Role of engineering in achiving vision 2020 in Nigeria?

Answer 1

Food security

From basic requirements for gathering food which grew wildly and early domestication, human need for food has evolved to include the development of fast breeding, disease resistant and special varieties requiring specialized techniques in Biotechnology/Bioengineering. Large scale productions pose daunting challenges of mechanization, scientific application of irrigation water at total or supplementary levels, and drainage. Pest, insect, weed and disease control are other traditional problems associated with crop production. Machinery for removal of root crops and harvest of low-lying/creeping crops are some difficult local harvest problems. Primary postharvest activities are required to prepare crops for long or short term storage. Secondary activities are done with a view to achieving enhanced product quality. Food engineering challenges abound. Processing activities require the engineer to have a proper understanding of the engineering properties of biological materials. Most of these properties are relevant to the design of machinery and product handling equipment, assemblies, and storage structures, and are essential to determining appropriate handling or processing techniques. New trends include modeling biological systems, machine vision, Mechatronics in agriculture, gas emissions, greenhouse gases, etc. How much of mechanized farming is we into in Nigeria and what impact is there to show for availability at purchasable prices? How much storage/preservation is available to guarantee supplies at off seasons and the year round for seasonal products.

Transportation

Transporting people/goods and services from place to place is a major people-society need. Travel preferences are short or long distance, short or long time travels, or any combination of these four factors. The purposes vary from daily commuting to work with other forms like business travels, leisure/pleasure trips, movement of goods and services, etc. Capital cost and spatial issues are the associated constraints when talking about solutions. Breakthroughs in space explorations have propelled more and more space ventures, many with the goal of achieving better understandings of how our system works. Just last week, the space probe "endeavor" reached the very edge of our solar system sending back images never before acquired. Space travel is beginning to be commercialized. And the frontier is enlarging. What is the state of intracity and intercity commuter transport system and what are the cost implications? Is it meeting the needs of the human society?

Roadconditions in many developing societies are deplorable. Inadequate drainage networks are responsible for high road failure rates in many areas. Again, soils in some areas are the poorly drained types; this means that drainage problems are compounded and any road constructed on such terrains without adequate provision for this condition accelerates road failure. Thus, for instance is the case with certain roads in Edo State, Nigeria. Another issue is that certain roads carry such volumes and nature of vehicular traffic which result in significant reductions in expected lives of such roads. Road problems are also associated with maintenance cultures. The Federal Emergency Road Management Agency (FERMA) was set up to tackle emergency road maintenance problems. Recent comments and actions of the national assembly is testament to the fact that the agency has performed below expectation. But maybe the duplication, or multiplication of agencies tasked with similar responsibilities in recent times in the country (PTF, FERMA, Federal Ministry of Works, Federal Ministry of Transport) underscores the fact that the provision and maintenance of roads is a major problem in our society.

Our waterways and railtransport system has not necessarily met societal needs for transportation interventions from that frame in the system. Dredging is in progress (Mr. President‟s 7 point agenda) and budgeting for railway infrastructure has been inputted into the 2011 budget. How far are we willing to go?

Information and communication technology (ICT)

Discoveries in electronics technologies are arguably the most important issues for the emerging human society of the present century. We stand at the threshold of a new technological age likely to be defined by advances in this field. Traditional needs in this area are Information and Communication. Available technologies have significantly influenced economic, social and cultural changes/transformations, for example through mobile communication and electronic social networking. A persisting challenge is the increasing need for greater processing capacity. Evolving cultures will continue to pose problems that must be addressed through better products and safer facilities. Human society will continue to place substantial demand on this knowledge sphere, for development. With the aforementioned, how much of ICT has been used for teaching, research, video conferences, distance learning, communication video intranet/internet, security, governance, trade/commerce, banking and at what cost, convenience, availability and environmental challenges? How prepared are we to deal with emerging challenges due to the input/advent of these new technologies?

Housing

Housing is an age old problem - from prehistoric wild existence in caves to the emergence of skyscrapers. Population explosions in urban areas impose strains on available facilities, and the emergence of slum settlements in urban areas is on the increase. There are also issues with rural housing and housing in riverine terrain. Emerging issues are affordable housing, green housing, etc. The nature and properties of materials must be studied and understood with a view to providing safer and affordable houses, which are energy efficient (Wara et al., 2008, 2009b). Cultural differences also place limitations on housing solutions; populations may indicate preference for standalone houses as against blocks of flats. Why is housing (availability/cost) still a problem? How much local content/input is in this industry? Why did we stop producing houses with local materials (wood, bricks etc.)? Why are we not promoting sustainability and green technology in this sector?

Electrical power

Electricity is the most adapted forms of energy. The Provision of Electricity constitutes a major developmental challenge. Most domestic appliances require electricity, including small and heavy machinery required in industries for production. Available resources need to be harnessed for electricity and the options are solar, wind, and tidal energy. Electricity generation and distribution have become a perennial problem in Nigeria, even after huge investments by government (Wara et al., 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010). What is the state of restructuring of the power utility? Where are prepaid meters? How far have we gone with IPP, NIPP etc.? Where shall we be if we implement the Mr. President?s New Roadmap for the power sector religiously/other energy master plans?

Water (drinking water)

A persistent problem with our society is the provision of potable drinking water. Issues with providing potable water are sourcing, purification and distribution. It is important to understand the nature of the availability of water; the common resort to ground water to meet general need is an unsustainable practice. Surface water remains the cheapest form of water available for exploitation in a manner that does not comprise the balance of things. Industrial wastes and effluents reaching rivers will pose serious threats to these aquatic environments. There are public health issues arising from the availability or conditions of sewage systems and networks in places around the country. Traditional problems with old cities include the pollution of treated piped water during distribution by effluxes from sewage systems due to the poor state of water distribution pipes. Umar (2006) associated incidence of some water borne diseases by the state of public water and waste management utilities. Why has availability of portable drinking water remained a critical problem despite the abundance of surface water in Nigeria (many streams, rivers)? Why continue to exploit underground water sources through bore holes with the eminent dangers? Are there codes to guide the quality of water from our proliferated borehole supply system?

Society places demands for several other needs on a continuing and evolving basis. New techniques are required in the prevention and control of fires. There is an increasing call for the use of non-lethal weapons for the control of crime (CCTV cameras, tracking devices, galactic defenders, caustic sprays, say). Environmental concerns arising from the insensitive deployment of technology have led to calls for cleaner and safer technologies (Wara et al., 2010), and mining exploration techniques. Sophisticated equipments are required in hospitals for performing complex procedures. The recent coal mine disaster in Chile leaves food for thought for Nigeria with regard to disaster management. What capacity has the country for disaster management, and can our engineering be deployed to accomplish such feats? Our society today is faced with the challenge of achieving adequate balance between resources, the present generation, the future generation and the protection of the environment as well as social and economic issues like security and poverty. These are the basic parameters for development and sustainability. Where do Nigeria and other developing nations stand: availability, use and sustainability of resource, facilities, infrastructure, professionalism, ethics are being threatened knowingly, unknowingly, intentionally, ignorantly, knowingly, pretentiously, remotely or internally?