In 1997, a brilliant Igbo Electrical Engineer and Lecturer at the Federal polytechnic Nekede, Dr. Ezekiel Izogu designed and developed the Izuogu Z-600, the first African indigenous manufactured car. The car was described by the BBC as the African dream machine as 90% of its parts were sourced locally . At a projected sales cost of 2000 dollars, it would have taken the world by storm and become the cheapest and most affordable car on earth. With mass production planned under Izogu Motors plant in Naze owerri, the prospects of an industrial revolution in Igbo land and Nigeria, was in the making. The car was equipped with a self made 1.8L four cylinder engine that got 18mpg and allowed the car to achieve a top speed of 140 km/h. Front Wheel Drive (FWD) was chosen over Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) because a transmission tunnel, which RWD would require, would be more expensive to fabricate. So 90% of the cars components were made locally. General Sani Abacha set up a 12 man panel of inquiry made up of professionals to ascertain the road worthiness and authenticity of the car and after several days of probing, the committee gave Dr. Izuogus car a clean bill of health recommending that some of the bumps on the body of the car be smoothened. It is worthy to note that this was five years before India built their first car known as the Indi. At a well organized unveiling ceremony which had General Abacha represented by Oladipo Diya, over 20 foreign ambassadors and thousands of people in attendance, the federal government promised a grant of 235 million naira to Dr.Izuogu. An excited Dr Izuogu is still waiting for that grant till today. No dime was released to him. In 2006, the government of South Africa invited Dr. Izuogu to do a presentation about the car in the presence of several world class engineers . Being impressed with his presentation, they invited him to come and set up a plant in South Africa and begin the production of the car. Dr Izuogu reluctantly agreed, though he wasnt happy that the benefits of employment generation will be lost on the locals of Naze and the Nigerian human resources environment . On Saturday the 11th of March 2006, at about 2.00 a.m, a total of about 12 heavily armed men broke into Dr. Izogus factory in Naze and carted away various machines and tools including the design history notebook of Z-600, the design file Z-MASS, containing the design history for mass production of Z-600 car, and the moulds for various parts of the car. According to Dr. Izogu “It seems that the target of this robbery is to stop the efforts we are making to mass-produce the first ever locally made car in Africa. Other items stolen included locally produced timing wheel, locally produced camshaft, locally produced crankshaft, locally produced engine tappets, all 20 pieces each. Also stolen were ten pieces of locally produced Z-600 engine blocks, ten pieces of locally produced pistons, four pieces of engine block mounds, four pieces of top engine block moulds, ten pieces of engine fly wheel and two pieces each of rear car and front mudguard moulds.” The inventor regretted that not only did they lose over one N1 billion in monetary terms, but also time (about 10 years) and the energy it took to design and produce the moulds. “To worsen the matter, our design notebook was also stolen,” he stated. He regarded the incident as a national economic disaster because the nation had lost a technological and intellectual property. This Press was quiet about this story. The set back and governments attitude frustrated this inventor and that dream died. In 2000, another Igbo trader and business man, Chief (Dr) Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma( Innoson) , tired of importing motor cycle spare parts, began to produce the parts in Nnewi. Severn years later, he ventured into car parts production and took the idea of car manufacturing to the then federal government . He was scorned again and rejected by the federal government . In 2010, a new kind of leader has been planted by God in Nigeria, and few months after he became President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan commissioned the Innoson Car Manufacturing plant in Nnewi with follow up policies and tax holidays that encouraged the young entrepreneur. Today Innoson group is producing top range cars with parts 90% of the parts, made in Nigeria. From SUVs to trucks, buses etc. The successes recorded by Innoson has now influenced the Federal government into adopting the National automobile policy which is set to transform this nation in terms of employment generation, technological in flow and Foreign Direct Investment. The national automotive policy of the federal government has led to Nissan motors signing an MOU to begin car productions in Nigeria by the first quarter of this year You dont need to be a professor, a general or a genius to be a good leader, all it requires is for you to have the largeness of heart to accommodate people who want to grow. Today, the Nigerian navy has produced the first locally made war ship, the army is producing cars, guns and other gadgets, while the Nigerian Air Force , just unveiled locally made drones . Is Jonathan the one producing these equipments? No sir. He doesnt have a clue of how these things are produced. All he does is to create and environment where everyone can develop and expand his potentials. In his 2011 declaration speech which Social media muck rakers and ranters have continually used to mock him, the President put it this way : I was not born rich, and in my youth, I never imagined that I would be where I am today, but not once did I ever give up. Not once did I imagine that a child from Otuoke, a small village in the Niger Delta, will one day rise to the position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I was raised by my mother and father with just enough money to meet our daily needs. In my early days in school, I had no shoes, no school bags. I carried my books in my hands but never despaired; no car to take me to school but I never despaired. There were days I had only one meal but I never despaired. I walked miles and crossed rivers to school every day but I never despaired. Didnt have power, didnt have generators, studied with lanterns but I never despaired. In spite of these, I finished secondary school, attended the University of Port Harcourt, and now hold a doctorate degree. Fellow Nigerians, if I can make it. You can make it. Let those who have an open heart judge this man. God bless Nigeria God bless President Jonathan. nigeriafilms/news/22970/40/innoson-the-first-made-in-nigeria-carsbuses-trucks.html — with Soni
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 07:50:07 +0000
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