Talatu Yusuf, Abuja
The Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council, Jelani Aliyu (MFR), said the NADDC will partner with the Usman Dan- Fodio University Sokoto and other relevant stakeholders in the quest to make Nigeria an electric vehicle producing country.
He said Nigeria must not be left behind in the quest to use technology for national development, saying the nation’s youth must be empowered with advanced technology, and given the necessary tools and resources to recapture the magnificence that will usher in a whole new Nigeria.
In a lecture presented during the convocation ceremony of the Usman Dan Fodio University in Sokoto, Jelani Aliyu said from the Atlantic shoreline in the South, through the grasslands of the middle belt, all the way to the rolling hills and bright blue skies of the North that Nigeria remains a truly magnificent and blessed country.
The NADDC director general said the agency is in the process of procuring three electric vehicles which we will test run in collaboration with the Energy Research Centre at the university in order to begin the technology transfer, and to understand opportunities and challenges.
According to him, the initiative is designed to be a comprehensive program composed of the Electric Vehicles themselves, Charging Stations and a Training component, where students of the university and staff of the centre will undergo training on vehicle electrification and associated technical systems.
He lamented that the rest of the world is talking about and into robotics, Nanotechnology, electric and autonomous vehicles, while our youth are whiling away their lives on city streets and motor parks.
“China is already into space missions, on January 3rd, 2019 the country became the first nation to send and land a probe on the far side of the moon.
“Tesla, the American electric car maker on November 16th 2017 unveiled their electric powered truck which has an 805km travel range. These are what is happening around the world: incredible feats of technology, incredible bravery in leaping into the new, into the unknown, all in the search of solutions that will positively redefine the human experience.
If we do nothing, if we allow the status quo to continue, we might very well be threatening the very existence of our nation. And we all very well know that we have come too far, our histories too rich for our future to be threatened by a few artificial problems that we started to experience only in the last twenty to thirty years”, the NADDC director general said.
According to Aliyu, we must push ourselves beyond the limits in order to be relevant in the world.
“We must see ourselves not just as Nigerians, but as members of a global community, sharing constructive ideas, sharing inspirations and together coming up with dynamic solutions for the betterment of humanity worldwide.
“In every home, in every classroom, the new message must be loud and clear; that we will not settle for less, that we are committed to build the next generation of super Nigerians who can be at par with the best from any part of the world. And that, by the grace of God, we shall no longer be those who are left behind, but shall be the best of the best.
“We shall rebuild our cities and our societies to be the epitome of success. We shall not just read about advanced societies, or visit them, but we shall build our own advanced societies right here in Nigeria, he added.
He explained that the Electric Vehicles will run within the permanent site and also shuttle between the two campuses.
“The whole objective is to not be afraid of advanced technology, to identify fantastic innovation, secure it, deploy it within our localities, thereby enlightening and empowering our people. Because the human mind once exposed, once empowered, would hardly go back to its earlier stage”.
