Engineers, College partner on manufacturing of waste equipment

The Nigerian Institution of Environmental Engineers (NIEE) and the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka (FCET Akoka) have entered into an agreement on waste equipment fabrication.

The agreement was reached during a visit to the provost of the college, Dr Wahab Azeez, by the NIEE to commemorate the 2022 World Environment on Sunday in Lagos.

NIEE during the visit launched the Environmental Engineering Project and set up a six man committee on the manufacturing of the equipment.

Mrs Abiola Kosegbe, Lagos State chapter Chairman of NIEE, said that a six-man technical committee comprising both sides be would set up.

Kosegbe, who is the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, said the committee was expected to manufacture a machine for waste processing in the institution within one year.

"So, for us here today, we want to launch environmental engineering programme in collaboration with the college and what we want to do is to have a six man committee, three from our side, three from the college that would work towards the next year.

"So that by the next World Environment Day, there is something that we will bring out. Either we want to work on the fabrication of equipment that will do recycling, maybe re-use, whatever we want to do, the committee will decide.

"And then, in the next one year, with the college and the students, we want to come out with something,'' she said.

She said that the committee members were expected to continue to deliver new innovations annually after achieving its first equipment fabrication.

Kosegbe commended innovations trending on social media where a man in Maiduguri manufactured solar energy car that also ran on electricity as well as another tricycle that is fuel free.

"We want to encourage colleges especially colleges of education, colleges of technology, our students, to be hands on to be able to manufacture, fabricate things. And we want to be able to mentor students,'' she said.

She said the theme of the WED Only One Earth was a call that whatever is done or impact made should be towards achieving a sustainable environment for all.

Responding, the Provost, Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka (FCET Akoka), said the institution had also been thinking in the same direction because the state was not fully exploring opportunities in the college.

Azeez listed efforts in the past to foster collaboration with the state government towards enhancing technical skills in the college which also had a research committee.

"We are seriously interested in fabrication, fortunately for us, we have department of metal works here where they have some machines where we used to fabricate, even though some of the machines are obsolete but still one needs technical education.

"It is very capital intensive, so but, be that as it may, we have been using the equipment to do fabrication at the level of the college research,'' he said.

He said that staff of the college had also been given a task to research on equipment fabrication for recycling for wealth generation.

National Chairman, NIEE, Mr Odukoya Sesan, stressed the need to leverage on technical collaboration to get research grants for manufacturing of bigger equipment to boost local content.

Sesan said local content would ensure mass employment and encourage graduates to delve into self-employment and job creation rather than seeking jobs.

Dr James Akanmu, Centre Director, University of Lagos, Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Centre of Lagos offered to train 40 staff of the college on procurement.

Akanmu, a fellow of Nigerian Institution of Environmental Engineers said his team was being supported by World Bank and so he would train additional 40 staff of the college on sustainable environment.