made to work as a truly commercial entity.
This, according to him, is to avoid a relapse in line with the determination of the NNPC to transform from a cost centre to a profit making entity.
The NNPC spokesman called on the organised labour and Nigerians to support the Federal Government's deregulation agenda, stressing that it was the only way out of the recurring fuel scarcity in the country.

Tunisia, most electrified country in Africa

2010-02-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

Tunisia has become the most electrified country in Africa according to a recent report on "Powering Africa" published by African Business. Tunisia which is credited with an electrification rate of 99% comes ahead of Algeria, 98%, Egypt 98%, Libya 97%, Mauritius 94%, Morocco 85% and South Africa 70%.

The report which was released in January 2010 issue of the magazine, ranks Tunisia as the country with the highest electrification rate on the continent, including North Africa and Sub Saharan Africa.

The report said Africa’s relatively slow development is mostly due to its severe lack of sufficient power: “The correlation power sufficiency and economic development is unmistakable.”

Some African countries, according to the report, are approaching universal electrification, adding that in Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Egypt there has been a sustained government support for rural electrification as a form of social development over the past 10 or 15 years.

The report stresses that the driving force for electrification must come from within Africa itself to combat energy inequality and climate change - two problems confronting Africa at the moment. And that cross-border integration will also promote electrification.

The report finally illustrates the inequality in power consumption between developing and industrialized worlds, stating that one megawatt of power must supply 300 people in the United States, the same capacity must stretch to 30,000 East Africans.

GE Internship Program 2009/10 (Lagos & Ghana)

2009-11-10T02:58:00.001-08:00

At GE we believe in hiring exceptional individuals, and giving them unbeatable opportunities to build the career of their dream. As a diversified company involved in technology, media, and financial services, and operating in more than 160 countries, we offer a wide range of avenues to express your abilities and develop your potentials. Our employees are guaranteed a solid foundation on which to build their career, and a richly rewarding working experience.

Role Summary/Purpose
The West Africa Graduate Trainee Program was developed in response to GE’s commitment to knowledge transfer and capability development for the markets we serve in the sub-region. It is a 12-month leadership development program, targeted at selecting exceptional recent graduates for 2-3 intensive assignment rotations with various GE businesses. These businesses include; Oil & Gas, Healthcare, Energy, Corporate, Security, Global Business Services and Transport. Participants will also go through a world-class leadership and management training program during the period.

Qualifications/Requirements
1. A first class or second-class upper Bachelor’s degree in engineering or sciences or business or arts from a reputable university.
2. Team player, inclusive and ability to build relationships.
3. Outstanding communication, presentation, organisational and time management skills.
4. Should have a proven track record of successfully driving ideas from conception through to defining, action planning and execution.
5. Strong problem solving and analytical skills, clear thinker with a high degree of creativity and resourcefulness.
6. Leadership skills, passion, determination, with a high energy level.
7. Working Knowledge of MS Office based products.

Qualified candidates are encouraged to send their applications to

rhoda.ijekpa@ge.com

From a strictly Mathematical Viewpoint

2009-07-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 101%? What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these Questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 9 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

AND, look how far the love of God will take you

L- O- V- E-O-F-G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Outage threatens multi-billion naira equipment at UCH

2009-05-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

The National President of Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, Dr. Ade Tade, on Thursday, urged the Federal Government to improve on power supply to specialists and teaching hospitals in the country.
He said poor power supply was threatening the multi-billion naira equipment supplied by VAMED to some hospitals.
Tade stated this during a facility tour of some state-of-the-art equipment installed at the University College Hospital by the Federal Government between 2002 and 2006 at a cost of about N1.3bn.
An Austrian firm, Vamed Engineering, was contracted by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration to install some modern equipment and upgrade new ones at the hospital and 14 other ones in the country for efficient service delivery.
Tade was told by a board member of the hospital, Dr. Babatunde Philips, that the major problem confronting the tertiary hospital, especially as it related to the effective use of the facility was epileptic power supply.
He urged the Federal Government to channel its resources into the generation of 60,000 megawatts instead of its current plans to generate 6,000 MW, arguing that the energy demand went beyond that capacity.
He said, “We are lucky to have one of our members as a board member here in UCH and he has educated us on the step UCH has taken. They want to bring in IPP. It is a pity that the Federal Government didn’t have that foresight.
“I an not referring to the current administration but the past government. They didn’t have foresight to know that power demands increases with population, with development.
“When European countries had this foresight, they started building nuclear power plants because those ones generate la arge quantity of power.
“We too should have had that foresight. If we didn’t build nuclear power plant, we should have built more power plants over time to cope with the demand for development.
“Now, they need to really work hard. Not this 6,000MW they are targeting. By the time they provide 6,000MW maybe we are already needing 50,000MW.
“So, they need to target something big and work towards it. That is how to solve this problem.”
Some of the facilities visited by the AGPMPN members were those at the Radiology Department; the Magnetic Resonance Imaging; the Intensive Care Unit; Cardiology Unit; the 36-room Private Suites of the hospital; and the Hematology Department; among others.
Tade expressed satisfaction with the facilities in the hospital, promising to collaborate with the foremost teaching hospital to ensure quality health care services in the country

