-ANSU STUDENTS, WHO WANT TO PLACE NIGERIA'S NAME ON WORLD TECHNOLOGICAL MAP IN THE UK

• Nwachukwu and Onyenanwu
Anambra recently scored another first when a group of engineering students from the State University, ANSU, with the Team name, The Nuta Bolts was selected to participate in this year's Formula Students competition in the United Kingdom (UK).

The selection of ANSU's The Nuta Bolts makes it the first team in Nigeria to participate in the world competition and it will be competing with 109 other teams across the world. Grades into three classes, Nuta_Bolts is in class two and will be slogging it out with 18 other teams in the that class.

Formula Students is said to be the biggest and best of its kind in Europe and it is run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), in partnership with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

It, among other things, challenges university students to design, build, develop, market and compete as a team with a small single seat racing car, just as it's about building future engineering talents, not just in the technical areas of design and manufacture, but in many of the management, marketing and skills so vital in modern world, across all sectors of employment.

Young and unassuming Onyenanu Ifeanyichukwu Ugochukwu, who is the Team Leader of The Nuta Bolts, spoke to Education Review on how the team came to know about the competition and their efforts towards success at the event. The 400-level Mechanical Engineering student who hails from Ichi in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of the state, also spoke of the handicap in getting sponsors and why it is necessary that institutions, governments and well-meaning Nigerians should support the team. Excerpts:

The competition
Right from the time I was in year II, I founded a 10-man team. We started by designing small things. In fact, our name came from our first design. The 10-man team first of all designed a unique nut and bolt and when we showed it to our faculty, they were very surprised at that particular design. So, we decided to name the team, the Nuta Bolts, a name which came from a combination of the nut and bolt. That was in 2008 and that was exactly where the team started.

Now, coming to the competition itself, when I was in third year, I learnt about Institution of Mechanical Engineers. I pioneered the institution's young members chapter at ANSU, Uli and afterwards, when Nigeria got its session, I was made the Nigerian Projects and Research Director. It was under my office that I was given an obligation that a university in Nigeria is going to be present in that competition in UK.

So, we started the fight, organizing the whole schools in Nigeria; over 14 universities, trained under the team I formed as a Nigerian Physics and Research Team of Institution of Mechanical Engineers at Scientific Equipment Development Institute (SEDI), Enugu in August 2010. They had car and software training.

They did wonderfully well but in the representation, that was during the training, Anambra State University had a number of people among other universities that came especially the people that were in the team when the team was growing. That was where they picked it up and that was how I came to know about Formula Students. It was purely from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Qualifying and applying for the competition
There is this saying that Nigerian students don't manufacture anything, they don't produce anything but are only maintenance engineers. I came to believe that particular fact at the onset, which was why we started that particular thing; the Nigeria Project and Research Team. When we started, we entered the competition, it was pure manufacturing competition. Wherein we go, we manufacture a racing car; I know that it is going to be a tough one for Nigeria because we don't have manufacturing firms here in Nigeria especially in the aspect of automobile as in indigenous companies.

We started with that particular innovation of manufacturing, we applied for the competition. We registered for the competition on January 17 because it was a 24-hour registration that we did and out of all the universities and the teams that we registered, luckily for us, the Nuta Bolts was taken for the first time to represent Nigeria and stand the chance to represent Africa as the second university in the competition since over 35 years.

What is expected of Nuta_Bolts
We are expected to design. We entered as Class II which is purely to design a racing car, a complete racing car, using software, and then we stimulate it and do the whole analysis. The next step is the presentation aspect and we have to do the cost analysis aspect. So, what is expected of us is the design, fabricating one or two parts of the racing car, then, doing the cost analysis and presentation at UK come July 13-17, 2011.

Preparation
It is a very tough one for Nigeria. Immediately that particular position was given to us, immediately we saw our name on the net, over 24 mails came under five minutes into my mailbox from outside the country, congratulating us and wishing us well that they would like to see another African country present because the first African country that represented was Edward University, Egypt and that was in 2010 and their position was 74. They gave the light to Africans.

