PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND LOCAL CONTENT – A PANACEA FOR NATIONAL TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT

Abstract

Unemployment, poverty, corruption, stealing, kidnapping, armed robbery,  militancy, terrorism,  farmers/herdsmen clashes, banditry, and their likes are the hydra headed development challenges attacking the economic, educational and socio - political fibres of the Nigerian economy. Usually not deficit on cerebral policy formulation, the Nigerian government, in April 2010, signed into law, the Local Content Act, otherwise known as the Nigerian Content Development Act anchored on local capacity/capability development of her human resources in the industrial sector, particularly the petroleum industry so as to enhance the financial performance of citizens. The direct consequence of this are domestication of assets and growth of Nigerian entrepreneurship for the realization of her strategic goals of development. The thriving fulcrum of this policy is the technological field where engineers, technologists, technicians, artisans, analysts, programmers, etc. play prominent roles. The boundary conditions upon which sound professional practice (in this case engineering) is activated and often instituted by the regulatory professional bodies or professional associations, coupled with human morality, epitomizes the ethical professional conduct. The resultant effect of ethical professional conduct with the local content policy and its proper implementation, yields technological growth or advancement for the Nation. This would no doubt eliminate or reduce the earlier enumerated development challenges to the barest minimum.