Vacancy at consolidated brewery:

2009-05-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

Vacancy at consolidated brewery:
The Role:
The SPM-in-training will undergo skills based training in line with structured programme for the shift packaging manager’s role. On completion of the ranging the prospective SPm will be deployed to run any of the bottling lines in our breweries while reporting to a packaging manager
Shift packaging manager (SPM) in-training

Requirements:
1. minimum of B. Sc degree (2.2) or HND (lower credit),mechanicl Engineering, Food science, chemical engineering, and electrical engineering;
2. not more than 35 years of age as at 1st January 2009
3. Evidence of having participated in NYSC
4. Should be passionate about factory safety and optimization of hazards
5. should have worked on a bottling/packaging line or in a similar function for about 2-5 years
6. willing to run shifts including nights
7. should be computer literates
8. should be resilience and able to perform under pressure
9. should be analytical, proactive, a team layer and possess good communication skill

Garage Manager
The Role:
The prospective Garage manager will be deployed to managed any of our company’s vehicles fleets in one of our breweries in the two geographical zones mentioned above. Specifically the role is responsible for ensuring the maximum possible availability of several operational vehicles in the company’s regional fleet ie haulage vehicles, vending vehicles, forklifts, and cars at lowest possible repair and maintenance costs. The role also entails maintaining accurate vehicle maintenance history as well as ensuring that the garage operates according to the company’s safety standard.

The Requirement:
1. minimum of B. Sc degree (2.2), HND (lower Credit) in mechanical engineering/automobile engineering
2. Not more than 40 years of age as at 1st January 2009
3. should have at least 2-3 years experience in in managing vehicle fleet
4. should have completed his NYSC
5. Computer literate
6. a team player and possession of good communication

Mode of Application:
Apply within two weeks of this publication with copies of CV ad other documents quoting “position applied for” on the left hand side of the envelope and send to
The Head, Human Resources
Consolidated brewery plc
Po Box 159 Lagos

