From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Dr Uwa Igiehon, Managing Director of Industrial Park, Ologbo, Edo State, has urged the Federal Government to invest in local engineers to reduce Nigeria’s capital flight.
Speaking during an inspection of the Ossiomo Power Independent Power Project (IPP) in Ologbo, Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, he emphasised that Nigeria has the manpower and resources to drive progress.
“Nigerian engineers have improved themselves, and I am very proud of them. I am also very relieved that what we have created here, we have the engineers that are going to carry it forward,” Igiehon said.
He highlighted the high costs of relying on expatriates, noting, “If you see a presentation from a company and all you are seeing are expatriates as engineers, the thing that triggers in your mind is that, well, the operating cost is going to be something else. That is the reality because you are paying these people in dollars.”
He added, “If I am wearing my hat as an investment banker and somebody comes and presents a project and all you are seeing are expatriates running around, [I’m] thinking how, this cannot work because your revenue is in naira and your cost is in dollars, it will not work. So, there is an economic, there is a social, there is every reason to encourage the Nigerian engineers. And particularly, that can make or break a company in the Nigerian context because what you are paying 10 Nigerian engineers is what you are paying one expatriate.”
Commenting on frequent national grid collapses, Igiehon attributed them to obsolete infrastructure needing replacement. While praising government efforts to stabilise the grid, he called for financiers to be included in energy sector decision-making, stating their absence harms progress. He also advocated for more private sector licences to address Nigeria’s energy deficit.