Prof. Adisa Bello, former Registrar, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), says the council is collaborating with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission
By Olaide Ayinde
Prof. Adisa Bello, former Registrar, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), says the council is collaborating with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), to curb quackery in Nigeria.
Bello stated this in Bauchi on Monday during a public lecture and launching of a magazine by the final year students of Engineering Department, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi.
According to Bello, COREN has an Engineering Regulatory Monitoring Unit visible and working in 29 states of the country.
“If the unit finds anyone culpable of quackery, the person will be handed to the ICPC for further prosecution.
“COREN with the council for regulation of Engineering in Nigeria started in 1970, and its laws were amended in 1992, 2004 and 2018.
“The specific one I’m referring to is the amendment in 2018, which categorically gave COREN the mandate to prosecute offenders of engineering,” he said.
He warned that anybody that was not a registered practitioner in engineering and practicing engineering would be prosecuted by COREN.
“And COREN is doing everything humanly possible to ensure that this is done. COREN currently has a memorandum of Understanding with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, and this commission is doing everything possible to ensure that offenders are prosecuted,” he said.
Bello, also a lecturer in the department of Mechanical Engineering, ATBU, recounted how a multi-billion Naira 21 storey building collapsed in Lagos, where COREN did investigation, after which some engineers were found wanting and handed over to the ICPC for prosecution.
“COREN has an investigative panel and once this panel establishes that someone is culpable, it takes you to the ICPC and then straight to the court.
“In my day, we normally write examinations for qualifications.
”We have a situation currently where an individual came with a fake result and we called on the ICPC and they have done all their investigations, and found the person culpable and right now he is under prosecution,” he said.
The don called on higher institutions and academics to ensure that all engineering programmes were properly accredited by the National University Commission (NUC) and COREN.
In a paper entitled: Smart Cities and the role of Engineering and Technology in building the Urban future, Dr Ibrahim Ikara, Head of Department, Civil Engineering, ATBU, said engineers played a critical role in smart cities.
Ikara said that this could be through the design of modern infrastructure, disaster resilient systems and eco-friendly neighborhoods.
Represented by Muhammad Suleiman, the don listed some of the challenges of building smart cities in developing nations to include infrastructure deficit, limited funding, and low level of digital literacy among citizens.
He urgdd policy makers to pririotise Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), to achieve the set goals. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)