Engineering Graduates of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) have come together to proffer solutions to the nation’s challenges.
The 1995 set group under the aegis of ESUT95 Engineers Forum, began discussions on how to offer solutions to many socio-political, cultural and economic challenges that have stunted the growth of the Nigerian state.
The group which is made up of thriving professional and captains of industries in various major cities around the world recently began to galvanize her members for this awareness.
At the maiden edition of their online conference held recently, they took a position to influence the Nigeria leadership in a very passionate and unique manner.
In a lecture series tagged MAKING NIGERIA GREAT the group highlighted that attitude is everything needed to change the psyche of the leadership and followership narrative in Nigeria to positive results.
The lead presenter of the lecture, Engr. Innocent Enwenaonu, an Oil and Gas expert with over two decades of experience rolled out some beautiful and thought provoking statistics and ideas that if diligently implemented can translate to transforming the Nigerian State.
Anchoring the presentation on a mantra called Let’s Build Nigeria, he emphasized on four pillars of LETS BUILD NIGERIA initiative. Which include; a Social Investment Funding system, a Nigeria market place, an e-commerce system where buyers meet sellers, a FixIt initiative that would capture the block of artisans and the LEAP principle that stands for Leadership Enhancement and Advancement Programme geared towards catch them young for primary to tertiary level students .
He stretched his discussion to suggest that availability and accessibility of loans and credit facilities are the soul of Artisans and Craftsmen business survival. He opined that the Nigeria market system should be recreated to evacuate products through the resuscitation of market boards as was the case many years ag. While he thought that this system would offer a ready market and boast farmers’ producefor manufacturing, he also explained that it would cut down wastes. Engr. Enwenaonu also made a case for the rich to work towards pulling resources together to support youth development.
Various speakers who joined in the group’s brainstorming session expressed their concerns about Nigeria Social Investment Fund objectives. “The major objectives of Nigeria Social Investment Fund are to cause grassroots capital formation, reduce rural-urban migration and encourage rural economic empowerment through a collective wealth system”, they said.
The ESUT’95 Engineers Forum vows to prompt more citizenship participation in governance, encourage more Nigerian technocrats to get involved in critical issues discourse.
The group used the conference to reminisce on their youthful school days and the beauty of their successes. Thereafter, members avowed to influence the larger population of Nigerians to a disciplined knowledge, commitments, researches and all rigour of activities that can help broaden responsive leadership and followership in Nigeria.