By Uche Usim
Behind the success story of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is a creativity czar, Professor Mohammed Haruna, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive officer of the agency. He has recorded several remarkable achievements that have intervened in various sectors of national development.
Notables are the establishment of the Muhammadu Buhari Innovation and Technology Complex in Abuja, with state-of-the-art equipment; successful take-off of NASENI Solar Energy Limited (NSEL), which manufactures solar modules and related components; ongoing projects on establishment of transformer manufacturing plant; high voltage laboratory; development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and food processing machineries for agricultural purposes; electronic voting solution to curb electoral malpractices; the nationwide tractor recovery; innovative modular irrigation system; and adoption as well as domestication of future production technologies such as virtual reality, application of artificial intelligence, Advanced Manufacturing, CAD/CAM and additive manufacturing.
Worthy of mention was Prof Haruna’s bold response to the COVID-19 pandemic, where he spearheaded the development of the first Made-in-Nigeria ventilator, 3D facemask and automated environmental disinfectant spraying machines.
NASENI, under the watch of Professor Haruna recently entered into partnership with Israeli, Japanese and Nigerian companies for the production of Nigerian-made electrical vehicles in the near future.
He also signed an agreement with the China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) to establish a world-class transformer production plant in Nigeria.
A visiting professor at the Nile University of Nigeria, Professor Haruna holds a PhD and Master of Engineering degrees in Electrical Engineering from Bayero University, Kano and a second PhD and Master of Philosophy degrees in Entrepreneurship from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Nairobi, Kenya.
He is a Fellow of Nigerian Academy of Engineering; a Chartered Engineer with United Kingdom Engineering Council; a registered member of the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN); a Fellow of the UK based Institution of Engineering and Technology; a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a Fellow of Solar Energy Society of Nigeria among others.
With varied publications in national and international journals, an author of three reputable textbooks and a remarkable ingenuity as well as proficiency in science and technology, Professor Mohammed Haruna is the winner of The Sun Public Service Award 2022.