The publicity secretary of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Yenagoa Branch, Engr. Elvis Donkemezuo has resigned his position, citing over politicisation amongst other things as his reasons.
In a letter made available to Mangrovepen.ng on Monday, Elvis stated that he is neither inspired nor convinced that the existing leadership of the NSE Yenagoa has what it takes to move the body forward.
He narrated that he has always loved the engineering profession being inspired by his father and joined the body to ensure the advancement of the profession to motivate the future generation of Bayelsans to seek professions in STEM.
He however lamented that the dream has been pulled back because of the opposition he has faced from people he described as myopic persons in the state branch of the NSE.
Donkemezuo maintained that they are “attempting to cast the profession into disrepute owing to their acute lack of vision, exposure and refusal to take corrections when pointed out.”
He criticised the manner NSE Yenagoa has been managed, insisting that the profession has been retrogressing due to the politicization and polarisation of its values and objectives.
The engineering body is not doing enough on research-based contributions as well as setting the agenda for the government on engineering matters in the state, he added.
The resignation letter reads in full:
“My motivation for joining NSE Yenagoa branch stems mostly from a desire to increase the profession’s visibility, recognition, respect, and prestige in order to benefit society and motivate the future generation of Bayelsans to seek professions in STEM.
“However, I have encountered opposition from some retrogressive and myopic persons in the NSE branch
who are attempting to cast our profession into disrepute owing to their acute lack of vision, exposure and refusal to take corrections when pointed out.
“I don’t blame them because humans behave based on their mental level and exposure, but the Bayelsa NSE of my dreams is a safe space where meritocracy and professionalism are prioritised.
“I critiqued the NSE Yenagoa branch’s recent visit to the Yenagoa-Southern Ijaw Road because it fell short of the expected and accepted criteria of an inspection tour by a respectable professional institution such as ours.
“In my opinion, that visit was no different than that of ordinary tourists’ visits with no engineering skills. The NSE Yenagoa branch should be setting the agenda for the government on engineering matters, rather than simply visiting sites to look at ongoing projects without evaluating them and reporting our findings to the government to improve policy implementation.
“We are meant to support government programmes with research-based contributions rather than acting as mere tourists visiting construction sites to admire the work of the contractors and brown nose the governor.
“Our great profession has become overly political, polarising the vision and objectives of its founding fathers. Look at the NSE national annual conference at the ICC centre in Abuja; it is always a disaster in terms of organisation, with engineers queuing for registration and materials for several days just to participate in the conference.
“However, if you go there the following week for the Nigeria Oil & Gas conference (NOG), you will see a different, more fitting organisation.
“We have become too docile to speak up for too long due to fear of backlash, intimidation, and threats, such as the one i witnessed a few days ago when no one could even call those who threatened my life because of the constructive criticisms I made against the type of visit the NSE Yenagoa chapter, led by its chairman, paid.
“It is not unexpected that engineers have recently been significantly undervalued and degraded in this country, beginning with former President Muhammadu Buhari’s two tenures, during which he twice chose a lawyer Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, as minister of works.
“Today, we have witnessed extraordinary building collapses in Lagos and across the country, as well as the poor pace of construction of the east-west road overseen by the federal government under President Buhari’s government never got close to call.
“In fact, it is safe to say that no significant projects were initiated and completed by the federal government during that time period, which I believe was largely due to having a non-professional at the helm of affairs in that ministry who was unable to implement basic engineering principles to works that dealt with key performance indicators such as work schedule and methods.
“Today, the Bayelsa State Government, led by Senator Douye Diri, my brother and boss, for whom I worked as Technical Advisor Business Development, followed suit by nominating a non-engineer twice to lead the Ministry of Works even his predecessor did same appointing a lawyer, a vital ministry that should normally be managed by engineers only because everything about works is engineering.
“So, when engineers go on site visits of any kind and don’t make a difference by sticking to their checklist, showing distinction, etc, it leaves room for laxity.
“The health ministry normally gets doctors and the judiciary by lawyers to head it; what is there for engineers to lead or be acknowledged with?
“Engineers play an important role in nation-building and should be considered seriously, but in recent years, due to individual interests, politics, and petty egos, we have received the least recognition.
“I love engineering so much that I would rather avoid unnecessary disagreements with my colleagues over issues that they do not comprehend or see differently.
“Against this backdrop, I am resigning as the branch’s Publicity Secretary because I am neither inspired or
convinced that the existing leadership has what it takes to move NSE forward, even as I wish them the best of luck.”
