WED: NSE, NCDMB Announce Partnership to Train 6,000 Youths on Ethical Hacking, Cyber Security

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) yesterday announced a partnership with the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to carry out the training of 6,000 young people across Nigeria on ethical hacking and cyber security.

Speaking at this year’s World Engineering Day (WED) in Abuja, first female President of the NSE in 66 years, Margaret Oguntala, noted that all the six geo-political zones in the country will benefit from the gesture.

She added that the specialised skills acquisition programme, will kick off with about 100 young people from each zone of the country, whether they are already engineers or engineers-to-be.

“The World Engineering Day platform has offered a unique opportunity for us to provide inspiration and hope for younger persons, whether they are already in the profession or aspiring to become engineers.

“Therefore, not only do we have students from secondary schools who are here to exhibit their innovations, we are also launching our specialised skills training for young engineers. The NSE will be running the programme with one of our strategic partners, the NCDMB.

 “It is a year-long programme targeted at building the capacity of young engineers across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. It is also a multi-modular training that is going to start with a course on cyber security and ethical hacking,” he said.

While performing a symbolic unveiling of  the programme, Oguntala stated that March 4, every year was declared as the world engineering day for sustainable development, beginning from the year 2020.

She stated that engineering excellence has changed the world dramatically overtime, explaining that while mankind has witnessed great wars, it has also seen advancements in medical facilities and several innovations.

Over the years, she said the NSE has witnessed tremendous growth resulting in the establishment of 81 branches spread across Nigeria and in the diaspora and 25 divisions established majorly along specialised fields of engineering.

Themed: “Engineering Solutions for a Sustainable World”, Oguntala said that in the face of the current global economic, social and humanitarian crises, the world is yet beckoning on engineers to rise to the occasion and provide solutions for better and sustainable living.

In his remarks, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, who was represented by his Chief of Staff and immediate past Minister of State, Health, Joseph Ekumankama, said that life cannot be complete without engineers.

Stressing that ideas cannot materialise without the ingenuity and creativity of engineers, he explained that engineers need to be celebrated not just in one day, having made the world a better place.

Also speaking, President-elect, Nigerian Academy of Science, Prof. Abubakar  Sambo, who spoke on: Bridging the Electricity Gap for Sustainable Development of Africa: The Case of Nigeria,” said there was the urgent need for African nations, including Nigeria, to expand their electricity access rates.

“For Nigeria, and sub-Saharan African nations, there is need for adoption of robust energy policies based on carefully produced energy demand and supply projections in a comprehensive manner and embracing local and global commitments with  integrated resource planning considerations taken into account.

“Expanded energy mix of renewable energy sources, as-reflected in SDG7, are the  primary recommended sources for expansion of electricity access. Nuclear power being free of carbon emissions, is a practical electricity supply option.

“Use of gas for power supply, as advocated by oil and gas-rich nations in their ‘Just Energy Transition Plans’, should be accompanied by plans to adopt carbon capture and sequestration techniques as well as plans for developing forestry plantations to serve as effective carbon sinks.

“A common factor with nations having commendable electricity access figures is that they have very strong political will for success at the highest decision making levels with many of them being engineers. Africa and Nigeria should follow suit,” he advised.

Other speakers at the event included: the Managing Director, Automation and Engineering Academy, Ikotun Adewale; Programme Manager , African Price for Engineering Innovation, Alice Radley and Director, Make3D, Fatou Darboe, among others.