Engr Rose Madaki is colossus in her field. She rose to become the Chief Standards Engineer in Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON. She holds a B.Tech in Agricultural Engineering and a Master in Metallurgical/Materials Engineering. She is a certified ISO Auditor.
Engr Madaki is a member of several institutions of the Nigerian Society of Engineers. She served as the branch Chairperson of Victoria Island, Chairperson of NSE Lagos Zone and Chairperson NSE National.
Engineers’ Forum had the singular privilege of engaging thisbrilliant Amazon in the terrain she is an authority. Sit back and enjoy this eye-opening interview; a compliment for the season.
Firstly, we wish to congratulate you on your recent election victory as a Member of the Executive Committee (South West) of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and also the anniversary of your birthday. What is the experience like to have won that election because it was the first election to test the amended MEMART?
First I would like to congratulate the leadership of NSE by imbibing the culture of best practice of ISO (International Organization for Standardization) that emphasized ”Continual Improvement” in a system. It was the first time we all experienced NSE global election where a test of competence and contribution to the Society of the electorate was implemented. Engineers in diasporas had the feelings of belonging by their participation in the election and having the opportunity to select suitable candidates of their choices. Indeed, this was a welcomed idea and hope it continues.
You have been in active service of NSE and its associated subsidiaries, what prompted your overwhelming involvement in the various Divisions?
I went through the engineering course from the University of Technology where I spent 5 years to complete this study. I can say nobody that has gone through this stage of the academic journey would have put a 3 minutes smile while under that journey. There was a time Guinness Book of Record had itthat the most difficult course in the world was engineering. The Nigerian engineers have never been treated fairly in society either in government or private employment. The only way I can fight and contribute my quarter by closing this gap is to get involved in both branch and division to proffer solutions on the way forward and I think I am in the right path.
When I was the Chairperson of Victoria Island Branch, I approached an Oil Company ‘Total Plc” to engage our competent young engineers in their employment or offer them contract to execute where we can be held responsible in case of any failure of designs or constructions. To the glory of God, the management was convinced with my submission and offered us a contract job to be in charge of supervisory work in all their Corporate Social Responsibility designs and constructions in all the SOUTH-WEST Region of the Country. So from here now can you see the reason why I got and I am getting involved in engineering activities? Now many engineers are engaged and at least little money come into their pocket with optimal assurances of giving professional touch in all their work.
You are the current chairperson of the Codes and Standards Committee of the NSE, a position well deserved considering that you are the Chief Standards Engineer at SON. Over the years there had been a disconnect between that Committee and SON. What is the situation now?
A very good question here. For me to be part of the Codes and Standards Committee team lead, it’s a very perfect place I feel much comfortable to work in all the NSE committees so far. I was the Vice-Chairman of Codes and Standard committee for years but with a little contribution. Now, I was made the Chairman of the committee so I decided to take advantage of that position to initiate and execute the followings;
Quite impressive achievements within the short period. The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), sometimes ago announced the first-ever Nigerian National Standardisation Strategy (NNSS) 2020 – 2022.How is that document going to benefit the citizenry?
Fortunately, I was a member of the committee set up to represent the Mechanical department of SON on Standardization Strategy (NSS) committee. This strategy was a very wise decision that the international body initiated where the list of standards (with priorities) that are needed by the country based on a careful and comprehensive analysis are to be identified and selected. It will help the country and standard body to plan with required resources to develop the standards most efficiently, and in the course of planning youwill be able to list out the required national standards that need to be reviewed, adopted, adapted, or elaborated based on market or industry needs at that period. In the planning, you will be able to establish the starting and finishing time, who is responsible for the development and resources involved. Way back, we use to pick a standard for review without really studying its market value whether there was a need for such astandard, hereby wasting resources to review or elaborate the standard on a product we do not even produce here. So the NSS has helped in a greater measure to curtail unnecessary waste.
Take us through the stages of standards development/adoption from Proposal to when it is called the Nigerian Industrial Standards, NIS and share the challenges often experience in the process.
First, what is standard? A Standard is a formal document, established by consensus by stakeholders and interested parties and published by a recognised body, that provides, for repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degrees or order in a given context. We have different types of Standards namely:
There are different stages in developing a standard which I will briefly explain here:
Collation of comments from stakeholders
The process seems lengthy. There is also a general apathy from the public/stakeholders towards making comments or contributions to draft standards for adoption. Why is that so?
There are many challenges in the development of NIS standard but let me focus on just two; Finances – Standard development in whatever form; review, adoption, adaption etc involves a lot of finances to sponsor this activity. And Feedbacks from stakeholders are always delayed hence setting back the process which the regulatory body cannot go further without their inputs because they owned the standard.
Yes, we have a general concern with communication stationswhich is the second challenge. Draft standards may be sent for urgent comment and feedback, but there could be network distortion, hence information might be deposited elsewhere e.g spam mail. There is the issue of wrong communication contacts like email or mobile line, information sent may likely go to the wrong direction, recipients will not see, hence the sender waits endlessly for feedback. There is also the issue of technical secretary not sending a document out for stakeholders’ comments on time; of course feedback would be delayed etc.
One of the barometers for measuring the level of economic development and improvement in the quality of lives of the citizenry of a country is the quality of the standards of goods and services produced and consumed in that country. Why are standards implementation and enforcement a challenge in the country?
As I earlier mentioned, standard development needs good capital to invest in, and when there is no support and National commitment to this course, then the citizens bear the consequences. I can assure you that the workforce to handle these standardization activities is very much available, but finance is the problem. For the enforcement of thesestandards, the political class has made it difficult for relevant regulatory agencies like SON to be in the port of entry of goods. How do you want to check any substandard goods coming into the country if they are involved in importation? SON does not have access to any goods to confirm its fitness to go into any Nigerian market, so we leave with what we see or have.
What are the roles of Regulatory agencies in standardization and standards development in line with established functions of SON?
Standard Organization of Nigeria does not produce goods, hence cannot write any standard on what they do not produce. Its sole responsibility is to harmonize all inputs of concerned stakeholders into a consensus document as per product or process and forward to council for approval before national use. They are just a defined and approved coordination body by the Federal Government to handle that responsibility. For other regulatory bodies, they are also involved in standards development because their regulatory requirements must be embedded in the standard document and consensus must be reached before the document is agreed by the committee then council approval e.g of regulatory agencies NAFDAC, DPR, NERC etc.
Global standards development to products and services involve a lot of politics and Nigeria seems to have no prominence in it. What is the reason for this lack of presence?
What do you expect in a process that involves a lot of intellectual engagements without money exchanging hands, nobody is interested in getting involved – that is the situation we are in now. Politicians control most of the activities of the country. Professionalism, merit or excellence does not have a place in our society today. If we agree as a nation to put the right people in the right place of governance, then we may provide a lasting solution otherwise, we continue to pray till when I can’t answer that for now.
Let me ask this question without being cynical, are Nigerians allergic to standards because it seems we find it difficult to adhere to it?
Standard is quality and what is the definition of quality? In short term, quality is the fitness of purpose. The real identity of a typical Nigerian anywhere in the world is having the best and living quality life be it food, wears, infrastructures etc Standard is abstract, you can’t touch it but only feel it through an intrinsic process you achieve it. So because we do not see nor touch it, we are not interested in the investment of such a process that gives us end product and this is very unfortunate.To me, it’s lack of adequate knowledge by Nigerians on standard and standard activities or requirements and I hope we realize that as soon as possible.
