SOCIAL ENGINEERING: An Eureka of Erudite with Pragmatism.

SOLOMON OJIGBE

Social engineering is a relative ambiguous concept. However, from the perspective of social engineering as a profession, it implies the systematic application of the knowledge of sociology: the science of society, to solving the societal problems or restructuring the society to a state of positive development via the ideas of sociology. Eureka is an exclamation used to show pleasure at having found something, especially the answer to a problem. Erudite: having or showing great knowledge that is gained from academic study. While pragmatism implies the situation of thinking about solving problems in a practical and sensible way rather than by having fixed ideas or theories, i.e. the situation of being realistic.

Consequently, the birth of social engineering is an eureka of erudite i.e. great excitement heralded it because it came on board with answers to salient social problems that have hitherto confronted human society: prostitution, unemployment, recidivism among others. It should however be noted that it did not came on board on the platter of gold, but by means of rigorous study, research and experimentation. Hence, it is a work of great erudition cum pragmatism.

Based on the foregoing, we can aptly address the sociologist as ‘social engineers’ since they possess a versatile knowledge of individual and groups, societal subsystems: economics, politics, religion, culture, education, medicine etc as well as societal institutions in terms of both static and dynamic natures or changes that have taken place overtime and owing to the reality of the fact that everything in human society is subsumed into these three components. Therefore the saying credited to sociologist ‘when an animal is sick it is attended to by a veterinary doctor, when an individual is sick he/she is attended to by a physician, but when the society is sick, it is aptly attended to by the social engineers’ is not an illusion.

This is therefore a clarion call on all sociologist anywhere, anytime and given any situation to proclaim it loud and clear that our profession: social engineering, is an eureka of erudite with pragmatism.

Way forward:

Unless the social engineers, social prophets and doctors of society: sociologist, are given their pride of place in all segments, agencies, parastatals, ministries institutions and components etc that make up the Nigerian society for a pragmatic implementation of its ideas, the society will continue to wallow in the quagmire of political cum socioeconomic doldrums. Social Engineering: an eureka of erudite with pragmatism, the noblest of all professions.

Cheers…