The President of the Nigerian Society of Engineering, Margaret Oguntala, has said to Aliko Dangote that he is building the future of engineering in Nigeria, praising the work that has been carried out from the building to the manufacturing processes in the Dangote Refinery.
The NSE President said this on Saturday as the Dangote Refinery, represented by The Vice President Dangote Industries Limited (Oil and Gas), Devakumar V.G. Edwin, hosted a tour for the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers.
Also present at this tour were the President of Association Of Consulting Engineers in Nigeria (ACEN), Engineer Kam-Selem Alhaji Bukar, the President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Engineer Professor Sadiq Zubair Abubakar, amongst other dignitaries.
After the tour, NSE President Oguntala, said, “Going round, I just was awed most of the time, seeing the state of the art technology equipment, and particularly for someone who, like me- I was an intern in the Warri Refinery in the 80s, what I saw here today is something that would easily blow the minds of any chemical engineer, it’s the kind of thing that you only see in movies. So I would say that first, I would like to commend the Dangote group for this, and then in particular, for also building the capacity of our engineers.”
She further said, “You’re building the future of engineering in Nigeria, and we can only commend you and tell you that the Nigerian Society of Engineering supports what is going on here. It’s what we stand for, it’s what we advocate for at all times- professional development of our members, capacity building, and then manufacturing, cause it is the only way that we can sustain Nigeria, the entity called Nigeria. So, thank you very much for all that you are doing here, and we shall take this home to our members and to the council in particular, report what we have seen, and let the world know that indeed, here, engineering is alive.”
Her colleagues reiterated her sentiment, with COREN President Abubakar describing the tour as an emotional experience, and with ACEN President Alhaji Bukar saying that for one “to really understand what it is, you need to be here.”
Speaking on the driving force behind the Dangote refinery, the Dangote V.P Edwin said, “The driving force was my President Alhaji Dangote’s vision that Nigeria should become self-reliant. That is how he was the largest importer of sugar into Nigeria, we set up our own sugar refinery, we set up our own sugar mills and started manufacturing. We used to bring cement from Togo and Benin, then we set up cement tunnels, went into cement manufacturing, he made Nigeria a net exporter of cement.
“Nigeria used to import fertilizer, he set up fertilizer, Indorama followed, so now, Nigeria is exporting fertilizer. He wanted to do the same thing in this Petroleum refining field, because, I mean, we are exporting the crude and importing it from others, now we have already set the record. Aviation Jet fuel has gone through. So, he has already started implementing this, so, it is his vision and his passion for Nigeria that has been the driving force.”
ACEN President Alhaji Bukar then said to him, “Somebody said if you’re not doing something great, you won’t hear any criticism. It’s only when you’re trying to disrupt, do something that is disruptive, that is the only time you will hear. So, send this message to him, that we are Nigerians, and we are professionals, and I think, if we are not mistaken, what we are seeing in this room is the leadership of the engineering committee in this country, and we are saying, whatever you are doing, go on doing it. People will talk, but the most important thing is what you are determined to do.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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