He Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), on Saturday, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to give women engineers a chance to fix the nation’s dying refineries. Newly elected APWEN Lagos chapter president Atinuke Owolabi made the call during the association’s public conference and annual general meeting in Ikeja.
Ms. Owolabi assured that the female engineers spread across the various arms of the profession could fix the refineries in a year.
“All women engineers are ready to come together and see how we can offer solutions, making sure we renovate these refineries.
“So, we are calling on our president to challenge women engineers to renovate and rehabilitate these refineries, and I want to assure you that within a year, just challenge us, we will ensure that the refineries are up and running by grace. of God,” she said.
He said that any nation that aspires to development must empower its indigenous engineers and workforce.
“It is imperative that our local engineers are empowered and given the right opportunity to showcase our competence,” he said.
He said women had built-in natural qualities to be good and excellent managers, adding that their talents should also be explored in building roads and other critical infrastructure.
Ms. Owolabi said Nigeria should reduce reliance on foreign experts and provide opportunities for local engineers who are equal to or more competent than their imported counterparts.
“I also want to implore our leaders, especially our president and governors, to empower indigenous engineers because we are very good.
“A country without engineers cannot develop,” he said.
Ms Owolabi, a member of the Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, vowed that her administration will focus on mentoring and skills development for young engineers.
He also promised to collaborate with other NGOs while developing planned development programs for three Lagos communities.
“Together, we will break down barriers and triumph over challenges by reaffirming the fact that gender should never limit one’s potential in any domain,” she said.
Guest speaker Olayinka Abdul, speaking on the topic “The role of women engineers in building sustainable infrastructure”, said rising fuel prices required urgent action for green alternatives.
Ms. Abdul, former president of APWEN, said that green buildings reduce waste, conserve energy and ensure huge energy savings and huge benefits in the long run.
She said Lagos was investing heavily in renewable energy as she listed completed and ongoing interventions in various sectors including health, education, housing and transport.
Ms Abdul said the various options available were being wasted because some Nigerians have a class mentality that doesn’t allow them to embrace local research.
He cited examples of viable technologies, developed by “our ancestors”, being ignored because people want to move with foreign trending technologies.
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Ms. Abdul advised APWEN to adopt communities and train them on how to generate energy from their waste.
She also listed steps female engineers could take against discrimination in the workplace and how to be mentored by their male counterparts without hurting their egos.
Panelists at the event offered solutions to the multifaceted problem of inadequate water supply in Lagos State.
They listed ways that mentoring and advocacy could increase the capacity of female engineers.
(YAYA)
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