An industrialist, Mr Gilbert Uzodike, Founder, Cutix Plc. says Nigeria will require collaboration among government, academia and the industry to attain accelerated and sustained growth.
Uzodike, a Mechanical Engineer stated this on Thursday while delivering the 2023 Annual Public Lecture of Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar College of Engineering, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo.
The title of the lecture was “Engineering and Politics: Catalyst to National Growth, Industrialisation and Security”.
According to him, Engineering is the foundation of any development, but it cannot achieve the purpose without good politics.
“Government should be a partner in the development of Nigeria. We are yet to have a credible partnership in development from the government.
“Some still doubt if at all if we have a partner at all,” he said.
The Industrialist tasked Nigeria to borrow a leaf from the technological growth of Japan, South Korea and China, noting that when engineering was well applied, it leads to growth, security, stability a d wealth creation.
Uzodike, whose company manufactures electrical cables, identified international partnership for national growth.
He noted that Nigeria would need to be wary about foreign dominance, however, in such partnership and find a way of building balanced structure.
Earlier in his address, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, Vice-Chancellor of the University said the university remained a potent of civilisation and it would continue to play the critical role of providing solutions to social problems.
Ezemonye said the lecture was organised to provide platform to interrogate issues of national importance with a view to contributing its quota to national development.
The vice-chancellor, who enumerated the achievements of the university, explained that the lecture was also underscored by the need to build a future of hope and prosperity for all on a healthy planet.
