Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

‘Funding, lack of government support remain greatest challenges to local inventors’

By Lawrence Njoku, Enugu
01 April 2017   |   4:26 am
Federal Government’s drive towards diversification of the economy, investments in Agriculture and efforts at reducing over dependence on oil, is beginning to sink into the consciousness of most Nigerians...

Federal Government’s drive towards diversification of the economy, investments in Agriculture and efforts at reducing over dependence on oil, is beginning to sink into the consciousness of most Nigerians, especially the youths, who are exploring other viable options that would help the country find its feet.

But the younger generation of Nigerians who are gifted in the fabrication of locally made equipment are lamenting lack of funding and government support for their endeavours.

One of such young Nigerians is Nelson Emeka, an inventor and researcher student of the Metallurgical Institute, Onitsha, Anambra State. He has continued to improve on his creative instincts with the hope that one day, a solution for the wastes that litter the streets would be found. One area of his invention is building a machine that can turn hydrocarbon related wastes into petrol, kerosene and diesel.

Speaking to The Guardian, he said: “My greatest challenges are funding, lack of developmental and research laboratory, the attitude of government to Nigerian inventors and lack of local materials. If I am able to lay hands on the resources, I assure you that we will make Nigeria the giant in research. The skill is there. Presently, all my works are 80 percent local materials component and I believe it is the way to go”.

On his device called “The Mgbanwe C12,” which means change or transform something into something better, he said, is a machine that turns hydrocarbon related wastes like plastic, waterproof, nylon, and others into petrol, kerosene, diesel and some other heavy oils and best quality interlocking stone. The interlocking stone is produced from the machines’ waste after the conversion to fuel.

Emeka, who hails from Enugu State, said that Nigeria could earn god revenue by converting some of its wastes into productive uses and on the long run create employment for its teeming youths.

In order to reduce the over dependence on oil for energising generators, he has researched further and came up with a device that could run on water, while supplying electricity.

His portable hydro- electric generator which he calls “AKPAIKE” (power box) presently has the capacity to generate 610 megawatts of electricity.

“This particular machine is just like our normal electric generator set, but is more compact in size. It uses water only as its fuel instead of gasoline. It has a capacity of 610 watts and is still considered as a prototype. A larger capacity design of this portable generator is already in progress and will soon be completed. It will have 10kv capacity and it will have better and advanced features with much more portable size.

“The first model which is the “MGBANWE C12” has a smaller capacity of about a litre per feed. Currently we are building a larger capacity of the same machine which is about at least 5000 litre of fuel on daily basis and I called it MGBANWE C13,” he explained.

On his other inventions, Nelson said he also has the farmer machine that cuts grasses, park and convert the grasses into Biogas and organic manure.

He added that the “Doctor nearby” which is the latest in his inventions could be more interesting because it arose from the spate of road accidents in the country.

“I believe that no matter the emergency and degree of accident, lives could be saved if medical assistance is available. The “DOCTOR NEARBY” is still under development. The issue of emergency and need for drugs and health or first aid facilities to homes, especially at the time when we are far away from the hospital or at the point of death. The issue of accident victims dying because of lack of quick medical response or availability will be a thing of the past.

“It is being developed in a way that anybody in the need of quick medical attention will dial a code and something will bring medical facilities to the person in a matter of minutes”

Emeka added that he other inventions he was working on that bother on security and agriculture and he has been doing this since he was old enough to think. He said the Mgbanwe c13 and the hydro-electric generator will soon change all that.

“I have applied for intellectual property right through the Ministry of Trade and Investments. I have already registered a company and I am also open to local and foreign investors,” he said.

0 Comments