The Group Executive Vice Chairman, Sifax Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi has hailed members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) for the newly-built Rauf Aregbesola Engineering Resource Tower, Ikeja, Lagos.
Describing it as a “great edifice of significance”, even as he added that it was a sight to behold, Afolabi commended the leadership of the NSE, especially its President, Engr. Tosin Ogunmolade and other executives for ensuring that the project was completed.
Afolabi stated this recently in a speech he delivered at the formal commissioning of the resource tower in Lagos.
Apparently elated with the completion of the project in spite of all odds, he said: “Let me start by congratulating the President, Executives and all members of the society for cooperating and collaborating to make sure that this vision comes to fulfillment. You should be proud of yourselves and I say kudos. The Rauf Aregbesola Engineering Resource Centre which we are commissioning today was envisioned in February 2020 by the administration of Engr. Mrs. Olufunmilade Akingbagbohun FNSE FNIMechE.”
The Group Executive Vice Chairman, Sifax Group stated that the centre was a direct response to addressing the huge gap between the classroom and the industry.
According to him, the team envisioned that this innovative building would serve as a training, development and resource place for the professional development of all engineers and production of parts for commercial purpose. The current administration of the NSE through Engr. Tosin Ogunmolade has taken this baton boldly and has led it to an impressive conclusion.
He expressed delight that the centre was named after a great engineering icon and his good friend whose passion and drive for engineering skills, development and local content cannot be overemphasized.
“Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s love for the engineering profession propelled him to buy into the project and helped in raising the necessary funds for the building project. One of his areas of interest is welding certification. He had a special passion for underwater welding and is taking the bull by the horn in solving the challenge of scarce engineers in that space. He has contributed greatly to the development of engineering and engineering personnel in Nigeria hence the honour of having this building in his name by the branch”, he added.
According to him, this well-conceived project would help to develop our young engineers and create an atmosphere of learning and re-learning in order to fulfill the Executive Order Five of President Muhammed Buhari. This legacy from Aregbesola would help in creating more jobs in the techno-entrepreneurship space for young engineers and also give opportunity to practicing engineers in the area of professional development and local content practice.
Continuing, he said: “At Sifax Group, we recognize value when we see one and I must say that this project is of value. We are leading a charge where all our engineers are putting their best into making sure that we continue to deliver value to all our customers. Our engineers at SAHCO Plc one of the subsidiaries of the group in the aviation sector has produced equipment sourced from local materials which have received global attention and mention. We are open to a mutually-benefitting partnership between the group and the Nigerian Society of Engineers in order to continually harness the best in the trade”.
