Kehinde Obasanjo and his invention
At the busy Ahmadu Bello Way, Ikeja, Lagos, Kehinde Obasanjo is
found in a certain spot most times, touching, test-running, admiring and
guiding jealously his brainchild, a prototype multi-purpose amphibian
jet.
Borne out of his innate creativity and drive to compete vigorously
with the known inventors in the world, Obasanjo resolved to put his
God-given talent to test. He wants to be the first Nigerian manufacturer
of amphibian jet which will have the ability to carry out multi-purpose
functions and this he has set in motion.
“This is called ‘amphibian jet car’. I built it here in
Nigeria. It is designed to move on land, on sea and to fly in the air.
Out of the three operations it is supposed to carry out, I’ve achieved
two; this one you are seeing here moves on land and on sea. It moves on
the sea with a flying engine. I’m yet to complete it so that it can be
carrying out all the three operations,” Obasanjo tells ThisDay.
Right from his childhood, Obasanjo has developed love for building
and construction. At age six he had started constructing toy vehicles
that moved forward and backward. Entering the university, he continued
with what he believed was his God-given potential and kept on with it.
This consequently, metamorphosed into a clean sample of amphibian jet.
“Before I gained admission into Lagos State University, Ojo,
I’ve been doing this; it’s a natural talent. I started constructing
things right from age six. Then, I used to construct toy vehicles that
moved forward and backward. While in the university, I continued
developing it and after my graduation from the university in 1995, where
I studied Electronics and Computer Engineering I still continued up
till this time.
“Although, it can move about both on land and on sea, it’s
still a prototype waiting for the main one to be manufactured. I used
about 70 per cent of materials sourced locally here in Nigeria to
construct this jet. They include: plastics, fibres, bamboos, steels,
aluminium, galvanised objects and many other things and I fabricated
them to give me what I wanted which is the amphibian jet car,” he said.
Telling more about his transport brand, while gesticulating accordingly, he says
“The jet can contain four people plus the pilot. It has steering like
that of aircraft. It is computerised; if I want to start it I will press
the digital gear system on the control box. It moves like a live
machine on the sea. It can never sink because the material I used to
build it is the same material that is used in building life jacket. You
know if you’re on the sea and you put on a life jacket you can never
sink,” Obasanjo explained.
According to him, he had built a similar but more sophisticated one
earlier but that was damaged by some political thugs from Alimosho
Local Government Area of Lagos State during the 2011 election in Lagos.
That, he said, caught the attention of the American Government who sent
delegates down to Nigeria to see him and his handiwork after they saw it
on television.
“And this is not the only one that I built. There was a highly
sophisticated one that I built before this one here. That has the
ability to move on land, on sea, under the sea and to fly in the air.
American delegates had come here to see it; they said they watched it on
television and were amazed by the potential in the technology. That was
the one I wanted to display to President Buhari as I did to General
Babangida when he visited in 1990, but it was destroyed by some hoodlums
from Ikotun and Igando of Alimosho Local Government during election.”
However, building the prototype of his intended brand is not the
end of it all; it has to be transformed into main product. So to
Obasanjo, there is one major challenge and that is, who to support or
partner with him to fund the big, profitable project. He said he has
been calling on the government, the corporate entities and private
individuals to lend their hand of help to him but the more he keeps
calling and waiting the more his hope seems dampened.
But how will a country grow and meet up with developed economies in
the world if its government and corporate business entities cannot spot
out and support citizens who have some talents and creativity to
realise them.
However, realising that Nigeria is bedevilled economically by its
over-dependence on foreign made goods, Obasanjo wants to use his talent
to rewrite the story and contribute towards boosting the economy of the
country. Against all odds, he is never deterred but remains resolute to
seeing the project come to fruition someday.
“This one here is just a prototype; I use it for experiment. I
have been crying for support to enable me transform it into the main
machine, but no one has ever indicated interest. I don’t want this dream
to die. I want to use my talent to contribute to the growth of our
nation. All I want is support for me to succeed.
“This project has the potential to boost Nigeria’s economy if
government and concerned corporate bodies can come in to support. If
they assist me and it is developed into a marketable product I think the
export base of the country will improve and more revenue will
automatically be coming into the country’s coffers. It will boost our
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Even the one that was destroyed was so
sophisticated that the military can use it for their operations
especially in combating crime on the sea.
“I keep asking these questions; does it mean we don’t
encourage invention in our country? Those things that we spend huge
amount of money importing from other countries can’t we support our own
people to start inventing and producing them here,” he asked.
Going down memory lane, Obasanjo recounts how the former President
and Commander-in-Chief of the Federation, Ibrahim Babangida heard about
his creative work and came to meet with him and gave him basket full of
promises but never acted afterwards till he left the scene of power.
“The former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida has seen this
project when he came here in 1990.Before he came; one former Minister of
Science and Technology was the first to visit me to see the innovation.
When he went back he invited President Ibrahim Babangida. And the
President came, we met one on one and talked and I showed him the
project. He was so surprised and he said he was going to do something
about it but nothing happened,” Obasanjo noted.
He also said the immediate past governor of Lagos State and present
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who many
believe is a lover of creativity and innovation had been informed of his
project and he promised to send government delegation in that regard,
but never send any delegate till date.
“During Governor Babatunde Fashola’s regime, I informed him and
he said they were going to send delegates to come and see what I was
doing. He said that they had been hearing about it. But I never heard
from them again.”
According to him, even the present Federal Government has called on
phone promising to invite him to Abuja for discussion but the
invitation is yet to be received by him.
“Even this present Federal Government called me recently saying
they would be inviting me to Abuja so I can see the present Minister of
Science and Technology, but up till now I’m yet to see a follow up from
them. All these things make me feel discouraged sometimes. If I had the
money to fund this project by myself I wouldn’t be asking people for
them to come and help me,” Obasanjo said.
To acquire the requisite knowledge and keep tab on latest trends in
building technology, Obasanjo is also in need of engaging in capacity
building programme abroad, but how to go about this is also a challenge
as he cannot foot the bill.
“I intend to attend some programmes like school of aeronautic
engineering or any such programme abroad, where I can get more skill,
develop my talent and get more knowledge about the latest development in
modern technology. But my major constraint has been lack of finance. If
I can get support may be from the government or private individuals or
corporate bodies I will really appreciate it.”
Although, he has a mini-research centre around the University of
Lagos where he does research work for people and conducts workshop, the
income generated from that is not sufficient to carry the project and at
the same time sustain him and family.
“I have a research centre near University of Lagos. Most of my
research work is being carried out in the school. I organise lectures
and workshops for people and through that I sustain myself and family,” he said.
Source: ThisDay
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