by Rachel Ogbu
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has unveiled its first Made in Nigeria motorcycle and also the first of its kind in Nigeria.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the agency, Mohammed Haruna, said the made-in-Nigeria motorcycle called “NASENI M1” showed that the agency had the potential to provide necessary engineering and technology infrastructure for Nigeria’s industrial development.
“The Federal Government which the Agency is part of, has promised Nigerians a better socio-economic deal by year 2020 even as Mr.President has also committed the government to elevate the economic status of Nigeria to be among the 20 fastest growing economies in the world by 2020,” he said.
“Nigerians must demonstrate real capacities for engineering technology development, and production of manufactured goods and a service, saying that is why NASENI had taken this bold step to demonstrate to Nigerians that Mr.President’s dream is both realizable and is even being realized.”
He urged the federal government to hence ban the importation of motorcycles proudly saying that Nigeria has perfected the technology and manufacturing capacity to mass produce motorcycles in Nnewi, South-East Nigeria.
“About 20 million Nigerians today rely on motorcycles as a means of transport and many unemployed youths and men support their families or earn a living from running motorcycle as a commercial venture. Imagine the large number of jobs that will be created if only Nigeria could close her borders against the importation of motorcycles and allow entrepreneurs to invest in the manufacturing of the parts including production of the motorcycle locally.
“Nigeria, no doubt, has all the materials needed to produce motorcycles in Nigeria, 100 percent. NASENI has both the raw materials survey, their locations, equipment and the critical human capacity, design, feasibility studies and the business plan for running a successful plant to produce motorcycles. What we are waiting for now is for Nigerian entrepreneurs to come forward and take advantage of this profitable investment to manufacture of the motorcycles,” he stressed.
Small and Medium Scale Entreprises (SME’s) were encouraged to collaborate with the agency by buying into the technology and mass producing them. Haruna pointed out that by that doing so they will contribute immensely to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and will also depopulate the growing unemployment market.
“The law establishing NASENI and its institutes does not allow it to embark on full scale manufacturing of products and or become full scale player in the market but for every technology and engineering products developed within the agency system to be ceded to the private sector for commercial purpose or mass production. Its mission includes hitherto establishing and nurturing appropriate dynamic science and engineering infrastructure base for achieving home initiated and home sustained industrialization through the development of relevant processes, capital goods and equipment necessary for job creation, national economic well-being and progress,” he added.
According to reports; in a statement signed by the Chief Information Officer (Media and Protocol), Segun Ayeoyenikan, it said hitherto, NASENI’s mandate is concerned with activities in the areas of capital goods research, production and reverse engineering of parts with respect to engineering materials (iron, steel, nonferrous metals and alloys, plastics, glass, ceramics, polymer electronics and nanotechnology); industrial and analytical chemical materials including industrial glasses; scientific equipment and components for education, research and industry including measuring instruments, electronic components, communication equipment and computers, solid minerals machinery and other heavy equipment manufacturing.
States are banning motorcycles as a means of livelihood, pple are locally making them. Nigeria and ‘diversity’. Let’s get things right. Providing cycles will continue to increase poverty levels, accidents, fractures, amputations, etc.
In 2013, this is news… Aren't we such a shameless country.
What is shameful in this? If we start getting it right in 2013 what is the crime in that? Development will not just fall on us, we have to make it happen!
What have u done so far? That we are technologically backward does not mean we should turn a blind eye to efforts such as this one. Femi… One step at a time, we have never produced a bike before, have we? So If u have the technology and the knowledge needed for quantum mechanics and nuclear physics, that will be so welcome.
A country with our size and potential manufactures a motorcycle with old technology that we didn't invent and we feel it should be news. It's not even like we created a line for manufacturing them commercially. That's like a science project. They built 1 and they are talking about ban on importation. Celebrating this is celebrating mediocrity…
even the chinese had to start one day and from somewhere…good news is that we have start, lets take it to the next level now
There is a difference between assembly and manufacture. Tell me that every nut and bolt and screw was manufactured in Nigeria
@Jonas the Chinese did not celebrate manufacturing or (as Amanze Rajesh Ejiogu put it) assembling its first motorcycle almost 140 years after motorcycles were invented on the pages of the newspaper. They built manufacturing plants, worked towards becoming number one manufacturer in the world and let their achievements speak for them
@Femi….Blame NASENI and not the guy who assembled it….n if NASENI feels its an achievement, then let's congratulate them instead of belittling them….better an assembled motorbike than an assembled IED don't you agree….??
I belive Nigerians are capable of doing more than that,but unfortunately,such ingenuity is usually frustrated cos of one selfish reason or another,and also cos we prefer to import rather than produce. I remember some years back a student manufactured a helicopter in kano which he flew,it was given newspaper coverage for a few days and forgotten. What will make this one a diffrent story? Any way congrats to us all.