De-Industrialization of Nigerian economy

2009-05-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

FACTS have begun to emerged how the poor electricity supply in the country has led and contributed to factory closures and declining manufacturing sector in Nigeria, leading millions of job loses.
In fact, in the Textile/garment as well as Chemical/Leather sectors of the economy, constant power failure in the country has either led to and was a major factor to closure of not less than one hundred factories scattered across the country.
According to vanguard investigations, while twelve manufactory companies in both Textile/Garment and Chemical/Leather sectors, three had their workers reduced from five thousand (5000) to seven hundred (700).
Confirming this unfortunate development and the steady de-industrialisation in the country, General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) and a Vice President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Issa Aremu, declared that among the factories that closed down as a result of electricity failure included "Tarneries, Hufawa, Intertan, Multitan, Nakudu, Kano Textile Limited, Afrimpex and Harmatan (all based in Kano state) as well as most of leather industries in the state . In lagos, are Dunlop Industries, Leanard Shoes and Batta Shoes and Michelin Nigeria Limited, in Port-Harcourt, Rivers state.
Also poor power supply was attributed to have contributed majorly to the closure of the under-listed factories included Enpee, Nelco, NSF, Weaving and Processing, Swantex, Textile Specialities, ASSAN Industries, Jaybee, K-Issardas, Bhojaraj, Teev-Gold Star, Amarito-Umbrella, AD Gulas (all textile factories based in Ilupeju, in Lagos). Others are Five star, Afprint, Daltex,
Varaman, Royal Spinners, GDM, Aswani, Arcee, Rekha, King Carpet, Emar, President, Elite, Moon Diamond, Pacific, Eurosport, Barclays Clothing, ITI, Wabterry, Nigeria Fishing Net, Shiram, Monarch, Aflon (all based in Isolo), Texlon, Diamond Spinners, United Spinners, Top star, Tarpaulin, Steep, Coats West Africa, Panache, Pyramid, Central Bag Subaco, Globe Spinning (based in Amuwo Odofin). Abel Abu, First Spinners, Century and Platinum (based in Ikorodu), Kay Industries, NTM, Specomill, Reliance, Oriental, Madhu and Encee (based in Ikeka.)
Vanguard investigation confirmed because of unstable and failing power supply, Gombe based Ashaka Cement shed its work force from 2000 to 200, Lafarge, Ewekoro, ogun state, 1500 to 250 and its plant in Shagamu, 1500 to 250.
Investigation has also revealed that companies like Cadbury, Nestle foods have for the past 15 years not used public supply to power their plants because of the sensitivity of their equipment that must not be exposed to even a minute power failure.
At the kick-starting of a national mass protest in Lagos against steady de-industrialization of Nigeria as a result of increasing factory closures and the urgent need to re-industrialize Nigeria, Private Sector Union (PSU), shouted it loudly that lack of steady power supply had remained the greatest threat to the manufacturing sector in Nigeria and called on government to urgently address the issue.
Speaking to Vanguard, General Secretary of the National Union of Textile and Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), Comrade Issa Aremu, lamented that in spite of huge money allegedly expended on the power sector, Nigeria is still walloping in darkness.
He argued no country has even industrialised without stable power supply and advised government to wake up to its responsibility and guarantee the citizens stable power supply to kick-start economy to meet the challenges of the day.
Again, in a pre-May Day Statement jointly issued by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), the two labour centres echoed the need for efficient power supply.
The labour leaders used the opportunity to once again kicked against government full deregulation of the downstream oil sector of the economy in the midst of the global economic recession which serious economies in the world are bailing out companies and intervening in their economies to fight the recession.
Addressing journalists on behalf of the two labour centres, Deputy President of NLC, Comrade Peters Adeymi, said: "We also note with grave concerns the decision of government to move for the removal of subsidies on petroleum and full deregulation of the down stream sector of the oil industry as part of the neo-liberal orthodoxies of the World Bank. This decision is contrary to approaches adopted by developed economies that champion the capitalism and the 'market logic'.
These countries like the U.S, Britain, Germany, France, Spam and others have been using state funds in billion of dollars lo bail out industries in virtually all sectors as ways to preserve jobs, income and welfare of their people and their national economies. The point is that they recognize that the people and their citizens come first and so government must be responsive and responsible to the people. For our government, its strategy of solving the problem is high on promises and low on implementation."
"A quick example is Government planned disbursement of N70 Billion textile industry bailout that is yet to see the light of the day 3 years after such promise, but it took the Obama administration well under 90 days to get over $700 billion released and pumped into the I'.S economy. We in the labour movement call on Government to show similar commitment and patriotism exhibited by the Nigerian people through demonstration of concrete political will in tackling these economic crises. We are quick to reiterate that we reject government renewed bid to remove subsidy and the implementation of full deregulation of the down stream sector of the oil industry. The multiplier effects will exacerbate hardship and poverty amongst our people, just as the timing is wrong, the logic of the policy is also skewed in favour of the few elites in society and anti-people."

Chavez launches $15 mobile phone with a name to make his mother blush

2009-05-14T01:05:00.000-07:00

It is perhaps the world's cheapest mobile phone. It is the latest offering from Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution. And its name is derived from a slang word for penis. Behold the Vergatorio.
Venezuela's president launched the handset on his TV show with a Mother's Day call to his mum and predicted it would conquer all rivals. "This telephone will be the biggest seller not only in Venezuela but the world," he said. "Whoever doesn't have a Vergatario is nothing," he joked.
Priced just $15 (nearly £10), the phone has a camera, WAP internet access, FM radio and MP3 and MP4 players for music and videos. And it has that name.
Why the president chose it remains unclear, but he enunciates each syllable with a grin. Some laugh, others are affronted.
Verga is slang for penis and vergatario is a newly minted word which signifies excellent but retains connotations from its root.
The word verga, and variations of it, are associated with Venezuela's second city, Maracaibo. Residents are famous for swearing and using Spanish verbal constructions uncommon in the rest of Venezuela.
"It's gross. I can't believe they named it something so vulgar," said Leonor Diaz, 52, a cleaner. Others however consider the name playful and harmless.
The newspaper El Universal issued readers a challenge. "Say Vergatario in front of a mirror. Pronounce this obscenity syllable by syllable, slowly, and note the expression on your face."
Chavez, a decade in power, is a shrewd communicator who often uses salty expressions to mark himself out as a man of the people. He called George Bush a "pendejo", a term derived from pubic hair which can be translated as asshole or jerk.
A government subsidy which cut the retail price to a quarter of the manufacturing cost is likely to make the Vergatario an immediate hit. There is a waiting list for the first 10,000 units expected to be released this week.
Production this year has been set at 600,000, rising to 2m in 2011, when the government hopes to export the model to the Caribbean and then further afield.
Parts are imported from China and assembled in a factory in western Venezuela run by a new company, Vetelca, 85% owned by the Venezuelan state and 15% by the Chinese company ZTE.
The government, facing a financial crunch and labour unrest over tumbling oil revenues, said the investment would boost the country's "technological independence".
Chavez turned a segment of his weekly TV show into a promotion. "Has your Vergatorio arrived?" he asked his mother. "This is the first call I've made with my Vergatorio."

