In the beginning, God created. Yes, He created heaven and earth. God is at the heart of the Biblical account of how the world we all live in today was engineered. With creative powers, God created man in His own image.
Indeed, someone once remarked that “God must be an engineer because the world is so beautiful.” I agree in- toto with the person who sees God as the “Master Engineer,” but the Holy Book did not refer to Him like that. Globally, the engineering family has made a career out of exercising this God-given creative power and analytical thoughts after Him.
When the “Master Engineer” created the world, He laid the foundation on the seas, and it was fixed firmly on flowing waters. We can go further but we would not spend time in this article reflecting on the “Master Engineer” as we train more engineers for the future in order to work responsibly in this world.
Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, said in an interview some years ago how he holds engineers in high regard saying, “engineers come only second to God.” The Duke of Edinburgh is fantastically correct. Can you imagine a life without an engineer? No! It is because “Everything not invented by God is invented by an engineer.” Engineers, according to Prince Phillip, hold the key to the future of humanity and its ability to continue to thrive on the planet. Engineers play a vital role by helping to solve issues that arise as a result of the world’s increasing population.
This article is to celebrate engineers worldwide on the World Engineering Day. As we celebrate the Worlds Engineering Day for Sustainable Development tomorrow, 4 March 2020, we should not forget that engineering will play a key role in achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals as it utilizes the principle of science, technology, and mathematics to develop practical applications in food, water, shelter, energy, environment, sustainable cities, natural disaster resilience and other areas that are crucial to the existence of humanity. Indeed, if any developing country such as Nigeria hopes to prosper within the global economy in the next decade, capacity building in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is an absolute necessity. I strongly believe that Nigerian engineers have a crucial role to play in the sustainable development of the nation. It is because when engineering flourishes, everything flourishes.
Today, the United States of America (USA) is the most developed economy. And from all indications the country has become a role model in terms of vibrant development in most fields of human endeavour. A glance into the USA political history reveals that quite a handful of its leaders had engineering background. These include the First President of the USA and one of its founding fathers, George Washington (1732-1799). At the age of 16, he earned his living as a surveyor and his engineering heart, assisted him in laying the solid foundation on which the US has continued to prosper and flourish.
Today, the United States of America (USA) is the most developed economy. And from all indications the country has become a role model in terms of vibrant development in most fields of human endeavour
The other engineers/surveyors are as follows: Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), who was the third President of the USA and was acclaimed to be the most versatile leader of his time. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) with his engineering mind saved the union from disintegrating and today, the greatest strength of the USA is its unity. As noted on his mausoleum, “No national leader has come from a humble beginning and non has achieved a more revered memory. Till today, Abraham Lincoln is still fondly remembered as the “Honest Abe”.
In Nigeria, it is worthy to acknowledge that an engineer of Herbert Macaulay’s calibre was the prime initiator of the country’s nationalism. Herbert Macaulay laid a solid foundation for our national emancipation, that even after his death, the fight for Nigeria’s independence and her greatness have continued to gain momentum. After independence, Nigeria has equally paraded technocrats and engineers in politics such as Engr Olawale Ige who was then the Minister of Transport and Communication.
Others include erudite Professor Gordian Ezekwe, Professor Emovon, Dr LAZ Unaogu, General Sam Momah, General MT Kontagora, and Engr Bunu Sherif Musa. Also, the engineering background of General Olusegun Obasanjo assisted him to a large extent on two occasions when he steered the ship of the country. Today, we have a few ministers, governors and lawmakers at state and federal levels respectively who are saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that our country develops.
It is therefore obvious from the preceding examples of local and international personalities how engineers were able to contribute to the development of their countries. There is no doubt that an engineer is an ingenious person. Engineers are therefore urged to continue to polish the gems in them and endeavour to salvage their noble profession and consequently, the country. At the national level, we must remain patriotic and at the grassroots, we must guard our profession jealously.
Why must engineers guard their profession jealously? It is because in the 21st Century, engineering will be at the heart of our modern world and crucial to the development of new technologies enabling the 4th Industrial Revolution such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, robotics or quantum computing etc. With the phenomenal advancement in technology, the fusion of genetic engineering with nanotechnology and robotics will undoubtedly, revolutionise our way of life.
In the task of transforming our society, the engineers have a crucial role to play and to do so effectively, engineers must be proactive politically in order to be politically relevant to national development. Engineers are essential for resilience to climate change, and to design and develop resilient infrastructure that will withstand the increasing weather-related events-floods, cyclones, and bush fires in most parts of the world.
In seeking the engineering kingdom, Sam Momah, a former minister of science and technology, believes that, all engineers must respect professional ethics. Furthermore, he is of the view that we (engineers) must make the code of practice sacrosanct; we must be less docile, less rigid, less materialistic and we must seek first, job-satisfaction and thereafter, every other thing shall be added unto us. As engineers, we must identify ourselves with the aspirations of the people because we are at the vanguard of the foundational work in nation building.
As we all know, the engineering mind is critically required by our country because the engineer is among the most versatile, inventive, innovative, progressive, precise, logical, rational, result-oriented and brings to bear in governance unique ability in the skilful management or improvisation of resources.
I make bold to say that the developmental status of any country is measured by its standard of physical development, its productivity, and its overall ability to harness the forces of nature and add value to natural resources. How else can all these be attained than through the hands of engineers?
From the above, a nation that neglects or undermines its engineers remain underdeveloped and indeed an economic laggard. This is expected because engineering covers all known fields of human endeavours be it electrical and electronics engineering, civil, marine, mechanical, agricultural, chemical, industrial, aeronautical, environmental and genetic engineering amongst others.
Those in authority are requested to use the 2020 World Engineering Day to rethink and canvass for inclusive access to engineering for women and girls. And to encourage young people, especially girls to consider engineering as a career. Please, permit me to respectfully join numerous men and women of goodwill to say, “if you want to change the world for better, become an engineer.” I salute all engineers worldwide for their contributions to the development of humanity. Thank you!
MA JOHNSON
