* As TMEA unveils Osuolale as pioneer president, inaugurates national council
* Olowu of Owu, Lagos Chief Imam urge professionalism, teamwork
The Muslim Engineers Association (TMEA) has inaugurated its Pioneer National Executive Council with a call on Muslim engineers to combine professional excellence with ethical leadership, accountability, mentorship and service to humanity through Islamic values.
The inauguration, held on Saturday, August 22, 2026, at the LCCI Conference and Exhibition Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, brought together senior engineers, academics, government representatives, traditional and religious leaders, captains of industry, students and members of the Muslim community.
The event was held under the theme, “Engineering Excellence, Ethical Leadership and Service to Humanity Through Islamic Values,” with Engr. Gbadegesin Muftah Osuolale, FNSE, assuming office as the Pioneer National President.
The Rector of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Dr Ibrahim Abdu, represented by the institution’s Deputy Rector (Academics), Dr Engr Ismail Badmus, delivered the keynote address titled “Ethical Engineering in the Age of Emerging Technology.”
Among the dignitaries were the Olowu of Owu Kingdom and Royal Father of the Day, His Royal Majesty, Oba Prof. Saka Adeola Matemilola, and the Chief Imam of Lagos, His Eminence Sheikh Sulaiman Abu Nolla.
The gathering was particularly notable for bringing together four personalities with engineering backgrounds: Dr Abdu, Dr Badmus, Oba Matemilola and Sheikh Abu Nolla, who have gone on to serve in academia, traditional leadership and religious leadership.
Planning committee welcomes guests, prays for new council
The Chairman of the Inauguration Ceremony Planning Committee, Engr. Kamoru Olalekan Adebisi, described the inauguration as a historic occasion marking a new phase of leadership and responsibility for the Muslim Engineers Association.
He said the ceremony was not merely ceremonial but formally marked the assumption of office by the Pioneer National President, Engr. Gbadegesin Muftah Osuolale, and members of the National Executive Council.
Engr. Adebisi appreciated the distinguished guests, engineering professionals, representatives of professional bodies, religious leaders, government representatives, academics, captains of industry and members of the Muslim community for honouring the invitation.
Ethics crucial in emerging technology
In his keynote address, Dr. Abdu said the rapid transformation of engineering through artificial intelligence, automation, data and other emerging technologies had made ethical responsibility more important than ever.
He said engineers must look beyond what technology could achieve and ask what kind of professionals they should become as technology grows increasingly powerful.
According to him, a flawed line of code could affect millions of people, while a biased algorithm could discriminate against entire categories of citizens in areas such as employment, credit and security screening.
He warned that technological advancement without ethical responsibility could create new forms of harm, stressing that innovation must remain in the service of humanity.
Dr. Abdu described engineering as an “architecture of trust”, noting that people routinely depend on engineers whenever they use electricity, cross bridges, enter hospitals, board buses or use digital financial systems.
He identified competence, honesty, public safety, accountability, professional courage and stewardship as essential requirements for responsible engineering.
He urged engineers to have the courage to declare a project unsafe, even when doing so could cost them a contract or promotion.
Islamic values and professional responsibility
The Rector highlighted Amanah (trust and responsibility), Adl (justice and fairness) and Ihsan (excellence), describing them as important Islamic foundations for professional ethics.
He said an engineer’s signature, professional judgement and certification constituted a trust, adding that approving unsafe infrastructure was therefore both a professional failure and a betrayal of responsibility.
He described Ihsan as the pursuit of excellence rather than merely meeting minimum requirements, while Adl required fairness and justice in engineering decisions.
He also referred to avoiding harm, Khilafah and Maslahah, linking them respectively to public safety, stewardship of resources and the wider public good.
Abdu said these principles gave Muslim engineers a moral framework rooted in accountability before Allah, beyond compliance with externally imposed professional regulations.
AI cannot replace professional judgement
Addressing artificial intelligence, Abdu warned engineers against transferring responsibility to algorithms.
He said AI could assist engineers but could not replace their ethical responsibility because a machine could neither hold a professional licence nor answer before regulatory authorities or Allah.
He urged engineers to scrutinise training data for bias, protect sensitive information and verify AI generated designs, codes and reports before deployment.
He advised engineers to treat generative AI like a highly capable but occasionally inaccurate junior colleague, using it to accelerate their work without surrendering professional judgement.
He also cautioned against treating efficiency as the sole measure of technological success, saying human dignity must remain central whenever technology affects people’s livelihood, liberty, health or privacy.