Shoes made for talking ... to your phone

2009-05-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

A startup is working on a product that can tell you exactly what it's like to walk a mile in someone else's shoes — because the insoles record every touch of pressure.
ESoles Inc., which makes custom insoles for athletic shoes, has created prototype insoles with pressure sensors that relay their information wirelessly to a nearby cell phone. Then an application on the phone can tell the wearer how much pressure he or she is applying in 11 different zones of each sole.
The system has been used to analyze the technique of the U.S. Olympic BMX team, helping them figure out how to apply maximum power to the bicycle pedals out of the gate, said Glen Hinshaw, founder of in Scottsdale, Ariz.-based eSoles and a former professional cyclist.

The system can also analyze a golf swing or skiing posture, Hinshaw said.
Sports aren't the only application — the insoles can work in games. ESoles is trying a jump rope game, in which the phone screen shows a swinging rope, and users have to time their jumps to it.
"If you leave one leg on the ground and you're only lifting the other foot, the jump rope stops, because it's not clearing your foot," Hinshaw said.
Nintendo Co. makes a balance board accessory for its Wii game console that senses the force from the user's feet. ESoles' sensing insoles would essentially do the same thing, but without tying the user to an immobile board.
Hinshaw also envisions medical uses — perhaps for warning diabetes patients who have lost feeling in their feet that they risk injury from too much pressure.
Hinshaw said the company plans to make the insoles available in a limited trial version in July, then take them fully commercial late this year. The initial price for the sensors would be about $300, but he hopes to bring the price under $50.

