How I customized cars for presidents, others – Mahmud Zayyad

Mahmud Zayyad was born on March 29, 1963 and he is the son of late Waziri of Katsina, Alhaji Hamza Zayyad Rafindadi, a renowned economist. His love for cars started early when he used to tag along in his father’s car. The youngster started driving at the early age of 10, using his mum’s Volkswagen […]

Mahmud Zayyad was born on March 29, 1963 and he is the son of late Waziri of Katsina, Alhaji Hamza Zayyad Rafindadi, a renowned economist. His love for cars started early when he used to tag along in his father’s car. The youngster started driving at the early age of 10, using his mum’s Volkswagen Beetle, even though he could barely see ahead and his legs could hardly touch the pedals. At that time his father was the accountant of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and they had a large compound, which made it easy.  
Zayyad, after growing up, went to study Business Management in America and there was when he went into car customization as a hobby, which later evolved into his means of livelihood. At a point, anyone in Kaduna who had a healthy love for cars got a car – or two – customized by the talented youngster. His interest in cars, he said, is so great that it was only natural it became a vocation. He had started a job with a car parts company as a sales representative, but later delved into customization.
The trick to customizing successfully, Zayyad said, is to allow the car keep its identity even when re-designed. “When a client brings a car, usually brand-new, it remains basically the same but with snazzier-looking bumpers, spoilers, tyres, rims, fog lights, fenders and other things, customized to look trendy,” he said, adding: “I like to customize cars to the taste of the owner.”
The car customizing wiz later left America after staying there for ten years and relocated to Kaduna, Nigeria, after shipping the car he drove in America home.
Zayyad also recalled how he bought a Peugeot 505 model and customized it, designing the extra fittings like spoilers, bumpers, etc. “I took it to a company in the UK who made them according to the brief I gave them,” he said, adding that the management of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) named it ‘Evolution’. “The Managing Director then was a Frenchman, but Alhaji Abu Gidado was the Deputy Managing Director and PAN saw the uniqueness of the customized car and bought five of them from me then they mass-produced it in France,” he said.
Zayyad said he didn’t receive any compensation even though his design was very successful commercially. He said other customization jobs he’s done include an ambulance and a version of the 406. “I even customized two ambulances for the Presidency during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo to suit his taste,” he said.
Zayyad also recalled learning a lesson decades ago when he ran into no-nonsense General Hassan Usman Katsina. “I was driving at top speed – youthful exuberance and all that – and he gave me a good scolding before ordering me to never drive carelessly and to observe and respect traffic rules and regulations,” he said. He cautioned young drivers to always be careful. “In my youth, one could count the number of cars on the road from morning till night,” Zayyad said, whereas roads are brimming with cars nowadays.
Asked his favourite car was, Zayyad said it’s the classic, old model Mercedes Benz 200, nicknamed ‘German Mistake’ in Nigeria. “They’re stronger compared to newer versions, and they can last decades,” he said, adding that he wasn’t sure if the newer versions could last that long. “Mercedes Benz cars are truly the best in the world,” he added.
Interestingly, Zayyad does not like two-wheeled vehicles of any kind. “I fractured my leg riding a bicycle, maybe that’s why,” he said, guessing that the mishap must have caused him to bond with cars, as according to him, they are much safer.