The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has warned that Nigeria’s infrastructure collapse directly threatens national security and economic sovereignty, insisting engineers must now lead the country’s development agenda from the front.
This comes as the Federal Government pushes its Renewed Hope Infrastructure Plan and the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, both requiring massive technical oversight. The NSE is demanding statutory seats for engineers on all major project boards and policy councils ahead of 2027.
This was said on Thursday at the 4th Engr. Yusuf Lanre Sagaya, Distinguished Annual Lecture Series in Ilorin, where the NSE declared that “No Nation Outsources Its Engineering And Survives.”
Engr. Babagana Mohammed, FNSE, Past President of the NSE, delivered the opening remarks on behalf of the Society’s President at the event organized by the NSE Ilorin Branch on June 11, 2026.
According to him, “It is my pleasure and honour to be here today as Chairman of this crucial occasion. The annual series as a strategic national platform, not merely a ceremonial gathering.
“This lecture series has since its inception been a respected platform for intellectual engagement, professional reflection and the celebration of excellence within the engineering community.”
Mohammed said the deeper purpose of the lecture is to interrogate Nigeria’s development failures through an engineering lens. “More importantly, it serves as a fitting tribute to an iconic Engineer, administrator and statesman whose contributions to the engineering profession and national development” offer a roadmap for today’s crisis.
The NSE also argued that Nigeria’s current power instability, import-dependent industries, and failed public projects stem from sidelining professional engineering input in governance.
“With Nigeria facing an estimated $2.3 trillion infrastructure gap and repeated national grid collapses, speakers at the lecture warned that continued reliance on foreign contractors and political appointees over trained engineers amounts to outsourcing national security.
“The Society tied engineering directly to sovereignty, noting that functional refineries, stable power, durable roads, and digital infrastructure are the backbone of economic independence. “When your bridges collapse and your grids fail, you are negotiating from weakness”, he said.
