By Isqil Najim
The Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) celebrated its 33rd Founder’s Day Anniversary on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at its permanent secretariat, the Ralph Alabi Memorial Centre, Plot 32, Oba Ogunji Road, Ikeja, Lagos.
The event, themed The 32 @ 33: An Ingenuity for Greatness, brought together serving and past branch leaders, senior engineers, institutional stakeholders, and family members for a programme that combined reflection on the branch’s history, the commissioning of new facilities, and the announcement of structural reforms under the current administration.
The Ikeja Branch traces its origin to 1992, when the NSE had grown from a single branch to more than 30 branches nationwide, with Lagos State served by only one — the Lagos Branch, headquartered in Victoria Island. At the time, Ikeja had become firmly established as an industrial hub and the seat of the Lagos State Government Secretariat, hosting engineers across multiple disciplines. The distance and inconvenience of travelling to Victoria Island for NSE meetings prompted two senior engineers — Engr. Olu Awoyinfa, FNSE, a former Secretary General of the NSE, and Engr. CHief Ralph Adeol Alabi, FNSE, the then Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria Limited — to propose the creation of a second Lagos branch.
The proposal met with strong resistance. Engr. Francis Oguamanam, FNSE, the 4th Branch Chairman, recalled in his keynote address: “Of course this did not go down well and there was a very stiff opposition from some prominent engineers even at the then Lagos State Government.”
After sustained lobbying and pressure, the branch was approved under the national leadership of Engr. Vincent Maduka, the 18th NSE President (1993–1994). It was formally constituted on August 14, 1992, and officially launched on January 31, 1993, as the 32nd Branch of the NSE. Today, Lagos State has no fewer than eight NSE branches.
The NSE President, Engr. Ali Rabiu, was represented at the anniversary by the Vice President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Engr. Olu Ogunduyile, who also chaired the event.
Delivering the NSE President’s address, Engr. Ogunduyile praised the branch for what he described as a culture of professional excellence and community. “This celebration exemplifies the true spirit of the NSE — a society that values professional excellence, humanity, compassion, and inclusiveness,”
He commended the branch for its practice of honouring the families of deceased members and characterised the Ikeja Branch as a benchmark for mentorship and innovation among NSE branches nationwide. He called on the engineering community to remain committed to continuous learning and professional advocacy.
In his keynote address, Engr. Francis O. Oguamanam, FNSE, the oldest living past Chairman of the branch, who served as its 4th Chairman from 1998 to 2001, traced the branch’s development from its contested founding to its present standing as one of the most active branches in the NSE.
He credited the founding vision to the late Engr. Olu Awoyinfa and the late Engr. Chief Ralph Alabi, and recalled that from the outset the branch moved quickly. Under the inaugural leadership of the late Engr. Ralph Adeola Alabi, FNSE, and with the support of Professor R.I. Salau, FNSE, Dr. Olusegun Ajayi, FNSE, and others, the branch established itself rapidly.
At the NSE Annual General Meeting held in Benin, Edo State, in 1996, the Ikeja Branch was granted the right to host the first NSE National Conference and Annual General Meeting — an event Oguamanam described as “a huge success by any standard.”
He also spoke on the branch’s political influence within the national engineering body, “We had in the days of yore been instrumental to who emerged the President of the NSE with the establishment of ‘Ikeja House’ at Conferences at various locations where these conferences are held. Ikeja House used to be locations where presidents are finally adopted.”
The branch has since produced two NSE Presidents: Engr. Ademola Isaac Olorunfemi, FNSE, who served as the 29th President from 2013 to 2014, and Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, FNSE, the 34th President from 2023 to 2024 and the first woman to hold the office in the Society’s history. The branch has also produced numerous Chairmen of NSE National Divisions — Civil, Structures, Mechanical, and Electrical — as well as leaders of APWEN, including Engrs. Idiat Amusu, FNSE, and Nkechi Isigwe, FNSE.
Oguamanam recalled early days of the Branch. According to him, early meetings were held in the offices of the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and the conference room of West African Portland Cement in Alausa, the latter made available through the intervention of its then Managing Director, Engr. Joseph Makoju, FNSE. The branch’s permanent site was allocated by the Lagos State Government, and the foundation laying ceremony took place in 1999 during the national presidency of Engr. Charles Mbanefo, FNSE.
