Encounter with Makurdi’s “crazy crocodile” maker
Nearly everyone turns around to catch a glimpse of the self-styled constructed car, nicknamed, “crazy crocodile” whenever it cruises through the streets of Makurdi in Benue State.
Our correspondent, who spotted the car and its driver along the Wurukum axis of Makurdi metropolis, reports that the automobile was built in two months by its owner, a mechanic, Alex Abari.
The vehicle has the capacity to carry four persons -a driver and three passengers- leaving a small space at the rear.
Abari said he was motivated to construct the car with his ``meagre income’’ to prove to himself that there were much more potential lying inside him than he imagined.
“I decided to do something extra-ordinary. I wanted to move away from the usual stuff. You know, to survive in our Nigeria of today one needs to think outside the box. That means evolving creative ideas for positive gain,” he said.
The mechanic, who has been in the trade for 20 years now, said he purchased a new engine, sourced for abandoned car parts and then assembled them with the assistance of two of his apprentices to build the vehicle.
He said the vehicle, which was the second constructed by him, would further propel his inherent talent to create more products for the benefit of the society.
“I want my society to benefit from my talent. I’m hoping that Nigerians would soon begin to use more of these rugged cars.
“This is the second one, the first one which I built was sponsored by someone who is now using it. I’m yet to complete this second one so I can’t for sure declare how much I have spent on it.”
Abari said the car was nicknamed ``crazy crocodile’’ because of its rugged nature which can withstand difficult terrain.
He said there was still more work to be done such as giving it a detachable head cover. He hoped that more people would place order for his automobile.
The mechanic said he was excited at how people stare at him whenever he drives around.
“I see people excited along the way each time, I drive past them. I’m indeed hoping to make gain out of this idea,” he added.
Abari advised young people, especially university graduates to look inwards so as to create wealth for themselves instead of waiting endlessly for white collar jobs which are hard to come by these days.
“Nigerians have talents and I make bold to say that we can reach our zenith. Youths shouldn’t depend on white collar jobs alone because all that is needed to create wealth for themselves lies within them. No one can be stranded if we all put those talents to work,” the crazy crocodile owner emphasised.