NICE Calls On General Public To Always Engage Professional Engineers To Avoid Building, Infrastructure Collapse

By Simeon OSAJIE

Members of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE), Benin Branch has urged members of the public to always engaged professional civil engineers to avoid building and infrastructure collapse in the society.

The engineers who walked through major streets of Benin metropolis with its theme: “Say No To Building Collapse, Build Right and Build Safe” stop over at the State secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council to sensitize the public on the need to patronize the services of the professional engineers instead of engaging quacks who are not members of the profession.

Speaking to newsmen, the Publicity Secretary of the NICE, Benin Branch, Engr. Edionwe Evans stated that recently we heard or seen building collapsed and it had become the order of the day or a norm in the society.

“That is why we thought it wise that we must play our advocacy rule, we must come out to learn our voice against it abnormality in the society. And we have identified some of the reasons why we have this collapse, because we discovered that the prospective developers, they engage the services of quacks and that is why we have this incessant building collapse, building failure and infrastructural failure.

“So, we appeal to the media because the media is the watch dog of the society, your voice always go far, the people hear your voice anytime you speak. Help us to pass the message across to the public on the need for their building work to be given to the professional engineers in order for us to stop this danger of building and structural collapse.

“We want to say that enough is enough, we can’t continue like this, it cannot be business as usual, it must be a square peg in a square hole. The job of the engineer must be left for the engineer to handle. The client would want to cut cost, and on the long run, you discover that the whole investment amount to waste because of the engagement of the untrained or the quacks for the building services. The engineer have be trained.

“One of the advantage of engaging the professional engineer is that the engineer – we have eagle eye, and we give attention and pay attention to details. And that is why when we are engaged, we make sure that we give attention to all the details as far as your building is concerned and at the end of the day, you have a building or a project that would stand the test of time. The client will be happy, the society will be safe and the engineer will also be happy. It’s a win-win thing,” he said.

In his response, the State Secretary of NUJ, Comrade Andy Egbon appreciated the Engineers for engaging in the initiative to go on the advocacy.

Comrade Egbon who said that the negative effects of engaging quacks affect every one of us directly or indirectly, noted that professionals are professional. “There is no two ways about it. A nurse cannot tell you that because he or she used to follow the doctor to the theatre I can do as much as the doctor. It’s not possible.”

He said that the essence of engaging the professional is that, there are certain stages where you need some technical expertise, and of course some of us will rely on “na so we dey do am before”, there is always modern way of doing things, which many may not be aware of.  

While advising the engineers to try and collaborate with the state government to put the necessary laws in place, the NUJ Secretary noted that when the laws are in place, enforcing it will be less cumbersome.

According to him, “I also suggest that you try to reach the governor because when the governor speaks, he is an authority whether you put it, Gazette it or not, it has a way of having multiplier effects; the people are bind to listen to it more than you and I, and I believe that the governor will see the needs to put the necessary laws in place so that the society will be a better place.”

“I also advised that beyond this advocacy, the Engineers should also increase publicity so as to take their messages to every nooks and crannies of the state.”