Jelani Aliyu, a Nigerian from Sokoto State, is US auto giant General Motors Senior Creative Designer. He designed the world acclaimed Chevy Volt which has been described as an American Revolution and hottest concept in automobile design line. According to the company's New York office release, "GM`s most electrifying advanced technology vehicle is the Chevrolet Volt concept, a battery-powered, extended-range electric passenger vehicle."In his paper delivered at the conference of Nigerians in Diaspora Organization, NIDO, Canada, entitled Role of Educated Youth in 3Ps and Entrepreneurship, the designer of the state-of-the-art electric car for General Motors, the world’s largest automobile makers, paints a picture that says nothing is impossible to achieve once your mind is fully set;
We must never underestimate the amazing power of human imagination, the ability to envision that which does not yet exist. Every great city, every monument, every historic feat, as it stands for all the world to see, was once pure thought, pure imagination acted upon and brought into reality.
To imagine is to dream, to dream is to believe in the yet unreal. And when we do dream, it must be big, because to dream small is to totally underestimate the amazing capabilities that lie within each and every one of us.
I was born and grew up in Nigeria, Land of the Niger crocodile, The Baobab tree, And the midday sun, Nigeria, Where smiles are free Like the bright blue sky And the beautiful stars of the night.
I grew up in Sokoto, in the northern part of the country, about an hour from the northern border. My parents came from Dogondaji, which is a town about an hour southwest of Sokoto. Growing up was a fascinating experience, the wide open spaces, the bright blue sky and the very closely knit family. Growing up was a lot of fun, very exciting times.
I have always wanted to be a car designer for as far back as I can remember (YAT- what are your dreams and aspirations). I studied Architecture, the closest thing to it in Nigeria, at the Birnin Kebbi Polytechnic (YAT- Are you still concerned as to how you graduated whether in a university, college of education or polytecnic? It doesn't matter so long as you have the dream and passion burning in you).
After that I attended the College for creative Studies in Detroit where I studied Transportation Design. When I graduated I got a job with general Motors, I worked at the GM tech Center for about three years and then went on international assignment to Germany for about two years at Opel.
Then I came back to the Tech Center and most recently I designed the Chevrolet Volt Electric Car, a vehicle that is crucial not just to GM but to the whole industry and world in general.
When ever I am in Nigeria, I am fascinated by the people, culture and environment. Nigeria is truly a country endowed with a lot of resources, we have oil, natural gas, cocoa, minerals and fertile soil that could cultivated to feed hundreds of millions, but above all, at our very core, what we have is our humanity, that magical inner spirit that glows from within, that magical inner spirit that makes us an integral and crucial part of the human civilization.
This is now more important than ever before, because humanity as a group, (Africans and Europeans, Asians and Americans, humanity in its totality) is on the verge of a major philosophical evolution, an evolution that will dramatically and forever change the very pattern of the human experience.
This will be brought about by exponential advances in the sciences, arts and technology, leading to a better and deeper understanding of the human mind and how it works, and also leading to the scientific connection between the human thought process and the man made reality that surrounds us.
Two significant results of this new way of thinking will be enhanced relationships within humanity and between humanity and the environment.
Another Way to Connect to Your Volt: With the myChevrolet† and OnStar® RemoteLink™† mobile apps, you’ll have power to control and customize many of the features of Volt
.
Volt is loaded with the latest technology, including push-button start and a 7-inch diagonal touch-screen
That is what I use as inspiration for my designs, and that is what we as Nigerians must use as inspiration to move our country forward. In these days of environmental consciousness, sustainability and renewability, who more environmental than the African, who more sustainable than the Nigerian?
We must remember our historic roots of closeness to nature and continue to pull our inspiration from it, nature: a magnificent bowl of life full of awe and wonder. As we build our cities, let they be the magnificent manifestations of a people that have inherited and are fully endowed with a great respect for the environment.
It can be intelligently argued that although some of the reasons our nation is still underdeveloped are less than gallant, there is no doubt that being at the stage we find ourselves gives us the opportunity to be at an exciting beginning with no carry over disruptive technologies, this makes us free to adopt the most applicable and efficient new technology for our unique purposes.
That technology that we adopt must be one that is in tune with our culture and environment. A major reason for the failure of a lot of infrastructure and systems in our nation is because they were not fundamentally designed for our applications.
It is no surprise that our physical environment is absolutely different from the conceptual birth place of a lot of the technology that finds itself transplanted into our lands.
A lot of systems fail in Africa simply because they do not fall within the critical physical and mental patterns that are natural in that environment, not because of an inherent lack of local human support.
From time immemorial, Africans have had tools, systems and technologies that have assisted them in their daily lives. These technologies had been developed and evolved over time to be most conducive to our people and environment.
For example most of Africa is hot, and historically homes have been built to be comfortable with passive cooling technologies without the need for added energy. In the last couple of decades we have equated progress with completely disregarding and forgetting a lot of our local and very effective technologies.
This is not right, we must not dismiss them, but rather, we must take and merge them with applicable new technology to create a contemporary and yet authentic Nigerian solution.
It is an exciting new world, and we must be strong valuable members of it, we must go for the seemingly impossible and make it reality. We must brave new paths with no fear, we must all come together and courageously strive towards the achievement of all that which will positively and most dynamically impact multiple facets of the Nigerian human experience.
YAT: You can hold the governement, your parents, teachers and lecturers accountable for every action that they have taken, but one thing you cant do is blame anyone for the present turn your life has taken. The Holy book says "...man you are inexcusable Rom.2:1" Do you have a dream? are you passionate enough? Do you have the discipline to pursue your aspirations? Are you surrounded by the right people? Have you changed your thought process? Most importantly, have you taken the first step and burned all the bridges behind you? You can surely make IF ONLY YOU WOULD BEFLIF
(INSERTS- Are comments meant to inspire you from YAT and not an actual question and answer session with Jelani Alliyu)
Culled from africanoutlookonline.com
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