The InyangEffiong Interview

Engineer Inyang Effiong took early retirement from Shell and he is into a number of crazy things these days! I am not exaggerating! If a man will ride a bicycle from Lagos to Port Harcourt or ride a motorbike across the Sahara and cross to Europe, I think not many people will blame me for calling him crazy. Effiong himself pleads guilty to the charge!
I knew him as a younger man when he was still in school studying to become an engineer late in the 1980’s. At that time he, with a group of equally crazy fellow students from Science, Engineering, Medicine, etc., taught themselves programming and, despite their declared majors in those days, they would scare any serious computer major. It is no wonder that today, Effiong and his co travellers have reached commanding heights in Software and services in the country.
I was surprised that in his two visits to my place here in Omu Aran, Inyang has morphed into a reporter and journalist! Here are the two interviews we did together for the InyangEffiong Show. Enjoy!
Inyang Effiong Interview
Inyang Effiong Interview Part 2

10 comments on “The InyangEffiong Interview

  1. Ajuwa Ifeanyi Wemba(13BE002727) says:

    Great Piece!

  2. Olubodun Fakinlede says:

    I knew without being told that this gentleman must be an insider in computer engineering.

  3. USIFOH Benedict(13BE002730) says:

    Thank God for bringing Prof to our school

  4. Toyin Olugbemi says:

    Such a nice and educative piece there! I was inspired.

  5. Obasogie Amen says:

    I saw both videos and the most inspiring part is the clarity of your goal to create Engineers who make stuff and not just talk stuff.
    You mildly mentioned the social challenges that could inhibit a potential Nigerian Engineer who chooses this approach.
    One of these challenges I believe is the disconnect between age groups in Nigeria and our approach to learning shows this clearly. You being a rare breed of your generation who clearly transcends these planes have seen that knowledge can be transferred much easier if we open our minds to other mediums using technology as an “enabler”.
    I believe there is much to learn from our “fathers” so I honestly wish more of them will come to this realization.
    Thank you so much sir.
    You remain a great inspiration.

  6. Olayinka Adewumi says:

    Watching this video is a real eye-opener to me. While teaching some courses in Mechanical Engineering, my students (both undergraduates and postgraduates)always ask me what they are going to use all the theory for. They are always wondering if they are in a mathematics class or an engineering class.
    This interview makes me see a more effective path to teaching the theories behind engineering design. Well done Prof Fakinlede

  7. Tolu says:

    Seeing is believing, this is the only way to make our students believe in engineering. A majority need to see the reality behind the theory that is being taught in class, if this happens, then we will have Nigerian engineers solving Nigerian problems and the solutions being proffered will be effective and efficient for the Nigerian environment.
    An engineer is a problem solver, and it is when problems are analysed and solutions synthesized that a country develops.

    God please help Nigeria, we have all the human and natural resources, but yet the equation is just not adding up.

    • oafak says:

      I am proud to announce that, Obasogie Okpamen, one of the commenters here, was in the first set of students taught by this method in my course Computer-Aided Engineering Design & Analysis, and He has won three design awards in the past six months the latest being the second place in Autodesk’s DesignNext Africa contest in South Africa where he claimed the second prize in the Product Design section. Okpamen, congratulations!

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