Now, coming down, we are going there to represent and for that particular fact, we've started our design. We have our supervisors round the companies in the South-East. We have Engr. Otuu Obinna, he's the Head, Research and Development of SEDI, Enugu. We have Engr. Bola, Head Research and Development, that is, National Engineering Design Development Institute, Nnewi. We have Engr. Dr. Chuks Nkwocha, the first man to produce a made-in-Nigeria limousine. He has a company; JitiJohn Engineering Company.

We still have other people backing us up like Engr. Prof Sam Chukwujekwu. He's the Dean, Faculty of Engineering, ANSU. We have former Director of Ajokuta Steel Company, Engr. Dr. Atanmo Philip backing us. We have Engr. Dr.  Solomon from Unizik. All these people are gurus that have been supervising us. It's being divided into six parts and they have some supervisors all through. They have supervisors that have been supervising them on these parts.

The first of the groups is the Chassis, the design of the Chassis and the construction system. The second in the group is the power train of the racing car. The person handling the chassis design and the suspension system is Engr. Obinna Otu, he's a renowned engineer at SEDI, Enugu. The person supervising the power train of the racing car is Engr. Egboka David Chuma. He's the Head Research, Anambra State University Mechanical Engineering Department. The person that is supervising the drive train is Engr. Dr. Nwogbo. Yellow dynamics and others have their Heads supervising them.

ANSU's participation
My Staff Adviser II, Engr. Chuma David, was very much amazed to see these things. The Staff Adviser I is Engr. Dr. Akammuo, the former Managing Director of Ajaokuta Steel Company. They were very happy on hearing that Nigeria will stand to represent because this is a medium to increase and boost the morale of Nigerian students all around the country. So, they were very, very happy. We've met our Head of Department (HOD and I believe that he's very happy on the improvement and achievements we've recorded so far.

Cost
We made an estimated budget of N3.1million. The total cost including the camping fee, the fabrication fee, the shipping of the parts that we fabricated, the visa fee and the flight tickets because seven people are to go and represent the country in UK.

Source of fund
We are supposed to open sponsorship from our plan because immediately we saw it, we drafted a plan, opening sponsorships but one of our major disadvantages is that we've not been advertised; many people don't know us, many people have not seen us, many people have not even heard about the good news that is about to happen to the country. I believe that if Nigeria would be there or make it at UK come July, our level of technology will change because many people will come into the country to patronize the products of this country knowing that if it can breed undergraduates that can come out and represent the country in an internationally organized Formula Students competition, it will be something else. So, we are starting on sponsorship but we need to advertise ourselves; that is why we are here.

Hope of winning
I have this courage in me that Nigeria is going to make waves in the world. I have this belief in me that Nigeria is going to be among top ranking countries in technology but it must start somewhere. I think that this is the first step. Like I told them in our brochure and newsletters, it is tough Nigeria making it to the Formula Students competition but we must be there. One of the reasons why I believe in myself that I can produce something is that when I was doing my Industrial Training (IT) with SEDI, I worked under Engr. Dr. Nkworka. He's a consultant at SEDI, handling an Agro-based Tricycle. I worked under him, using CDI75 to produce an Agro-base Tricycle and I was the only IT student that was given that opportunity. I produced the Agro-based Tricycle and its fully working.

Plea to Nigerians
I know this is a very big task; Nigeria making it to UK. I told the person representing us over there at UK because immediately we entered the competition; they gave us a white man that is going to be representing us. Nigeria has this bad name over there; they always see us as a corrupt country. I went to her, I told her; come what may, Nigeria will be there at Silverstone. Though it's going to be difficult, the economy of the country doesn't encourage the students. We were on six months strike and it wasn't an encouragement to me as an Engineering student but I know that it is not a fight of one man, if they leave it to us to go and let them see what we can do without helping us out at this date we're expected, I think Nigeria will not make anything there.

Nigerians need to come out and know that it is time for Nigeria to come up in technology. Let me quote Prof. Philip Emeagwali. He said, 'Nigeria will only develop or go a step further in development when they recognize their scientists and engineers'. If Nigeria bears in mind that it's not all about maintenance, then we will make changes. It pains me that most of the graduates that we have are into maintenance and not production. Nigeria can produce something. Most of the countries that we taught things have been producing starting from their undergraduates like us. If they come down to us and if we join hands together, we can make Nigeria proud and Africa very, very proud.