‘Family, friends thought I was crazy for pursuing car design’

Back then, GM’s designers had about 10 months to create one of the most technologically advanced vehicles at the North American International Auto Show and were instructed to create something that could actually be produced. In a book titled ‘Chevrolet Volt: Charging into the Future’ (2010), author Larry Edsall writes that when the designs of […]

Back then, GM’s designers had about 10 months to create one of the most technologically advanced vehicles at the North American International Auto Show and were instructed to create something that could actually be produced. In a book titled ‘Chevrolet Volt: Charging into the Future’ (2010), author Larry Edsall writes that when the designs of the Volt, then in concept stage, were just coming together, a small team headed by the Head of GM’s global Vehicle Development program, John Lauckner, was tasked with producing “A car which people would drive, not fly”. After many trials and when things were not gelling, GM’s Global Design Director Ed Welburn and other top staff reviewed designers’ proposals and Aliyu’s floored them.
It was clear why, Edsall’s book says, quoting a senior GM staffer: “Aliyu had captured the grace and proportion we wanted and we fell in love with it.” And that’s how the whirlwind romance between Aliyu and the Volt became defined, from the mid-1994 beginning when the talented Nigerian joined the global brand’s design team.
In another book, titled ‘Why GM Matters: Inside the Race to Transform an American Icon’ (2009) written by William J. Holstein, Aliyu said he’d often imagine he owned his own car company and American magazines like Road & Track, bought for him by a family friend, would dazzle him. Even then, the young enthusiast knew a career in automobile design would be a tough sell to family and friends, some of whom thought he was crazy. But he stuck to his guns.
His design of the Volt, Aliyu says, was inspired by growing up in Africa, with his best ideas coming while he’s watching Discovery Channel. “I’m always fascinated by nature,” he said, adding that he believes one day nature will no longer be seen as a force to be conquered, rather it will be seen as one from which to learn. “And that’s what spurred me to come up with the design of the Volt, something that is a perfect balance of beauty, practicality and efficiency,” he said. The rest is history.
Aliyu, born in Kaduna to parents originally from Sokoto State began his A-levels in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, but later dropped out and enrolled in the Birnin Kebbi Polythechnic, Kebbi State, bagging an OND in Architecture in 1988. He proceeded to study Transportation Design in Detroit, at the College for Creative Studies on a Sokoto State Government scholarship. Soon as he graduated, he was snapped up by GM, the world’s second largest car manufacturer.
“I’ve always been fascinated by cars,” Aliyu said in the book, adding that there were no sports cars in Sokoto city, where he grew up. But he, and his brothers, would fall in love with every photo of a Ferrari or Lamborghini they saw in magazines. He also remembers always wanting to be a car designer, since he loved drawing. But people would point out that he’d never get a job, perfectly understandable, as Nigeria is yet to boast of a proper automobile production industry. “But that was what I wanted and I was determined,” he said.
With all his career successes, which include working on many successful models including the stunning Pontiac G6, as well as a national award as Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in Nigeria in 2012, Aliyu is hoping all the attention he’s getting will inspire other Nigerians to pursue their dreams. “It’s never crazy to dream,” he said. “The bigger the dream, the better.”