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The Sectors Where Engineers are Found

by Fred Nwaozor > This classification captures the major ecosystems or sectors where professional engineers operate. What matters is how their roles shift in focus across these sectors, even though the core engineering principles remain the same. 1. Government (Policy formulation & implementation) In government, engineers function less as hands-on designers and more as technical decision-makers. They contribute to national development by shaping policies, regulations, and standards that guide engineering practice. For example, a civil or telecom engineer in a regulatory agency may help draft infrastructure policies, evaluate national projects, or enforce compliance with safety and quality standards. Their authority ensures that engineering decisions align with public interest; balancing cost, safety, sustainability, and long-term impact. Here, engineering judgment influences what gets built, how it is built, and whether it should be built at all. 2. Academia (Teach...

Brazil jails ex-president for Corruption

The erstwhile President of Brazil, Fernando Collor de Mello, has been sentenced to nine-year imprisonment for corruption and money laundering on Friday, April 25, 2025.

Collor de Mello, Brazil’s first democratically elected president after a decades-long dictatorship, resigned in 1992 after Congress launched impeachment proceedings against him for allegedly taking bribes.

He was arrested years later. His arrest was informed by the alleged bribes taken two decades later while he was serving as a senator, which was part of the sprawling “Car Wash” corruption scandal.

The 75-year-old was detained in Maceio city in northeastern Alagoas state, where he served as a senator and governor, after his exit as president.

In 2023, Collor de Mello was found guilty of having received 20 million reais (3.5 million dollars) in bribes while a senator between 2010 and 2014 to “irregularly facilitate contracts” between a construction company and a former subsidiary of Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras.

On Thursday, 24th April, 2025, the country's Supreme Court justice, Alexandre de Moraes rejected Collor de Mello’s last-gasp efforts to have his arrest order annulled.

Moraes ordered he be incarcerated in an individual cell in a “special wing” of Baldomero Cavalcanti de Oliveira prison in Maceio.

His lawyers told local media that the arrest came as he was about to travel to the capital Brasilia to turn himself in.

His lawyers said they would seek permission for him to serve his sentence under house arrest.

It's noteworthy that Collor de Mello is not Brazil’s first president to fall foul of the law.

Four of the seven people who have led the country since the 1964-1985 military dictatorship had either been convicted, jailed or impeached.

In the latest case, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial over an alleged coup plot after losing the 2022 election.

While recovering in hospital this week from intestinal surgery, a court official handed the 70-year-old a summons giving him five days to submit his initial defence.

FN Blog

Fred Nwaozor, popularly known as TheMediaAmbassador, is a Nigerian tech expert, author, creative & content writer, media strategist, policy analyst, blogger, public speaker and rights activist. The renowned columnist regularly writes for the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), and is the Founder & Convener of Right Thinkers Movement (RITMO), Nigeria. He's a chartered industrial physicist, engineer and IT personnel. As a media guru, he enjoys an active presence in all media segments - including electronic, print & digital - since two decades ago till date. As a full-time researcher and educator, he's a regular contributor and peer reviewer for various internationally-noted engineering journals. As Telecommunications and Automation engineer, his research interest mainly lies in System Modelling, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart city, Cybersecurity, Wireless networks, and Machine Learning (ML).