September Reflections: The Currency of Hope and Volunteering
Dear Esteemed Members,
I am in a reflective mood (yet again) as I write this note, first, from an October 1st perspective. Second, as I reminiscence on our programmes and activities in the past one month.
As a nation, the one currency we are at liberty to spend without taxation is ‘hope’, and we must continue to spend. However, there is a place for works.
Your Role at NAPE
As members of the most prestigious Geosciences and Oil Explorationists Association, we have a lot to offer, if I must say. First is to our work, the second is to our profession, and the third and perhaps most important to our great Association, NAPE.
It will be a tough call to continue to admire other existing and emerging professional Associations without giving of ourselves to the one association, NAPE, that remains indigenous to us. We can only get from what we give.
This mindset is necessary because at the close of the NAPE Secretariat Restructuring survey, less than fifty (50) members responded. For an Association that boasts of ~12000 registered members with over 7000 functional members, this is not quite encouraging.
Though that survey has been concluded, my plea is that we continue or begin to give to NAPE what we truly expect of it, and not make the choice of “sitting on the fence”.
While the annual conference remains our biggest event, there is so much more to NAPE than just simply attending the conference in November. I would like to ask that we look at the member inclusiveness we are trying to foster as well as governance/ policy advocacy for our industry and play very active roles in these areas.
Looking back from January, we have been on a high, the conference will be the climax as the Planning Committee continues to work earnestly.
3rd NAPE NMGS Mini Conference
In September, we commenced with our NAPE Elections Announcement. By the way, voting is still on. I would encourage that you participate in these elections as we determine who our next Vice President, President-Elect, and University Assistance Program (UAP) Chairperson will be. We held the 3rd NAPE NMGS Student Conference, albeit NAPE’s 10th UAP Conference under the University Assistance programs (UAP) chairmanship of Dr. Emmanuel Maduawia at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The conference themed Nigeria’s Geoscience Education: Issues and Challenges on Geoscience Graduate Employability had the Keynote speech delivered by Hon. Dr. Uchechukwu S. Ogah, Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development where he called on the Nigerian government, key stakeholders in the education and extractive industry to work in synergy to standardize and prioritize Nigeria Geoscience education funding.
Opening Ceremony panelists were our NAPE President, Mrs. Patricia Ochogbu FNAPE, Vice Chancellor Prof. Charles Esimone FAS, NMGS Vice President Dr. Olatunji and Barr. Dr. Uche Maduawia, Deputy Director of Taxes, FIRS. In attendance we had Mr. Johnbosco Uche, NAPE Vice President and Shell Nigeria Deepwater Exploration Manager, Engr. Chux Onua, HSE Manager ND Western amongst many other notable industry and academia leaders, and executives of the two associations.
Activities at this year’s NAPE NMGS mini conference featured a CV Clinic, Ice breaker evening, Students’ Short course & Inter-varsity quiz moderated by Dr Wasiu Odufisan FNAPE, African / Variety Night, Awards Night, Technical presentations, Leadership summit and Field Trip to classic outcrops of the Anambra Basin, led by Prof. C.S Nwajide FNAPE.
High on the agenda of Mrs. Patricia Ochogbu FNAPE presidency is collaboration and we continue to push this narrative for the growth and benefits that come with it.
Fostering conversations
This month, we will kick-start the October 1st NAPE Essay Competition, an event planned as a tool for creating conversations and fostering public awareness about our association and industry. We have strategically planned this around October 1st to celebrate our nation’s independence and kick-start our November conference publicity activities.
Embrace the Spotlight
Following right in this stead, you will also see a weekly 3-5minutes interviews with members, where they share their NAPE journey, the first conference they attended, highlights and what they look forward to at the 2021 AICE conference. The uncut version will also be on our YouTube page. I enjoin you to please follow our correspondences and social media pages, so you don’t miss any of these exciting activities. If you would love to be featured, kindly send me a mail (details under Executive leadership page) or leave a response to this article.
October will come with a beehive of activities as we approach our flagship Annual International Conference and Exhibition dates. I ask that we all continue to
look out for one another, as we continue to stay safe and prepare strategically for our conference.
On this note, I would like to welcome you to October and wish you a Happy Independence Day.
Till next month,
Tunbosun Afolayan
Publicity Secretary