The time for Nigeria to look inwards is now. We have
all the resources, both human and material, to be
great.
To ensure that Nigeria is counted among automobile
manufacturers in the world, an industrialist, Mr.
Innocent Chukwuma, chairman of Innoson Group of
Companies, took a bold step by investing in the
Automobile sector. The Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing
(IVM) Company has made Nigeria proud.
Today, they design and manufacture Hummer buses,
Waste vans, Luxury buses, Hilux vans, Saloon cars,
Jeeps and so on in Nigeria and by Nigerians.
Engineering students
Following in Innoson’s footsteps, seven final-year
engineering students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University,
Awka, Anambra State, designed and constructed a mini
bus from scratch with locally sourced materials made
specially to suit Nigeria’s topography and climatic
condition.
“The bus was constructed from start to finish at the
University’s workshop, using all necessary design
software and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools. We
constructed the chassis, down to every single part of
the mini bus,” said Callistus Ezeigwe, one of the seven.
The group, known as the Autozik Group, was made up
of six males and a female including Callistus Ezeigwe,
Victor Obinani, Ifeanyi Ezeanolue, Ogbu Ikenna, Fidelis
Ominigbo, Nnamdi Nwobodo and Chinaza Okoro, was
supervised by the then Head of Mechanical Engineering
Department, Dr. C.H. Achebe.
“We made the mini bus using mere hand tools. This
means we did all of the constructions and folding, with
our hands, since the university could not provide us
with ground equipment, as used in most automobile
companies,” said Ezeugwu.
The mini bus which took about five months to
complete, has a beautiful finishing so that people find
it difficult to believe it was made in Nigeria.
Ezeigwe said the aim was to construct a mini bus using
locally sourced materials, which is more durable and
can better stand the test of time, compared to other
brands out there.
“We named it Autobully,” said Obinani Victor, explaining
that the brand name, coined from the normal bullion
van, fits the shape of the mini bus.
The challenge: There is no doubt that Nigeria has
talents but the challenge is how to tap harness them
for the good of the nation. These youths have been
able to achieve this feat with no help from expatriates.
They have shown some sense of doggedness and
proficiency and they must not be allowed to be swept
away by the tide of brain drain.
Also in the same institution, five final-year engineering
students produced a Formula 1 car (Racing car).
They appealed to the government to invest in these
youths and channel resources to the Automobile sector
as they seek to diversify the economy. They also
appealed to the public to buy made in Nigeria products
to grow the Naira.
