Nigerian who built his own car....

A young Nigerian engineer who built and rides in a car he built has one ambition, to build cars that will be sought after in international market.

Residents of Lagos Island and environs have now and again caught sight of a cute, rugged red SUV cruising along the highways or parked by the beaches on weekends with the slogan: ‘A question of attitude’ scrawled on its side. Don’t go shopping for it in any showroom because it is one of its kind in the whole wide world, fully Nigerian, built in Nigeria, by a Nigerian who had the ‘can do’ spirit GBUBEMI GOD’S COVENANT, SNR and DENNIS OKOSUN cruised around the Island in the jeep and filed in this report.

The young engineer is Sunday Abiodun Okpere, born on December 25, 1975 in Ebute-Metta, Lagos Mainland to Victoria and Augustine Okpere. His father was a managing director with the old National Electric Power Authority before he passed on when Sunday was only two years old.

Hints of the genius in the little man began to manifest in his early life when children were playing with bicycle rims and vehicle tires. Sunday was gathering empty beverage tins, pieces of iron and was building toys and constructing miniature vehicles on wheels.

“I was so creative to the extent that boys in the neighbourhood would gather round me when I’m working, and after they see what I’ve made, they’d beg me to build their own for them. It was like fun then, but that was how I started.”

No one in his family had been known to be a mechanic or an engineer of any sort, so Sunday’s obsession with engineering was not taken seriously. “When the teacher asked us in the class what we wanted to be in future, I said I wanted to be an engineer; and I saw myself manufacturing cars, creating moving objects and so on when I was small."

The third of four children, his chance of quality education dimmed after his father’s demise. He recalls that period of his young life. 

“After my father died, the family passed through severe hardship so much that I had to be joining my mother in the farm after school hours. By the time I was half way through secondary school, there was no way forward for me. My elder brothers put heads together and said since there’s no money for me to further my education I should go and learn some trade.

“Well, I said okay though that wasn’t the agreement, but in the absence of money, I opted to learn something relevant to my first love which is engineering. This led me to Hope Motors in Oyadiran Estate, Yaba, Lagos. I was very small then; my bosses loved me, they used to call me ‘smallie’.”

For seven years, Sunday grew under the tutelage of motor mechanics, panel beaters, automobile electricians, spray painters. He reminisced those years.

“Although I was attached to the mechanical section which gave me a lot of insight into engines and the dynamics of their operations, I spent time with other departments anytime we are not busy where I learnt everything from wiring and rewiring, bodyworks to spray and finishing. I worked with them when accidented cars are brought in and it gave me a lot of knowledge into that area too.” 

At the completion of his apprenticeship, his boss was reluctant to let him go and made him a proposal which saw him working for the company that trained him.

“Although my boss is an Ijebu man, he loved me so much that he won’t let me go. Instead, he employed me to work for him. He would send me to work for his clients who had vehicle problems in their companies. From there, I built my own clientele which came in handy when Peugeot and some of the car brands my boss specialized in went out of the market.

“The company eventually relocated to Abuja. My boss asked me to go along with them, but declined and preferred to stay back and build up my own business; but after a while it didn’t quite flow as I wanted so I took a job as technical assistant with an American armoured vehicle repair and maintenance company here in Victoria Island.”

Sunday’s dream of building a brand of vehicle with his name attached to it gave him no rest, even though he was doing well in his job. So over time, his restless hands went to work in February last year and four months later, his intellectual baby was born in the small apartment he occupies at 14/16 ….. Street, off Kingsway Road. He named his creation Rock Auto because he says; it’s built on the Rock that never fails. He took our team into details of his four months labour.

“It will cost me more than I can afford if I buy parts and components one by one. So I bought a very reliable fully built engine and constructed a chassis for it, just like I was doing with empty cans, rods and wires when I was growing up. The difference is that this is real. Even at that, the body did not come cheap to construct because costs of some parts are high. I did over 90 per cent of the work myself. There were times I had to wait to draw my salary before I would buy more things and continue.

“The components are varied and because of the intensive welding and joining involved, I had to buy some light equipment and a standby generator so I can work without disruption.”

The four-seater, four-gear drive has most of the features in a foreign equivalent except for some state-of–the-art finishing on the dashboard. Otherwise, it boasts of every feature, from soft and comfortable adjustable seats with accompanying seat belts for the fronts seats, functioning speedometer, trafficators, headlights, brake and parking lights, wipers, horn, and so on. The choice of red for the jeep with a black leather finish connotes a perception of a collapsible top which stands the vehicle out anywhere it goes. The speedometer has a capacity speed of 160 and fuel efficient ideal for the Nigerian economy 

“Though it looks okay now, but the work is still progressive. I still have some finishing touches to do here and there.” 

In the pipeline are two models of different vehicles Sunday hopes to develop and built in the future, but for now, what is his plan? What is the next step? 

“I’m making a lot of preparations, but I need money. I want to go abroad and study more. I have something to offer Nigeria. I like my country Nigeria and I desire that the vision be born here and fully Nigerian.

“Inside me, the vision to build cars is eating me up. Though I could build the cars I have designed if I have money, but my dire need now is to be able to travel to the United States of America (USA) and work with Ford Motors. I need the technical exposure. I like to be fully groomed in the art of building engines and I think Ford is the place to go. You know that once you build quality engine, you can build anything on it. I don’t want to build what is common but something special and different that will stand out anywhere in the world. 

“That is my passion and that’s my prayer that someone somewhere should help me. I need money, I need connection. I don’t want to be celebrated locally as this one is giving me much attention wherever I go. But I want to build engines and make vehicles that people all over the world would be eager to buy and be proud to own. That’s my target. But I can’t do everything on my own. Let someone or organisation, even government help me.”

His neighbour and friend of four years, Athan Nwokorie, a computer engineer from Umuokpara, Ezinne-Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State said he was surprised at what his friend has done.

“When I first knew him I didn’t know he was into this kind of thing, but sometime last year, he started working at nights and making a lot of noise with machines. We didn’t know what it was all about until he built his vehicle and we are surprised. Building a car is not a small dream so we know he will go places if he gets help.”

So how are people responding to his uncommon jeep?

“Everywhere I go, people look at the jeep, they gather and admire it. When they learn I built it, they hail me. One white man offered me N2 million for this car but I refused. Because of my work, I don’t have time to build another one presently. What I want is assistance to travel out and get my dream actualised.

“I have something to offer my country. I have faith that I’m going to establish my own company and build cars from Nigeria to the world. I know what I passed through while building this jeep and I want to create the opportunity to train Nigerian youths in this vision. If I travel abroad I will certainly return to my home country and establish my motor company so that my people will benefit.”

A Sunday school teacher in the children’s department of Foursquare Gospel Church, Nigeria, Sunday is still single for a good reason. “I’m praying to God to give me the best, because marriage is once in a life time, so any girl I marry must have to be the best for me.”