By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, said the difficult but crucial decisions taken by President Bola Tinubu’s administration are targeted at engineering an economy that works for the Nigerian people.
The Vice President said that, like Engineers who must rely on the power of numbers with consummate exactitude, efficiency, and alignment, the administration is measuring revenues, deficits, and prospects accurately to move the nation forward.
Shettima, who spoke during the 15th Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Lecture, MEDL, at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, likened the art of governance to the dexterity of engineers who work with machines and structures to transform theories into measurable outcomes.
He said, “His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is himself a man of numbers. He is an accountant extraordinaire, a thinker grounded in the discipline of evidence, and a leader governed by the clarity of facts.
“He understands the peril of building policies on the sands of assumption. He knows, as you do, that the nation cannot move forward without accurate measurement of its revenues, its deficits, and its prospects,” the VP stated.
Reflecting on the lecture theme, “The Imperative of Engineering Strategies for the Planning of National Budget,” Senator Shettima said it aligns with the thinking being institutionalised by the Tinubu administration, which he said is not just budgeting for survival but also for transformation and reality.
“We are budgeting for transformation. We build systems that speak to productivity, sustainability, and prosperity.”
The Vice President said President Tinubu’s “fidelity to facts” guided his difficult but necessary decisions to fix the Nigerian economy.
He continued: “From confronting the longstanding subsidy regime that had become an enduring shackle around the nation’s ambitions, to facing the grim realities of a debt-to-revenue ratio that threatened the very foundation of our fiscal stability.
“These are not decisions of convenience. They are decisions of courage. They are born of a commitment to engineer a nation that works for its people,” he maintained.
Delivering the 15th Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Lecture, Senator Iyiola Omisore spoke about current efforts and opportunities across diverse areas of the Nigerian economy, particularly energy and power generation, oil and gas, automotive, aerospace, aviation, construction and infrastructure development, and healthcare and security.
He noted the tremendous potential for socio-economic development in the country and the need for government, in collaboration with other stakeholders like the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, to address challenges and seize existing opportunities to achieve sustainable development and inclusive growth.
For his part, Chief Bisi Akande, Chairman of the occasion, emphasised the impact of engineering on national development, urging leaders to sustain current efforts to maintain integrity and professionalism in the industry.
Akande noted trends in the profession, highlighted the impact of digital technology on engineering practice, and urged practitioners to embrace the paradigm shift to remain relevant in the industry.
On her part, the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Margaret Oguntala, represented by a former president of NSE, Kashim Abdul Ali, said the theme of the 15th Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Lecture aligned with the reality in the polity.
He noted that an era of complex challenges amidst declining resources requires a meticulous re-examination of national priorities and optimal utilisation of scarce resources, deploying engineering expertise.
He commended the commitment and contributions of the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers (NIMechE) ‘s leadership.
He urged the body to make its impact felt across the entire engineering sector in the country.
In his remarks, the National Chairman of NIMechE, Alhassan Mohammed, said the event provides a platform for interaction among professionals on a topic that resonates with the realities in the polity, specifically the practice of mechanical engineering in Nigeria.
He urged participants at the event to reflect deeply on engineering practice in Nigeria, particularly how engineering can be embedded in the country’s national development plans and targets.
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola; the Minister of State, Finance, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite; the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako; and the former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, were also present at the event.
