As Buhari Honours NASENI Boss Haruna with OFR Today…

Deji Elumoye reports that the Executive Vice Chairman of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Prof. Mohammad Haruna, will today receive the national honour of the Order of the Federal Republic from President Muhammadu Buhari

All is set for the conferment of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) national honour on the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Mohammad Sani Haruna on Wednesday ahead of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting to be chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber at the State House, Abuja.

Interestingly, today’s FEC meeting, according to the President, would be the last for the year.

President Buhari’s decision to confer the national honour on the NASENI boss was announced a fortnight ago by the President in an address while inaugurating the agency’s headquarters named: President Muhammadu Buhari Technology and Innovation Complex at Idu Industrial Zone, in Abuja.

Ahead of the prestigious national honour to be conferred on Haruna, the President had earlier recommended him for an Excellence Service Award for driving the agency from the position of obscurity to limelight.

The announcement of the honour and recommendation for Excellence Service Award came to the NASENI boss as a surprise because the President was only scheduled to inaugurate the building.

President Buhari, who is also the Chairman of NASENI, said he was impressed by the performance of the agency so far with what it has been able to achieve under his administration despite serious funding constraints; classifying the agency as one of the pivotal legacies his administration would bequeath to the next administration in 2023.

According to him, the agency, under Haruna’s leadership, has been repositioned to become a Technology and Innovation Hub for national development.

His words:”This is one pivotal legacy of this administration. With this complex and the available facility, the future of our national competitiveness among global economies is promising. We are sure that these advanced Science and Engineering Core facilities will assist our nation in the attainment of Africa Union’s 2063 Agenda and United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, 2030.”

Noting that the agency, created over 30 years ago, had been facing multifarious challenges making it to perform below its potentials in the past, the President said his administration was determined to reverse the trend.

According to him:”NASENI has a long history of establishment and has been in existence for over 30 years now, but the agency has been facing so many challenges that were mitigating against the realisation of her full potential in line with the Act that established the Agency.

“Under my Chairmanship, NASENI is undergoing a reinvention and transformation to become a Technology and Innovation Hub for our national development.

“Consequently, we have strategically repositioned NASENI to develop local capacity in machine building and fabrication, which is critical to Nigeria’s Industrial development.”

On why he was impressed by Haruna’s leadership and resolved to surprise him with the award and honour,  President Buhari stressed that NASENI has begun to domesticate foreign technologies and product development through backward integration.

He added that “the recent attraction of 250 Czeck Koruna or $10.5 Million US Dollar Research and Development grant to Nigeria is evidence that our transformation is achieving results in building competitive Agency.”

President Buhari who said that NASENI, under his watch as the Chairman, has lived up to its expectations and has performed well, stressing that the Agency has invented useful and historic intelligence and defence-related equipment and devices and has engineered, in collaboration with reputable organisations, Armoured Personnel Carrier with advanced features and Mine Resistant Ambushed Protected APC, among others.

He added that NASENI was advancing the Agricultural Self Sufficiency, Energy,  Power and Home Grown Technology Programmes of his Administration through its fabrication of machinery, equipment and devices.

According to him, the Agency “is currently implementing Smart Irrigation Projects for multi-crop season farming; the National Tractor Recovery, Rehabilitation and Redeployment Innovation, in collaboration with Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending,” stressing that the “assembly of two Helicopters towards first Made In Nigeria Helicopter and the development of Solar cells for 100%Solar Module production, using local raw materials are among patriotic contributions to Nigeria’s transition to a manufacturing economy.”

President Buhari reiterated NASENI’s relevance as a critical agency towards the maintenance and sustainability of the nation’s infrastructure emphasizing that: “the present administration has invested heavily in diverse infrastructural facilities: in roads, rails, water and aviation , among other sectors of our economy.

“After this administration, resourcing and sustainability of these critical infrastructure will present a challenge on the medium to long term basis.

“But with our deliberate repositioning NASENI to be at par with other similar agencies of government across the world and optimal performance, we are convinced that the future maintenance of our key national infrastructure are assured.

“New NASENI is undoubtedly, among the most important legacy my administration is bequeathing to the next administration in 2023,” the President further said.

Commenting on the need to develop the nation’s capacity in research and development (R&D), especially as it concerns the production and adaptation of military hardwares, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Leo Irabor, acknowledged the efforts of NASENI in collaborating with the Nigeria Armed Forces in developing devices and machines for the use of the military.

Irabor, who spoke recently with newsmen at the State House, Abuja, confirmed that the military has been having inputs from NASENI in its fight against insurgency and protection of the nation’s territorial integrity.

This attestation further confirmed that the surprise award and honour being bestowed on Haruna are no flukes but in recognition of his tireless efforts in redirecting and reengineering NASENI with a view to deliverying the agency’s core mandates and place Nigeria on the global pedestal of competitive technology savvy nations.