TMEA journey from WhatsApp group to national body
The Interim Committee Chairman, Engr. Marufdeen Bolanle Odetokun, said the journey towards establishing TMEA began in 2018 when Engr. Tajudeen Kolade Ibrahim discussed with elders of the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers the need for a forum where Muslim engineers could meet and deliberate on issues of common interest.
He said the initiative led to the creation of a WhatsApp platform on March 2, 2018, which was later expanded to include registered Muslim engineering personnel across Nigeria.
According to him, the platform, known as City Engineers, had grown to 144 members.
Engr. Odetokun said the growth of the platform created the need for a more structured organisation, leading to the constitution of an eight member Interim Management Committee in 2024.
He said the committee was mandated to develop the association’s growth path, constitution, vision, mission, aims and objectives, as well as pursue its formal registration.
Engr. Odetokun said TMEA currently has more than 80 members drawn from different parts of Nigeria and had organised annual Ramadan lectures in 2024, 2025 and 2026 as part of its activities before the inauguration of the Pioneer National Executive Council.
Osuolale unveils agenda for TMEA
In his inaugural address, Engr. Osuolale said the Pioneer Council had inherited an Amanah to build an institution whose standards would benefit future generations.
He said TMEA would focus on professional development, ethical leadership, mentorship, fellowship and service to society.
“We do not want to be spectators to change; we want our members in the room when decisions are made. In fact, we want to be the drivers of positive changes,” he said.
He identified energy, power, housing, transportation, water, agriculture and manufacturing among areas where engineers could contribute more effectively to national development.
He urged senior engineers to mentor younger professionals and encouraged students and early career engineers to develop competence and character while embracing new technologies without allowing technology to replace judgement and conscience.
Engr. Osuolale also assured women engineers that TMEA intended to create an environment where their talents would be fully utilised.
He pledged that the council would run the association with integrity, transparency and a focus on measurable results.
“To the industry, we offer our capacity and partnership. To the universities, we offer to build bridges with research, practice and mentorship. To the government, our expertise is available whenever it is needed,” he said.
TMEA not rival to NSE or COREN
Engr. Osuolale also used tje occasion to clarify that TMEA was a professional association and not a political organisation.
He said the association would remain focused on sound engineering, ethical leadership and public service regardless of the political party in power.
He also stressed that TMEA was neither a rival nor an affiliate of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
“NSE and COREN remain, and will always remain, the recognised professional and regulatory homes of engineering practice in this country,” he said.
He explained that TMEA was a fellowship of Muslim engineers who shared the conviction that their faith should inform their professional practice.
He cited the Muslim Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria, Muslim Teachers’ Association of Nigeria, Association of Muslim Engineers, Technologists and Technicians, Association of Muslim Scientists, Engineers and Technology Professionals in North America and Association of Muslim Engineers in the United Kingdom as examples of faith based professional bodies operating alongside mainstream professional institutions.
Chief Imam urges executives to demonstrate Islamic character
The Chief Imam of Lagos, Sheikh Sulaiman Abu Nolla, congratulated the association but cautioned the Pioneer Executive Council that its new responsibility was an Amanah requiring diligence, sincerity and serious commitment.
He said the association should give Muslim engineers a stronger voice while ensuring that its members distinguished themselves through professionalism, integrity and accountability.
He urged the executives to collaborate with existing engineering bodies and use the platform to mentor younger engineers.
The Chief Imam stressed that the ultimate accountability of Muslim professionals was before Allah, rather than merely before society.
He prayed for divine guidance and success for the new leadership.
Olowu calls for networking and teamwork
The Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Prof. Saka Adeola Matemilola, commended the organisers and urged Muslim engineers to embrace networking, teamwork and collaboration.
The royal father said these values were consistent with Islamic principles and could strengthen the engineering profession and its contribution to national development.
He congratulated TMEA and prayed for Allah’s guidance and blessings upon the association.
New council assumes office
The new National Executive Council is led by Engr. Gbadegesin Muftah Osuolale as National President, with Engr. Tajudeen Kolade Ibrahim as Deputy President and Engr. Kamorudeen Adebisi as Vice President.
Other members of the council are Engr. Zaid Jagun as General Secretary, Engr. Al Ameen Ahmadu as Treasurer, Engr. Adeniran Bakare Silifat Mobisayo as Financial Secretary, Engr. Ademuyiwa Tijani as Assistant Secretary, Engr. Ahmed Ayinla as Publicity Secretary and Engr. Fatimoh F. Opeloyeru as Welfare Secretary.
The ceremony formally marked the beginning of TMEA’s substantive national leadership, with the association seeking to establish a professional community where Islamic values, engineering competence and service to humanity reinforce one another.
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