Jelani Alihu is a Nigerian you might not have heard about, simply
because he’s not a Footballer, Basketball Player, neither a TV nor Movie Star. He’s
an industrious, resourceful and creative Nigerian who is a Creative Designer
with General Motors a US auto giant company. He designed the world most
acclaimed Chevy Volt which has been termed as an American Revolution and
hottest concept in automobile design line.
Jelani was born and raised in Sokoto State,
Nigeria where he studied Architecture at the Birnin Kebbi Polytechnic. He was
there from 1986 to 1988 and obtained an Associate Degree and was awarded as the
Best All- Round Student. While at the polytechnic, he researched into home and
construction, looking into materials and structures that will be most suitable
for our environment and climate; building that will stay cool in hot weather
without artificial or no electrical air conditioning. Upon graduation he worked
for the Sokoto State Ministry of Works.
As an outstanding individual, Jelani was
offered scholarship by the Sokoto State board to pursue his passion for
designing cars at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, where
he studied Transportation Design. After graduation, from the College, he was
offered a position at the General Motors, where he worked at the GM Tech Center
for close to three years. He worked on the Buick Rendezvous and was the lead
exterior designer for Pontiac G6.
He was thereafter assigned to Opel Germany
for an international assignment for about two years. After his stay at Opel,
Jelani returned to the GM Tech Center, and then created the revolutionary
Chevrolet Volt Electric Car; a battery powered extended-range electric
passenger vehicle.
In one of Jelani’s interviews, where he was
asked if his car company should be what Nigerian should expect, his response
indeed created some kind of hope for Nigeria’s growing economy “That’s
something Nigerians need and the time for that is now. If you look at the
market, Nigeria’s population is over a hundred and seventy million. Lots of
people live in remote areas and even in our cities we need new and more
effective transport solutions. So this
is the time to really have something in place in terms of cars for Nigeria. 
He also added “I think with the new
automotive policy, with the support the government is giving to the industry,
it has begun to create the momentum needed. We just need to continue pushing it
through the next stages, especially in terms of enabling a Nigerian vehicle
that is conceptualized, designed and developed by Nigerians for Nigerians in
Nigeria. When I say Nigerian vehicle, I don’t necessarily mean the whole thing,
but a vehicle designed specifically for the Nigerian populace. A vehicle in
tune with the history, culture, environment and economic structure of the
people, and I think we are heading there.”
Speaking on the future of
cars Alihu said “It’s incredible and fascinating. The future of transportation
solution is vast. We’re talking about renewal of energy, sustainability and
recyclability. We are beginning to go into self-driving vehicles, which would
open up a whole new generation of transportation solutions. Maybe we’d not have
to call them cars anymore. An interesting thing happening is that there is a
lot of computerization going into vehicles. So the big question is… are we
actually computerizing vehicles or are we one day going to be moved around by
computers?
We
must never underestimate the amazing power of human imagination, the ability to
envision a dramatically positive and dynamic future. Every great city, every
monument, every historic feat, as it stands for all the world to see, was once
pure thought, pure imagination acted upon and brought into reality. To imagine
is to dream, to dream is to tune in to the ever fascinating possibilities of
the future. And when we do dream, it must be big, because to dream small is to
totally underestimate the amazing capabilities that lie within each and every
one of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment