Institute of Business Development in Nigeria says engineering infrastructure, which consists of the capabilities and physical plants required in enabling a prolific machine, equipment design and production take place, is key to keeping businesses sustainable in the country.
Obibuzor Ifeanyi, president/chairman of the Institute, gave this remark at the first Business Development Summit for Africa, held in Lagos, where he urged the government and private sector to develop a well motivated technical manpower and expertise.
This can be made possible through local and overseas training, in order to raise required critical mass development engineers, technologists, technicians and managers who possess the necessary know-how and practical skills.
According to him, “there is also a need to establish many Engineering Infrastructure Development Complexes (EIDCs) and generate associated private sector satellite industries. The technologies developed by the EIDCs will be transferred by them to the associated private sector satellite industries, which employ them in mass-producing the capital goods.”
However, the availability of the primary products, coupled with skilled manpower, provide the proof that an engineering infrastructure has taken root and will result to an explosion in machines, equipment design and mass production, Ifeanyi said.
“Private-sector-owned satellite industries and tertiary industries are essential parts of the national engineering infrastructure, and we have to be encouraged, nurtured and protected until we mature and thrive,” he told the participants.
He concluded by stressing on the need to have a long term planning so that succeeding administrators would keep pursuing this important development goal and the incoming government can at best review and update the programme.
While dwelling on the theme of the summit, ‘Business Development in Africa Regional Integration for Sustainable Comparative Advantage,’ Mohamed Kafaty, senior consultant, European Union-TEMPUS Project and keynote speake, said the culture of strategic alliance should be imbibed in Africa, and stressed on the need to create partnerships that will build and complement firms, making each one more competitive.
For strategic alliance to be successful there must be clear strategic purpose, fitting partners, responsibility of allocation, good relationship among partners, and a flexible economy, Kafaty said.
He identified aviation as the only solution for regional integration in most states in Africa, and urged the government to invest more in the Nigerian aviation sector.
Ifeoma Okeke
