Cruising with blacksmith who designed, built own car

Last week, as I was driving along Kano–Maiduguri Road near Jama’are town in Bauchi State, I noticed a beautiful locally-made car. I was impressed with what I saw so I quickly overtook the driver and signalled him to stop. I greeted the young man and introduced myself as a reporter with Daily Trust. He gave […]

Last week, as I was driving along Kano–Maiduguri Road near Jama’are town in Bauchi State, I noticed a beautiful locally-made car. I was impressed with what I saw so I quickly overtook the driver and signalled him to stop. I greeted the young man and introduced myself as a reporter with Daily Trust.
He gave his name as Auwal Muhammad and said he came from a family of renowned blacksmiths in Jama’are Local Government Area of Bauchi State. Auwal explained that his car is called ‘Au-Jeep’, with the ‘Au’ from his first name.
On what inspired him to design and construct the car, he said he has always had the passion and dream of using technology to create things that will benefit mankind. “As a young boy, I built different types of bicycles and the desire to invent something new drove me to create Au-Jeep.”
He said he would’ve completed the car in two weeks but it took him about five months because he had many other distractions.
Muhammad explained that he bought some parts like the square pipe and Honda motorcycle engine and then manufactured other parts, including the steering wheel, rudder, bumper, seat and panel of the car, among others.
He added that the capacity of the tank is 10 litres with a speedometer of 110 kilometres per hour and the car can cover 50 kilometres without difficulty. He however said there was need for improvement in the weight of the car which makes him always slow down because it sometimes feels as if the car is not well-balanced.
On his next big project, he said, “My bigger dream is to be a world-class car designer like Jelani Aliyu.”
He lamented the enormous challenge of lack of capital. At some point, he met with government officials and individuals for help but all to no avail. “Since I wanted to keep my dream alive, I had to sell some of my properties before I completed the car,” he said.
Muhammad disclosed that the fuel consumption rate is amazing because it has the same capacity as a Jincheng motorcycle. He had used its carburettor in constructing the car’s engine.
The car doesn’t have a wiper, so how does he drive in the rain? He boasted that the lack of wipers was not a problem because even if the rain falls heavily on the front glass, it will not prevent the driver from seeing clearly. He uses a 50-Megawatt battery to power the lights so he can drive at night without hitch.
Muhammad called on government to pay more attention to science and technology, and to assist people with talent such as his. “There is the need for government to sponsor talented people to further their education either in Nigeria or abroad. By doing so, Nigeria will be a force to be reckoned with in technology in future,” he concluded.