Fanfare As NIMechE A’Ibom Chapter Confers Fellowship Awards On Engineers Joseph Momoh, Adeboye Ogundele, Uduak Inyang,

Akaiso Eyo-Akaiso, Uyo.

From 16th – 17th October, 2024 Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State was agog with influx of distinguished engineers: men and women across Nigeria and beyond, who converged on Akwa Ibom State for their 37th International Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The venue of this epoch making scientific converge was the prestigious Ibom Hall in the heart of Uyo which was filled to overflowing capacity from the beginning to the end.
The members of mechanical engineers mixed with those of Other branches of the mother body of Nigerian Society of Engineers and distinguished guests didn’t only paint Uyo red with their money but their presence had a multiplier effect as Akwa Ibom residents who are into provision of essential businesses like hotel and hospitality, also took a bite of this money from these august visitors in the month of October, for providing them with accommodations and lounging.

Those into food production business were not left out as their daily take home on these two days plus improved tremendously. Looking at the resources expended on those two days there is no doubt that the planning was top notch, little wonder that the numbers of attendees in the 37th International Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM) tagged ARISE 2024 exceeded those of the immediate past and penultimate conference of NIMechE.

The personal presence of Nigerian engineers resident or working in United States of America and their foreign counterparts who came from far away as Tokyo, Japan to the meet, was also a testament to the amount of resources, energy and time invested in the planning of this scientific converge which was successful in all ramifications.

Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, FNSE, the president of Nigerian Society of Engineers whose address was read through her representative as the chairman on the occasion, described Climate Change as the greatest threat to sustainable agricultural practices in Nigeria.
In the light of the above, Engr. Oguntala commended NIMechE, Akwa Ibom State chapter for thinking outside the box by choosing “Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Food Production and Managing Climate Change” as the theme of the conference and advised them to return to the box by ensuring that recommendations arrived at the event are sent to government for implementation, for Nigeria to get out of the wood of acute food shortage as soon as possible.

She therefore called on the professional organizations government agencies, and other stakeholders to emulate NIMechE, Akwa Ibom State by discourses and actions to educate on sustainable agricultural practices against climate change.

She thanked Akwa Ibom chapter of Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers for the choice of the theme of the 37th International Conference entitled, “Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Food Production and Managing Climate Change ” which has keyed into the theme of the forth coming national conference of NSE, “Sustainable Engineering Solutions To Food Security and Climate Change.”

“I call on the professional organizations, government agencies and other stakeholders to prioritize discourses and actions on food security”
“We must raise awareness of how crucial it is to safeguard our nation’s food production by adopting sustainable agricultural practices.”
The chairman of Akwa Ibom State chapter of Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Engr.John Uruah, who described the mechanical engineers as very important in the food value chain, said they are prepared to align with the “A” and “I” components of “ARISE” agenda policy of Pastor Umo Eno which represent agriculture and infrastructure, to make Akwa Ibom a hub for food production.

Also doubling as chairman of the local organizing committee (LOC) of the epoch making event, Engr. Uruah while fielding questions from newsmen after the closing formalities, listed many ways mechanical engineers could impact in sustainable food production, starting with fabrication of machines and other inputs to assist the local farmers on mechanized farming.

Describing the event as top notch considering the large attendance of dignitaries within and outside Nigeria compared with attendance at the two previous conferences, he assured that recommendations arrived at in form of communique from the conference would be made available to government for implementation, and should they refuse to listen to our recommendations we will continue to advocate for them to see the need to do so.

“In this conference we brainstormed on a topical issue which affects us currently which is food production. After brainstorming and discussing on the issue we are going to make a recommendation to the government”
“It is an advocacy to make government know that there is a solution to this problem. It is our duty to make government look in this direction, to let them to know that the right policy and the will to implement these policies could take us out of the quagmire”, he explained.

Furthermore, he said the duty of mechanical engineers in farming is to add values to farmers on farm produce, adding that mechanical engineers produce the innovative machines that add value to food production processes.

The event was rounded off with conferment of awards of fellowship to distinguished engineers, among them were Engr. Dr Joseph Momoh, Engr Uduak Inyang and Engr. Adeboye Ogundele, to mention but a few.

As it is a well known fact that nobody succeeds without hard work, the three recipients of the NIMechE fellowship awards in their separate speeches recounted their contributions to engineering profession in Nigeria and beyond.

Opening the floodgate was Engr. Dr Joseph Momoh who graduated in 1986 and had since been in practice, contributing enormously to the progress of his chosen profession, engineering.

“I have done a lot which I can’t enumerate here. I don’t take this great privilege of being elevated to the zenith of NIMechE for granted. But I promise to do my very best to move NIMechE going forward,” said Dr. Momoh.

The saying that success has many relations, but failure is an orphan, played out as the newly decorated fellows of mechanical engineers were hugged and greeted with jubilation by some people they hardly knew much about before now.
Fanfare and congratulations heralded their elevation to the pinnacle of their career, giving credence to the saying by Hugo that whenever your time comes the world will make way for you. So congratulations to these great patriots who have decided to stay put and salvage this country from collapse.