A motorist drove into a fuel station to buy fuel at Ojodu Berger district of Lagos, on September 8, 2020. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:07 AM PT – Sunday, January 24, 2021
An inventor in Nigeria has made waves worldwide with his latest creation. Ibitoye Michael spent the last three years building a car entirely out of scrap metal, spare pieces and a 1.6 Volkswagen engine. The car has four gears and runs on petrol.
Michael claimed since he was a young boy, he’s always wanted to build the first car he would drive. His aunt said she had noticed Michael’s innovative tendencies when he was just a child.
From #Ibadan Mr Michael Ibitoye made this car himself,pls lets retweet massvly#Nigerians_Are_Gifted@DeleMomodu @seyiamakinde @DONJAZZY @TheSeunFakorede @akande_debo @Adebo_ogund @Iam_lammy @innosonvehicles @Peruzzi @iamtobijames @jexsz @oyostategovt @ProfOsinbajo @Gidi_Traffic pic.twitter.com/Mnonm7mRb6
— Boogyman (@Tobbsticks) January 20, 2021
“He started on this thing even from childhood. Anytime we bought a toy, gun or anything for him, he would break it,” Abimbola Oluwayomi, Michael’s aunt said. “That was when I noticed that this boy is going to be somebody in life.”
However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, it was a difficult venture for the young innovator.
“Due to the lockdown, the economy in Nigeria, as a result of the pandemic, I was unable to get enough funds so I decided writing letters to people that I knew could support me,” Michael said.
Michael’s achievement made him hopeful that he can learn more and better his self-taught skills abroad.
“I would like to go abroad to study more on designing the mech engine, which I wanted to go for when I was in school,” Michael said.
Mr Michael Ibitoye from Ibadan made this car. plsets help spread his creativity round the world pic.twitter.com/stTPvuXJP3
— Boogyman (@Tobbsticks) January 20, 2021
The result of his dream can be seen in Ibadan in South Western Nigeria.
