From Emmanuel Oguike, Abuja
The Chairman of the Council of the Regulation of Engineering (COREN) Engr. Ali Alimasuya Rabiu has said that the present security situation in the country could be solved using surveillance technology system.
The COREN Chairman who spoke at the 37th Annual General Meeting/Conference of the Nigerian Association of Technologists in Engineering (NATE) said through technology, Nigeria could attain weapons that will help combat insecurity and enable her have a peaceful and conducive environment.
The COREN Chairman who was represented by Engr. Steven Malu said to effectively tackle the ravaging insecurity situation in the country, there is a need for the deployment of advanced technologies such as Global satellites system, Remote Sensory Technologies and Drones as well as communication infrastructures”.
Engr Malu also said that the entire world is being threatened by insecurity but is of the opinion that engineering can be a strong catalyst towards promoting advanced technological solutions in Nigeria.
He said surveillance technology can be deployed in various part of the country because it has been proving to be a very important tool to solving cases of crimes/Insecurity in developed countries of the world.
He tasked the Association on the need to establish a consortium for the purpose of taking stocks of equipment that are been purchased by many big organizations who lack the man power to take care of them,
He also provided some statistical analysis of the current insecurity situation in the country, saying that Forbes has named Nigeria the third most dangerous country to live in 2021 , Third country with the highest rate of terrorism in the world since 2015 in the world terrorism global index, tentatively also in the global index 2021,
To further buttress his point, he said that the only way Nigeria can combat the issue of insecurity is by investing in home grown technologies and effectively setting up good strategies that have been already used by some countries that have been able to reduce insecurity to its barest minimum.
Nigerian Association Of Technologists In Engineering(NATE) held the conference in collaboration with Council For the Regulation Of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) with the Theme “Technology And Insecurity In Nigeria”, and the conference held at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja.
The event was a gathering of Engineering elite from different part of the nation, and it was graced by various dignitaries as well as founding fathers of the Association who honored the invitation for the well organized and colorful convergence of the professional body.
The purpose of the event was to create a conscious feeling of how Technology can be used to tackle insecurity in Nigeria and how effective it will be to curbing the security challenges that is ravaging the Nation.
His Royal Highness Alh. Dr. Usman Nga Kupi( sa- Pete Of Garki Abuja), was the Royal Father of the day, The minister of FCT Abuja was represented by Engineer Donald, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology.
As part of the activities marking the 37th edition of AGM/conference of NATE, elections were held to usher in new executive that will pilot the affairs of the association for the next three years.
Hon Dominic Udoatam was elected the new president with a total of two hundred and twenty four votes while Yakubu Adamu emerged as deputy president .
Other elected officers are Yinusa Gabasawa -VP North-West, Taiwo Ola-Shehu Isa – VP North -Central, Obiora Ijeoma Dorathy – VP South -East, Yakubu M. Wakawa ,- VP North -East, Chidi Dimkpa – VP South -South ,Tokede Oluremi S.- VP South -West. Mahmud Hussaini – General Secretary and Aguda Sunday O. – National PRO.
Similarly, Lukman Sani was elected as Membership Secretary, Abdulsalam A. Danlami as Auditor, Abdulrasheed Salaudeen as Financial Secretary, Tukur Ibrahim as Assistant PRO, Asaolu Joseph as Treasurer, Sani Bello as Science and Tech Secretary and David Eigege as Assistant Secretary General