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Jimoh Abdulfatai, Abdulateef Hanafi, Musa Aliu and Jamiu Abass. These are the names of the four brilliant minds who constructed a prototype of an aircraft which was displayed in Ilorin on October 1, 2020, Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary Day. These four are senior secondary school leavers from Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State.
In an interview with The Punch, Abdulfatai, one of the team members, recounted how they met and began working on the project. Though they reside in different areas of Ilorin city, their similar ideas brought them together. “We found one another through information given by people who told us about others doing something similar to what we were doing,” he said.
Since then, they have worked on different 8 prototypes before they made the ninth which they considered satisfactory. The construction process of this particular one started about three years ago. Interestingly, the materials were sourced locally.
Funding for the project wasn’t easy. Abdulfatai stated that it cost them about ₦3.5m, an amount raised by the contributions of all team members. In fact, he sold his motorcycle originally used for commercial purposes so as to procure the needed materials for the project
When asked if the aircraft could fly, he answered in affirmation: “Yes, it can fly. It has all the components of a normal aircraft such as propellers, wings, tail, flying gear, etc. Although we have not tested this one, the smaller one we built was tested.”
If chanced to meet the Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatai said they (the four team members) will give him details about their project and request for necessary support such as a permit and license to fly the aircraft. They will equally ask him to assist in sponsoring their university education; they intend to study Aeronautical Engineering so they can acquire more knowledge in the construction of aircrafts.
Ganiu Oloruntade
