The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, says the agency is retraining automobile artisans nationwide to catch up with global technology advancement.
He made the disclosures at the opening of NASENI’s workshop and training on skill acquisition and youth empowerment on autotronics and sensory system in Kano on Tuesday.
According to him, modern vehicles have computerised Engine Management Systems and Nigerian artisans ought to be part of global trends.
Haruna in a statement explained that the trial and error method of repair or maintenance was risky, expensive, and not compatible with modern vehicles and the automobiles of tomorrow.
He added that the programme, which was the first-phase of North-West regional skill development, would lead to the training of 100 artisans.
“The ingenuity and creativity of Nigerians is not in doubt when it comes to ability and capacity to observe operation, structure, and buildup of automobiles especially through backward integration technique.
A statement by the Deputy Director, Information, NASENI, Mr.Olusegun Ayeoyenikan, said the Federal had through NASENI responded to the general complaints by modern car owners of lack of capacity of most technicians to properly diagnose modern cars due to the technological improvements that come with today’s cars or automobiles.
According to him, the interest of the president is to empower Kano youths including others in the North-West and other parts of the country, and response to the need to give new skills to youths.
This, he said, involved the empowerment of youths who are already into auto-mechanics with new skills and knowledge of how to diagnose and maintain new vehicles, most of which are now designed and manufactured through a combination of mechanical and electronic features rolled into one.
Haruna said, “Without the necessary upgrade of knowledge, training and retraining of present crop of Nigeria’s auto-technicians, many of whom are already thrown out of their jobs, would continue to be thrown out of jobs and the larger society could not afford to allow such trend to continue because of its negative socio-economic implications.
While explaining further the rationale for the special skills training, the NASENI boss explained that “more importantly, the work force in Nigeria today needed general upgrade of skills and to give the youths, men and women new competencies in preparation for the arrival of the country at the knowledge-economy phase and alsoher drive toward industrialisation in line with the directive given to NASENI by the President.”
Also speaking at the occasion, the Secretary to the Kano State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, expressed the gratitude of the Kano State Government for the intervention by NASENI, saying the programme had come to address a very critical issue of unemployment and the needs of auto-mobile/ vehicle owners.
He added that most vehicle owners were already expressing frustration over the poor maintenance of their vehicles around the state and the environs.
State-of-the art auto equipment, tools and diagnostic kits worth millions of naira were handed over to the 100 participants in Kano metropolis today, making it three states with similar exercise. The Agency has taken the same training to Kebbi and Oyo states to ensure that 10 million jobs are created which a promise by the present administration.
Haruna said the programme was the first-phase of the auto-technical training in the North-West region by the agency in the implementation of the presidential directive.
