Made in Nigeria Motorcycles Launched

National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has launched its first motor cycle in Anambra st.The agency is now asking the government to ban the importation of motorcycles, promising that with financial assistance, they can produce better motorcyles



Speaking at the launching in Anambra State, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the agency, Dr.Mohammed Haruna, said the made-in-Nigeria motorcycle called “NASENI M1” was proof of the potential capability of the agency to provide necessary engineering and technology infrastructure for Nigeria’s industrial development.

Haruna said that the 80C engine motorcycle was conceived, designed and manufactured using local materials by Nigerian engineers at the National Engineering Design Development Institute (NEDDI), Nnewi , Anambra State -one of the nine Research and Development (R&) institutes supervised by NASENI.

The EVC disclosed that the product was basically one of the targets of the Agency in response to President Goodluck Jonathan’s vision 20:2020 economic transformation agenda.

He said, “The Federal Government which the Agency is part of, has promised Nigerians a better socio-economic deal by year 2020 even as Mr President has also committed the government to elevate the economic status of Nigeria to be among the 20 fastest growing economies in the world by 2020.”

He remarked that by NASENI’s reckoning, a country could only be self reliant and economically developed when her citizens begin to exercise and assert their ingenuities in productive capacities or real time manufacturing towards technological advancement of the country.

According to him, “Nigerians must demonstrate real capacities for engineering technology development, and production of manufactured goods and a service, saying that is why NASENI had taken this bold step to demonstrate to Nigerians that Mr.President’s dream is both realizable and is even being realized.”

He called on the federal government to ban the importation of motorcycles as he declared bravely that Nigeria has perfected the technology and manufacturing capacity to mass produce motorcycles in Nnewi, South-East Nigeria.

“About 20 million Nigerians today rely on motorcycles as a means of transport and many unemployed youths and men support their families or earn a living from running motorcycle as a commercial venture. Imagine the large number of jobs that will be created if only Nigeria could close her borders against the importation of motorcycles and allow entrepreneurs to invest in the manufacturing of the parts including production of the motorcycle locally.

“Nigeria, no doubt, has all the materials needed to produce motorcycles in Nigeria, 100 percent. NASENI has both the raw materials survey, their locations, equipment and the critical human capacity, design, feasibility studies and the business plan for running a successful plant to produce motorcycles. What we are waiting for now is for Nigerian entrepreneurs to come forward and take advantage of this profitable investment to manufacture of the motorcycles,” he stressed.

He reiterated the need for the private sector, especially the Small and Medium Scale Entreprises (SME’s) to collaborate with the agency by buying into the technology and mass producing them, stressing that doing so will not only contribute immensely to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but will also depopulate the growing unemployment market.

“The law establishing NASENI and its institutes does not allow it to embark on full scale manufacturing of products and or become full scale player in the market but for every technology and engineering products developed within the agency system to be ceded to the private sector for commercial purpose or mass production. Its mission includes hitherto establishing and nurturing appropriate dynamic science and engineering infrastructure base for achieving home initiated and home sustained industrialization through the development of relevant processes, capital goods and equipment necessary for job creation, national economic well-being and progress,” he added.

He further said that the primary target of NASENI is to empower SMEs through impartation of technologies, engineering principles and practices for production of equipment that will meet international standards as well as sustenance of a flourishing local capital goods or industry.

In a statement signed by the Chief Information Officer (Media and Protocol), Mr. Segun Ayeoyenikan, it said hitherto, NASENI’s mandate is concerned with activities in the areas of capital goods research, production and reverse engineering of parts with respect to engineering materials (iron, steel, nonferrous metals and alloys, plastics, glass, ceramics, polymer electronics and nanotechnology); industrial and analytical chemical materials including industrial glasses; scientific equipment and components for education, research and industry including measuring instruments, electronic components, communication equipment and computers, solid minerals machinery and other heavy equipment manufacturing.