The tail is wagging the dog. The most disrespected profession in Nigeria is engineering.
This is not because of others – no. It is because engineers ourselves continue to tell Nigerians by our body language that the people cannot count on us to fix their fundamental challenges.
I have a question: whose duty by law is the *investigation of engineering failures* in Nigeria? Who has the legal mandate?
The correct answer is *COREN*. The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria is the organ of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that is charged by law to be responsible for the *investigation of engineering failures in Nigeria*. This is not a wish. It is the law. But here, COREN, almost a whole week after the sad incidence in Ikoyi Lagos, is yet to constitute its professional investigating team to carry out this lawful assignment as enshrined in its enabling Act. Instead, COREN is acting as an unsolicited adviser to the Lagos State Government. That government is within its power to set up its committee etc. But COREN is sleeping on its right and engineers are debating whether Lagos State should or should not place a Town Planner as the head of its Committee. Lagos State can place a satchet water seller as head of its team, it would be within its right. It is the engineering profession that should do the lawful.
For the avoidance of doubt, the *COREN Establishment Act (2018 as ammended)* confers the following powers on COREN:
1(1) (d) regulating and controlling the practice of the engineering profession *_in all its ASPECTS and RAMIFICATIONS_*;
(e) *prosecuting any person or firm that contravenes the provisions of this Act in a court of competent jurisdiction;*
(h) *INVESTIGATING ENGINEERING FAILURES*
Except COREN does not recognize a collapsed 21-story super structure as an engineering failure, then we can all go to sleep and allow the Town Planners guide Nigerians on how poor urban planning led to the collapse.
Nigerian engineers do not need governors of states to ‘dash’ them respect by making them to lead or handle responsibilities that fall strictly and solely within their purveiw. Nigerian engineers have enough legal standing to perform their duties.
If we don’t, we would have slept on our right and we have no locus blaming anyone but ourselves.
Engr. Tunji Ariyomo, FNSE