“From using the offices of the Ministry of Environment and the conference room of West African Portland Cement Alausa… it was not until 2010 that the Branch first moved to its permanent site. Initially, the Branch held its meetings under rented canopies and chairs.” He recalled
“This call to service is for 2 years only. As a leader, what will you be remembered for? We came to this world with nothing and when we are going, we take nothing with us.”
The branch, Oguamanam noted, currently has more than 3,000 engineers on its register and has received recognition starting with awards in 1996 and 1997, and the Most Dynamic Branch trophy in 1998. It remains a serial recipient of the NSE Presidential Award.
He concluded with a charge to present and future leaders: “Being a leader of our great Branch should be seen as a call to service. This call to service is for 2 years only. As a leader, what will you be remembered for? We came to this world with nothing and when we are going, we take nothing with us.”
Following the keynote, Engr. Ademola Isaac Olorunfemi, FNSE, a past NSE President, in his tribute, credited Oguamanam with deploying his professional network and personal relationships to secure the land on which the permanent secretariat now stands, at a time when the branch had been barred from using state facilities.
“If not for God and the intervention of Engr. Oguamanam, we would not be sitting where we are today,” he stated. “We must recognise that the quality of your character and service determines the support you receive. This branch was built on such foundations.”
Mrs. Winifred Olu Awoyinfa, wife of the late Engr. Olu Awoyinfa, the branch’s co-founder, was present at the celebration. Her address centred on what she called the “Ikeja Standard” — the tradition of punctuality that her late husband and his contemporaries instilled in the branch’s culture.
“Baba is gone, but the legacy is not. Timeliness is a hallmark of this branch. Our system has no respect for delay; when it is 10 o’clock, we start,” she said, urging the younger generation to uphold that discipline.
Engr. Adekunle Adebajo, FNSE, the 6th Branch Chairman and current ACEN President, reflected on what he described as the branch’s “Inventor Culture” — the engineering resourcefulness that made it possible to construct a permanent facility on a challenging site. “The site we are sitting on today was a deep engineering challenge,” he noted, detailing how branch members overcame complex soil conditions to erect the Ralph Alabi Memorial Centre. He called on the current generation to continue leveraging the branch’s human resources for national development.
One of the Branch’s leaders Engr. ganiyu Owolabi, reaffirmed the branch’s long-standing commitment to youth mentorship. “Our goal from the early 90s has remained the same: to commit our young ones to this branch. Ikeja will remain Ikeja because our strength is renewed through service,” he stated.
Earlier in her welcome address, the branch Chairman, Engr. Nimot Muili, FNSE, outlined the Ikeja Branch’s current standing and the administration’s initiatives. She paid tribute to each of Past leaders from Engr. Ralph Adeola Alabi, Engr. Chike Morah, Engr. Anthony A. Oludaiye, Engr. Francis O. Oguamanam, Engr. Ayo Fanimokun, Engr. Adekunle Adebajo, Engr. Michael Abiodun Awe, Engr. Dr. T.M. Olatunji, Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, Engr. Bola Akinribido, Engr. Akintayo Akintola, Engr. Funmi Akingbagbohun, Engr. Olutosin Ogunmola, and Engr. Femi John Adedotun.
She announced the formal commissioning of Phase I of the Secretariat office facelift, including a newly completed training room intended to enhance the technical development of members and young engineers through structured programmes.
She also announced institution of the NSE Ikeja Heritage Leadership Forum, an exclusive body comprising all past Chairmen of the branch, established to serve as a structured platform for institutional continuity and the transfer of collective wisdom across leadership cycles; The Annual Fellows Day, a formalisation of the existing “Fellows Night,” institutionalised as an annual event aligned with the NSE national president’s vision of honouring senior members of the profession and The Spouses’ Forum — a formal platform for the families of branch members, reflecting the administration’s position that professional excellence is sustained not only by technical competence but also by the support structures at home.
“The story of the NSE Ikeja Branch is one of vision, resilience, and purposeful growth. Institutions endure not because of the strength of their foundations alone, but because each generation chooses to build higher without forgetting how deep the first builders dug.” She said.
A major highlight of the day was the formal commissioning of Phase I of the Secretariat office facelift, including a newly completed training room designed to enhance the technical capacity of members and young engineers through structured development programmes.
The Remarkable Journey of the NSE Ikeja Branch, the Branch to Beat- By Engr. Francis Oguamanam
