…Unfolds Buhari’s agenda to retool Nigerian artisans
Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive (EVC/CE) National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) Prof. Mohammed Sani Haruna has announced the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration’s plan to end the nation’s reliance on foreign artisans.
He also said the era when embassies brought artisans from their home countries to fix water closets was over, declaring the president had directed the agency to equip Nigerian youths to reverse the trend.
Haruna spoke Monday in Ibadan, Oyo state, while flagging off the training and youth empowerment for youths in the South-west.
The NASENI boss however said such trend will be reversed as the target given to NASENI covers modern massive skill acquisition trainings for artisans in line with global challenges.
“Artisans from neighbouring African countries today are taking over the few occupational jobs available in the built environment and in construction industry. The President has empowered NASENI to lead the nation to a manufacturing economy and undoubtedly this type of skill development is key pre-requisite, that is – competent workforce.
“It is the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari that NASENI must work hard to build critical mass of Nigeria to reverse the trend and provide competitive know-how to Nigerians to meet local demand and export labour abroad.
“The skill development in many specialized areas of need is ongoing and the trainees are expected to train others.
“The 100 participants in Oyo State were carefully selected through due diligence are all receiving their modern tools as start-ups.
“They have automatic membership of a platform of NASENI for continuous knowledge and experience sharing in the dynamic area of their chosen occupation,” Haruna said.
While assuring that the re-tooling scheming for youths was yielding the right dividends, he said: “I know of two foreign embassies associated with NASENI that used to bring technicians from their home countries to repair their water closets sanitary and sewage system due to poor workmanship and incompetence of Nigerian artisans in modern and automated systems.
“They no longer require expatriates with NASENI’s intervention. It is painful that several building leakages are due to poor plumbing work resulting in unsightly walls and weak structure.”
Haruna said the training on modern methods of plumbing and its application was to ensure that the needed capacity building in areas that appear lacking in a particular state of the federation will be attended to.
“The training launched today in Ibadan for the South-West is in the first phase of regional skill development of NASENI in the implementation series of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to NASENI to ensure development of skills of our teeming youths necessary for job creation and self-employment generation,” he added.
