Daud Olatunji
Former Senator and an Engineer, Dr. Iyiola Omisore, has charged Nigeria’s mechanical engineers to step up their role in rescuing the country’s struggling economy, stressing that without engineering-led innovation, the national budget risks becoming “a carcass of a vehicle with no wheels.”
Delivering the keynote at the 15th Annual Mechanical Engineers Distinguished Lecture (MEDL) hosted by the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers in Abuja, Omisore made a compelling case for a strategic alignment between mechanical engineering innovation and Nigeria’s economic development agenda, anchored on the 2025 national budget.
Speaking on the theme “Imperative Mechanical Engineering Strategies for Socio-Economic Development Based on National Budget, Challenges and Potentials,” Omisore, who holds multiple engineering fellowships and was instrumental in public infrastructure development as a former Senate Committee Chairman on Appropriation, warned that Nigeria cannot engineer prosperity without engineering solutions.
“Engineering is inherently problem-solving. Nigeria is bursting with potential, but without translating our vast natural and human resources into engineered productivity, the budget remains nothing more than numbers on paper,” he said.
Omisore identified poverty, youth unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, and energy poverty as critical national crises that require urgent mechanical engineering intervention.
“Despite being Africa’s largest economy, over half of Nigerians live below the poverty line. We must ask: how can mechanical engineers help industrialize Nigeria, boost local production, and add value to raw resources?” he asked.
He stressed the role of mechanical engineers in scaling up small and medium enterprises (SMEs), reversing deindustrialization trends, and increasing local manufacturing capacity in key sectors, from energy to automotive and healthcare.
On energy, Omisore emphasized the urgent need for decentralized renewable solutions, noting his own academic research on energy self-sufficiency in tertiary institutions.
“Universities are now paying hundreds of millions monthly for power. This is unsustainable. Mechanical engineers must provide solar-based alternatives, develop local energy storage systems, and create new markets for clean energy jobs.”
He also advocated for intensified investment in gas technologies, including CNG-fueled transport systems and flare gas-to-power conversion, as part of Nigeria’s evolving gas economy.
In infrastructure, Omisore lamented the decay in public utilities and called for a mechanized overhaul of construction systems, integrating local content in design, fabrication, and maintenance.
“From building automation to smart water systems and waste recycling, mechanical engineers must be at the frontlines of infrastructural rebirth,” he said.
Turning to oil and gas, Omisore called for a “skills revolution” in pipeline design, safety systems, and local content development.
He urged young engineers to upskill in pressure vessel design and maintenance of gas delivery systems.
In the automotive sector, he bemoaned Nigeria’s overreliance on foreign imports, highlighting the failure to sustain indigenous production of vehicle components like tyres, brake pads, and windscreens — once locally manufactured.
“The automotive industry must be revived with precision manufacturing, microprocessor-controlled systems, and robotics. Aviation maintenance and local MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) capabilities are also ripe for investment.”
In healthcare, he emphasized local fabrication of biomedical devices, echoing the need to “mechanically re-engineer” Nigeria’s health sector in light of forex pressures and high import dependency.
Omisore stressed that without engineering-driven policy reforms and a refocus on technical education, Nigeria risks being stuck in a cycle of underdevelopment.
“We must promote STEM education, invest in technical institutes, and restructure curricula to meet industrial demands. A budget without human capital development is a bridge to nowhere.”
Omisore urged mechanical engineers to “walk the talk” by driving grassroots innovations, engaging in policy advocacy, and forging partnerships that translate national ambitions into real-world infrastructure, job creation, and industrial growth.
“Our profession is more than a title. It’s a responsibility. If we do not rise to the occasion now, when will we?” he asked, to resounding applause.
The lecture, coming at a time of economic uncertainty and mounting pressure on the federal government to deliver on the 2025 budget promises, underscored the growing consensus that Nigeria’s engineers must no longer operate on the sidelines of policy, but at its very core.
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