The Vice President, Kasim Shettima, says the quality of engineering education would help promote indigenous technology.

He spoke on Tuesday at a forum organised by the Nigerian Academy of Engineering in Abuja.

According to him, with the increasing urbanisation in Nigeria, 70 per cent of the Nigerian population will be in cities by 2050.

The VP, represented by his adviser on power infrastructure, Dr Sadiq Wanka, stressed that Nigeria could use its growing population to tap into the opportunities in the $360 million global outsourcing market.

“We also find ourselves facing rapid urbanization in the country, as estimates suggest that by 2050, 70 per cent of the Nigerian population will be living in cities. Given the nature and scale of the challenges ahead, the strength of our engineering capacity is inextricably linked to our economic and social progress.

“Nigeria is blessed with a young population. Our population is growing at over 3% per annum at a time when, in many developed nations, populations and workforces are ageing. Therefore, we can train our young citizens and position them to take up jobs in Nigeria and globally. And we are.

“Earlier this year, in line with Mr. President’s commitment to job creation, I launched the Outsource to Nigeria Initiative, which seeks to position Nigeria as a global outsourcing hub and tap into a $360 billion global outsourcing market,” he said.

In his speech, the President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Prof Peter Onwualu, noted that if Nigeria prioritizes and uses Engineering and Technology to drive development in all sectors, the country will, in short, join the League of Developed Nations.

“With Engineering and Technology, we would our problems in food and agriculture, health care, communications, transportation, energy, power, commence, industry and indeed all sectors.

“If Nigeria can harness its technology efficiently, this will lead to a drastic drop in importation and promotion of made-in-Nigeria goods”, he told DAILY POST.

Engineering education springboard to Nigeria’s economic growth – VP Shettima