How rail will solve problem of mass transit

2009-05-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

Perhaps in no other African city is efficient rail system most desirable than Nigeria, the continent's most populous country, and Lagos, its economic nerve centre. With the near total collapse of the rail system built by the colonial administration, and consolidated upon by the early nationalists of the first republic, there has been a growing gap in Nigeria's transportation system even as the population keeps increasing, leaving millions of the citizens to grapple with road as singular most dependable mode of transportation.
As this is happening, the roads, due to poor maintenance are fast becoming death traps, with ditches and gullies getting deeper resulting to accidents and untimely death of thousands. While government agencies, including the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) will point to dangerous overtaking, over speeding, drunken drivers, overloading, poor maintenance of vehicles as some of the factors responsible for the spate of accidents on Nigerian roads, they have however never disputed the role bad road plays in the carnages being experienced on the roads.
Besides lives and properties being lost, another consequence of the country's dependence on road to move people and goods is heavy congestion in most of the urban cities, where people sometime spend hours in traffic.
Although air transportation in recent years, following the deregulation of the aviation industry, has come close to bridging the widening gap, its impact on the nation's overall transportation system has not been felt. This is to be expected.
Apart from the fact that the industry in Nigeria is yet to develop to the level where skepticism about safety is completely removed, the vast majority of the citizens are cut off by cost. With a domestic flight of about an hour costing as much as N22, 000, only an insignificant percentage of the population can fly.
In the face of this, many have argued in favour of the rail system as the best alternative. This is not only because efficient rail moves thousands of passengers and goods with relative cheaper cost compared with aircraft and others, but also because it does not require much space like road.
Since its early introduction several years ago, rail has had the luxury of being one of the most efficient modes of transportation. Indeed, the amount of power needed for a given train can be matched more closely with adding or removing a locomotive. With trucks, there is one tractor to one trailer limit (with triples allowed in certain locations).
In terms of manpower, a typical train has a few crew members to move the people and commodities on board. With this comes the added benefit of concentrated service and repair. With trucks, rescue/repair crews may have to travel all over to repair and rescue vehicles with issues. With trains, you know where they are and where they are going. This means you can concentrate your rescue vehicles and crews in strategic locations and keep your trains moving.
In terms of safety, the mass of the trains ensures an excellent chance that the commodity will arrive undamaged unlike road where highway collisions can cause damage to goods. Indeed, with more goods being shipped by rail, the number of trucks on the road goes down and with it the chances for crashes.
These benefits may have informed the decision of the Lagos State government to consider the re-introduction of the rail system, which according to Governor Babatunde Fashola, will commence this year.
The unfolding rail project, according to Fashola, who has embarked on a number of trips outside the country to woo investors for the multi-billion naira project, is being designed to improve and sustain an efficient public transportation system in a city which population is estimated at close to 18 million.
Providing details, Lagos Metroplitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), the agency that pioneered the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme in the state, and a major stakeholder in the rail project, says the initial first line to be developed as part of the Lagos Urban Rail Network will be the Blue Line, which will run from Lagos Island west to Okokomaiko, a total distance of 27 kilometres. The western 21 kilometres of the line will be positioned in the centre of the Lagos-Badagry expressway, which is to be expanded by the state from its present 4 lanes to 10 lanes. The rail line is to run on the median of the road.
Thirteen passenger stations will serve the line; some of which will interface with Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) service. The stations at Iddo, Ebute Ero and Marina will also serve the Red Line, another arm of the project, which will run north from Marina to Agbado.
When completed, the Blue Line according to LAMATA boss Mobereola, will be lifting 300,000 - 400,000 passengers per day while the Red line will lift 1.3 million simultaneously.
Mobereola says the Blue Line will start with an initial eight coaches, to be extended later to 12 while the red Line will start with 12 coaches which will be extended to 16.
Both lines apart from creating 2500 direct employment each will create thousands of jobs indirectly with other exponential effects. According to Mobereola, 70 per cent of the materials to be used will be sourced locally with imports limited to expertise for technical services.
On whether the project has the blessing of the federal authorities, LAMATA says Lagos State, federal ministry of transport and the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) are working together on the project.It is also gear towards poverty reduction as it is expected to provide economic opportunities and promote viable communities. For many people in agricultural sector, this will be a relief considering the bad state of the road networks which have largely hampered effective transportation of manufactured goods and agricultural produce from points of production to points of consumption. Lagos is indeed set to work again.

NCC to set up Cyber Security Centre – Ndukwe

2009-05-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Ernest Ndukwe, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) assures that the Commission is in the process of establishing a Cyber Security Centre to look at the gains the country can harness from Cyberspace as well look at Cyber security which is very important in modern business transactions.
Giving this assurance at the Cyber Security Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, put together by Anti-Money Laundering and Cyber Security Coalition of the National Assembly, Ndukwe however urged participants not to be negative about the technology but instead encourage the teeming Nigerian youths to think of new ways to use Cyber Space.
“It is important that we tackle the issue on a positive note because there is more to gain from Cyber Space instead of throwing away the baby with the bath water”.
While explaining that the Federal Government has taken a number of measures to combat Cyber Crime in Nigeria, he pointed out that the aspect of legislation was very import, encouraging the National Assembly to quickly put the relevant laws in place.
Ndukwe meanwhile made the gathering sober when he informed that in Nigeria, electronic transactions and evidence are not recognised.
“We need to work on the law to recognise electronic transactions and evidence. We should work at that very fast. Laws are the very steps critical in the

On the Cyber Security Centre which the NCC plans to set up, he explained that it would among others help to train manpower for the sector. “Who says a new way of protecting the Internet cannot come from Nigeria,” he asked, adding that the NCC had the manpower to set up such a Centre.
The universal nature of Cyber Crimes committed locally makes it “a global headache,” prompting various nations to seek national and transnational ways to proffer solutions with most experts advising that countries build multilateral channels to solving Cyber problems.
This perhaps explains why Hamadoun Toure, the Secretary General of the International Telecoms Union (ITU)U to take as one of his cardinal programmes Cyber Security and the fight against Cyber Crimes. Ndukwe said that the NCC was working very closely with him to achieve results.
A number of speakers at the event asked the Nigerian government to work with her neighbours and other African countries since no Nigerian solution would endure without the support of neighbouring countries.
At the conference, Ndukwe appealed to Legislators to appropriate adequate funding to the various agencies fighting against Cyber Crime to enable them embark on what he described as a collective fight.
“The Legislators have a major role to play in appropriating funds to the agencies involved in the fight against Cyber Crimes,” he noted.