The purpose of this info is to clarified those that were busy asking how the professor made his money and could not Google to find out!


BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION!

Nnaji led the group that financed, designed and built a power plant in Abuja supplying electricity to the Nigerian Electric Power Authority. He served as Federal Minister of Science and Technology of Nigeria in 1993.

Prior to his appointment, the Ministry was abolished. He therefore created what is now the modern Federal Ministry of Science and Technology in Nigeria. He was Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1983-1996); Alcoa Foundation Professor of Engineering at University of Pittsburgh (1996-2002); William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Engineering, and Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for e-Design (2002- Present) – a multi-campus NSF Center of Excellence consortium of the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Central Florida, Virginia Tech, and University of Massachusetts Amherst and member of organizations; Department of Defense, Boeing, Kodak, GE, IBM, Ford Motor Company, Alcoa, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon, BAE, ANSYS, and Lockheed Martin.

He has served as principal or co-principal investigator on over $40 million research sponsored by the NSF, NATO, Department of Defense, and many companies. He has published 5 books and over 100 technical articles. His book, Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering, won the 1994 world best text book prize for Manufacturing Engineering. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Design and Manufacturing and has served as Editor of many professional journals.

He has served as Chairman of many conferences including the World Conference on Robotics Research (1991); the UN Institute for Training and Research Workshop for diplomats from various parts of the world at the UN headquarters on debt and financial management for developing countries (2001 and 2002).

ANOTHER VERSION OF HIS PROFILE!

Dr. Bart Nnaji, 51, holds a Doctorate in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the United States. He is also a tenured professor of Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Robotics in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, also in the United States.

In 2003, Nnaji began traveling back and forth to Nigeria to build a world-class, indigenous power company. He is currently Chairman and CEO of the company, Geometric Power Limited, or GPL, a US$250 million, 140 MW, integrated generation and distribution power plant.

Nnaji built upon his previous experience in Nigeria’s power sector to create his company. In 1993, he served as Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Science and Technology. In 2000, along with his joint venture partner Renatech International Limited, Nnaji built and managed a successful 15MW emergency power station in Abuja.

Challenges to Starting the Business

For Nnaji, his wife and friends, the challenges of starting his company were enormous:

He entered a sector that is typically unreceptive to entrepreneurial activity and is a bastion of established power companies.
The sector is a very problematic infrastructure sector in Nigeria primarily served by a poor performing state monopoly.
While the legal and institutional framework for the sector was enacted in 2005, there is no real track record and the regulations are in development.
As head of an indigenous company, Nnaji faced peculiar problems in the area of project development – garnering credibility among experienced Engineering Procurement Contract contractors, negotiating with affiliates of oil majors such as Shell, and negotiating power purchase agreements with major industrial companies.
Negotiating financing agreements for bridge finance with local financial institutions and long-term financing with international lenders groups proved difficult.
Managing the sometimes major contradictions in ensuring the right political support for GPL versus completing the contractual underlying agreements for such a major private company.

The Changing Nigerian System

Nigeria’s banking industry consolidation, which took place in 2005, reduced the number of banks from 89 in 2004 to 25 at the end of 2005, putting the banks in a better position to undertake large and complex deals previously unimagined. The country’s opening economy has also increased foreign direct investment inflow, increased oil prices and has increased Nigeria’s BB-rating by international rating agencies. Local and international investors are now more confident in investing in Nigerian businesses including GPL. With these positive developments, GPL has been able to complete its bridge financing plan and has made significant progress on its longer-term financing.

“I have a fundamental belief that there is nowhere that it is written ‘on the forehead of Nigeria’ that ‘thou shall not have reliable quality and affordable electricity’,” said Nnaji. “Our goal is to build Power projects that make economic sense and at the same time have social value that can lift the quality of life of our customers and the community.”

The World Bank Group’s Role

The World Bank Group worked with Nigeria’s federal government in developing and enacting the Electricity Act of 2005, and in unbundling the National Electric Power Authority thereby paving the way for private sector participation in the power sector. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, also played an important role in guiding GPL through the project development process from the onset, as its team lacked the requisite experience. With Trust Funds and internal power expertise from IFC, external consultants were retained to assess the commercial, legal and economic aspects of the project. IFC also worked with and assisted the company in identifying strategic and financial partners. The presence of IFC in the transaction has encouraged investors who before were not confident about the project or the experience of its developers. IFC is considering a total investment of about US$60 million in a combination of equity, senior debt and quasi-equity.

Nigeria should learn how to appreciate and be proud of their product. For such an erudite professor resigned his portifolio to allow trasparency in d privatisation process becos he want his private firm to participate which he neither denied. Common people, dis man deserve an accolade for stepping down. Guess other public office holders will borrow leaf from him.

today that vision is now a reality.. kudos to Prof. Nnaji

What people don't know is that Prof. Nnaji is one of the top three robotics engineers in the world.

These are the sort of people Peter Obi would have flooded his government with, if the certificate-forger hadn't bought over corrupt INEC and supreme court.