NAN
The Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem, has urged Engineers, Scientists and other allied professionals in the building industry, to increase the local content for indigenous buildings in the country.
Prof. Abdulkareem gave the advice on Tuesday while declaring open a Workshop on Bridge Planning and Engineering co-organised by the Department of Civil Engineering and the Department of Environmental and Water Resources, University of Ilorin.
He explained that builders in Nigeria should take advantage of the “Presidential Order No 5” recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He pointed out that the order is meant to increase the local content for indigenous buildings in the Nigeria.
The Vice-Chancellor, said that highway bridges are major components of transportation infrastructure, which itself forms the basis of development and the barometer of measuring the economic indices of any country.
He said the workshop would help to bridge this gap and share our knowledge and experiences on Highway Bridge planning and Engineering.
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According to him, this will form a common basis and expertise needed by the Engineers to key into the Presidential Order No. 5 aimed at increasing the local content for indigenous professionals.
Abdulkareem said the workshop will be discussing five key topics, which he described as “topics that an Engineer needs to have in order to conceptualise and design appropriate bridge for the nation”.
He stressed the need for skills and technical know-how in construction of bridges.
The Vice-Chancellor appreciated the donation of Midas Inc. of South Korea through the Nigerian Society of Engineers, as the University of Ilorin was among the six Universities in the six geopolitical zones of the country selected for training of Engineers using Midas software.
In his welcome address, the Ag. Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ilorin, Dr. Oluwatosin Adeleke, said that the workshop was informed by the quest to advance the frontiers of individuals’ knowledge and skills in Engineering, particularly in the planning, design, construction and management of bridges.
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Adeleke commended Midas Information Technology Company Limited of South Korea, developers of Midas Software, for donating 50 licenses for use by workshop participants for three months.
According to him, the period is long enough for our workshop participants to master the software and also become trainers.
He noted that at the end, participants should be able to carry out researches on Bridge Engineering, Highway Engineering and Structural Engineering among others.