Abuja, Dec. 5, 2023 – The Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) is to stop importation of artisans and craftsmen from neighbouring West African countries.
Alderton Ewa, its National President, said this in Abuja at his recent investiture as the 22nd President of the Institute in Abuja
He said that the institute was saddened by the current practice of spending whopping billions of naira to import artisans and craftsmen by a nation that was well-endowed in all field of human resources.
Ewa said that the practice had not abated in spite of He said despite the efforts put into addressing the challenges by the past administrations.
He said that the institute was aggressively pursuing the training, assessment and Certification of needed artisans and craftsmen in the built environment as one of our core mandates.
“The collaboration and indispensable auxiliary roles of artisans in decoding and transforming the two- dimensional abstract drawings into three dimensional realities by the builders is well acknowledged.
“However, its saddening and it does not resonate well the fact that Nigeria, a nation well-endowed in all the field of human resources spends whopping billions of naira to import artisans and craftsmen from neighbouring West African countries of Benin, Togo, Ghana and Cameroon.
“Despite the acknowledgement and efforts put into addressing the challenges of inadequacy of artisans/Craftsmen in Nigeria by the past administrations, the problem still persists.
“As a way of fillings the yawning gap in this cadre of our nation’s manpower needs in order to keep Nigeria’s jobs for Nigerian especially with the Renewed Hope Agenda where the Federal Government plans to develop modern cities in the six Geo-political zones of the Country, to stem the abysmal drain on our scarce foreign exchange.
“We would not rest on our oars until this endemic challenge is overcome. We hope to sustain the momentum by building on previous foundations laid by our predecessors.
“We shall synergize and collaborate with government and stakeholders within and outside the Built Environment to create more skill training centres, effectively train and retrain not only artisans and craftsmen, but also our Assessors in the needed skill competencies to enhance their marketability within and outside Nigeria.
“Artisanal and Craftsmen training shall harp not only on competencies, but emphasis will be placed on ethical values such as dignity in Labour, pride of earning a living legitimately through their skills, avoidance of sharp-practices etc.” (GBN)
