By Isqil Najim
A professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Professor Mohammed Baba Ndaliman, has called on the Federal Government to urgently invest in a national prototyping and fabrication hub that will help Nigerian researchers and inventors turn their ideas into products that can be manufactured and sold, instead of allowing brilliant research findings to end up gathering dust on shelves and in academic journals.
The don made the call while addressing the university community and members of the public during the 129th Inaugural Lecture of the institution, titled “Engineering for a Sustainable Future: From the Spark of Machining to the Harvest of Local Innovation,” delivered on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at the University Auditorium, Main Campus.
Professor Ndaliman took his audience through more than three decades of research work, much of it centred on a machining process known as Electro Discharge Machining, or EDM, a technology he said he has turned from a simple metal cutting method into a tool for building stronger, tougher, longer lasting materials for Nigerian industry. He explained the science in such simple, everyday language that even those without any background in engineering could follow, comparing EDM to cooking, where the final result depends on getting the right ingredients, timing and temperature. “In essence, EDM is like cooking, the recipe depends on the right ingredients, timing, and temperature. Change one, and the flavour, or the surface finish changes,” he said, drawing laughter and nods of understanding from the hall.
What stood out most, however, was how he connected all of this research directly to problems that ordinary Nigerians grapple with daily. He spoke about how local clay deposits from Chanchanga, Bida and Paiko in Niger State, as well as termite hills found across the country, have been proven through his studies to be good enough to produce furnace bricks and refractory materials that Nigeria currently spends scarce foreign exchange importing. He also revealed how gypsum deposits from Nafada in Gombe State can be processed locally to produce Plaster of Paris, popularly called POP, used in construction, in hospitals for casting broken bones, and even in the arts, at a quality that matches what is imported. “What this means is that, by turning to our own gypsum reserves, we can drastically reduce importation, cut costs, and even create employment opportunities through local POP industries,” he said.
On the environmental side, he and his research team have developed cutting fluids for machining operations using rubber seed oil, jatropha seed oil, castor seed oil and neem seed oil, as alternatives to the mineral oil based cutting fluids that pollute the environment and pose health hazards to factory workers. These plant based fluids, according to him, performed just as well, and in some cases even better than the imported mineral oil versions, cutting down surface roughness, reducing cutting temperature and saving energy during machining.
The occasion also served as a public unveiling of some of his patented inventions, which he said were built to solve real problems faced by farmers, students and small business owners around the country. One of them is a mobile, collapsible, solar powered weather station fitted with Internet of Things technology, which can be moved to remote farming communities to collect real time data on temperature, humidity, rainfall and wind speed, helping farmers make better decisions on when to plant, irrigate or harvest their crops, something that ordinarily requires expensive, fixed weather stations most rural communities cannot afford. Another is an IoT powered greenhouse gas data logger that monitors the concentration of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere and transmits the readings in real time to a webpage that can be viewed from anywhere in the world. He also showcased a four station, four colour screen printing machine built to boost productivity for small scale printers and designers, and a dual condition wear testing machine that helps industries select the right materials for different jobs.
He did not stop there. The professor spoke about a cassava grating machine that works both manually and with electricity, useful in communities where power supply is unreliable, a meat grinding machine designed with children, the elderly and sick people in mind, since they may not have the biting strength to chew meat properly, and a multipurpose tripod device that can be fitted with attachments such as laptops, drawing boards and podiums for use in schools and offices.
The heart of his address, though, was in the recommendations he made toward the end, recommendations he described not as mere academic suggestions but as a call to action for government, industry and academic institutions to work together. He first urged that Nigerian engineering and materials science curricula be reformed to place greater emphasis on the properties and uses of local materials, so that young engineers can be trained from the onset to think locally and build with what is available around them rather than always looking abroad. “This will encourage the next generation of engineers to think locally and innovate with what is available, so as to foster a culture of self reliance and resourcefulness,” he said.
He also called on government to design policy incentives, including tax breaks, for companies that adopt green manufacturing practices or invest in the use of locally sourced and environmentally friendly materials such as the bio based cutting fluids his team developed. On the relationship between universities and industry, the professor did not mince words, describing the gap between what happens in Nigerian laboratories and what happens in Nigerian factories as still too wide. He called for stronger, more formal partnerships that will ensure research addresses real industry problems and that patented innovations are properly commercialised to create jobs and generate economic value, rather than remaining prototypes locked away in university stores.
His call for a national prototyping and fabrication hub was perhaps the boldest of all his recommendations. He argued that Nigeria needs a dedicated national facility equipped with modern manufacturing tools, including 3D printing and precision machining equipment, where researchers and entrepreneurs can quickly turn their ideas into finished, testable products. He rounded off his recommendations with a call for continuous government funding and support for applied research that targets immediate local challenges, noting that while basic research remains important, Nigeria’s peculiar circumstances demand greater priority be given to research capable of producing tangible products and services that improve the lives of ordinary people.
Professor Ndaliman was equally passionate about the human side of his profession, insisting that engineering is about far more than metals and machines. He described the spark from his EDM research as both literal and symbolic, a reminder that every idea, no matter how small, carries the potential to ignite real change. Drawing his address to a close, he reflected on the long road that had brought him from local clay pits and termite hills to a career of patented inventions and national recognition, expressing hope for a country that looks inward for its own solutions rather than outward. “If yesterday’s research gave us knowledge, today’s innovation must give us solutions, and tomorrow’s breakthroughs must give us hope. In the end, engineering is not just about metals and machines. It is about people, purpose, and posterity. And it is through this vision that we can build a truly self reliant, sustainable, and prosperous Nigeria,” he concluded.
The event drew dignitaries from within and outside the university community, including the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Faruk Adamu Kuta, principal officers of the university, traditional rulers, government officials, professional colleagues from bodies such as the Nigerian Society of Engineers and the Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers, as well as family members, friends and former students of the professor, many of whom he personally appreciated during a lengthy but heartfelt appreciation session that rounded off the event.
