OBITUARY: Izuogu, the car inventor whose dream to place Africa on the map was buried under Abacha

Nigeria would probably have been listed among countries that manufacture automobiles if Ezekiel Izuogu received all the needed support in 1997 when he came about a design for a Nigerian, and largely, African made car. 

Izuogu’s idea then was prompted by a desire to make cars that would be affordable to the common man. Describing it as the first ever all African car in a 1998 publication, BBC wrote that Izuogu’s Z-600, first in the Z series, had 90 percent of its parts locally produced.  

If it ever made it into mass production, the BBC reported that the car would “cost just $2,000 (£1,195), making it the most affordable car in Africa – and probably the world.” 

Izuogu’s Z-600 never moved beyond the celebrated prototype. And just like that, the dream died, and then, 23 years later, Izuogu died, too. He was 71. 

‘ABACHA PROMISED ME N253M BUT I DIDN’T SEE THE MONEY’ 

Of course, it wouldn’t be an easy task for Izuogu to embark on a mass production of Z-600 without the intervention of the then government. As a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede in Imo state, the engineer had invested almost all his life savings into the research and design of the new brand, with expectation that the government would take it up. 

Not much of a surprise that the then government headed by Sani Abacha, late military ruler, set up a 12-man panel made up of professionals to check the roadworthiness and authenticity of the car. The car was given a pass mark after days of critical checks by the panel.

At a ceremony to unveil the car, Nigerian government and about 20 other governments from across the world were in attendance, and there, the innovator was promised a grant of N253 million to improve on the smoothness of the car’s body. 

“It was the first car we produced in Africa. We finished it and the government at that time, the government of General Sani Abacha supported it after he saw it in Owerri. In fact, the government wrote a letter that I should receive N253 million in order to smoothen the body of the car,” Izuogu said in a 2019 interview with Vanguard. 

“The government was very impressed by the design and everything but no kobo came to me. Nigerians kept attacking the Z-600. The problem in Nigeria is jealousy, there is a lot of jealousy in Nigeria, they kept attacking this product in the press and I didn’t have time to be replying to them. I was more concerned with magnetodynamics. So, that is the position. I thought the businessmen in Nigeria would take on the car and mass-produce it but they didn’t do so. And I have a more important design which is the invention of this emagnetodynamics engine or what they called the Izuogu Engine by the World International Property Organisation.” 

While subsequent governments had come, it appeared none got interested in Izuogu’s idea, and not even private investors. 

Well, the current President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had given him N10 million about three years ago, but Izuogu argued that if people had put in N5 billion into the Z-600, by now, the car would be seen all over Africa. 

“I thank the government for the gesture but I told them that it was most inadequate for this kind of invention,” he explained. 

He added that the “design took me 14 years to design and manufacture. I used all the cash on me to manufacture it, to try to fabricate it and all that.”  

While that idea seemed to have faded, Izuogu moved on to the “Izuogu engine.” 

‘IZUOGU ENGINE NOW IN US, 139 OTHER COUNTRIES’ 

In the interview, Izuogu said his machine is working in many countries of the world, and some people are even producing it illegally. 

“They are going to pay us damages. They are producing it in Pakistan, they are producing it in America and few other places in 139 countries, but we are the owners of the franchise,” he said.  

“Those who are producing it will pay us for it and if we want to produce it in Nigeria, we will do so. Nigeria is not technology-minded, otherwise, they would have embarked on it. There’s this automobile company that says it wants to manufacture electric cars but ours is better than electric cars which need recharging twice or three times a day. We are far ahead.

“With Izuogo’s engine, the car does not need recharge or fuel and it could work for about 50 years.”

HOW ROBBERS STOLE DESIGN HISTORY NOTEBOOK OF Z-600

South African was reportedly making plans with Izuogo for mass production of Z-600, but in 2006, the engineer lost the history notebook for the mass production of the automobile when armed robbers attacked his factory. 

Different machines, tools and the design file labelled ‘Z-MASS,’ were stolen.

“It seems that the target of this robbery is to stop the efforts we are making to mass-produce locally made car in Africa,” Izuogo had said. 

The loss, according to Izuogo, was worth about N1 billion.  

REJECTED MINISTERIAL ROLE THRICE TO FOCUS ON RESEARCH

Apart from science and engineering, Izuogo was actively involved in politics as he was a pioneer member of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In his own sphere, he was also instrumental to the victory of Buhari in the 2015 presidential election. 

In an interview with journalists in 2015, the engineer said thrice he was approached with a ministerial role but couldn’t accept as he was more focused on his research. 

“To be honest with you, l had three offers to be minister in the past but because of the research l am doing, which is very, very important, l didn’t want to accept those appointments, but now l want to say that l am humbly available,” he said.  

“I have done the best l can in the research areas. If it is the wish of God that I serve in any capacity in this government, l will be ready to do so. I am not one of them who go to advertise themselves for appointments. No, l wouldn’t do that. I have heard sufficient experience in Nigeria politics.” 

In an interview with The Nation, the deceased who was close to MKO Abiola, self-acclaimed winner of the 1993 presidential election, alleged that Babagana Kingibe offered him a lucrative position to earn his support for winning the presidential ticket of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) but he pitched his tent with Abiola who eventually clinched the ticket.

Abiola later announced Kingibe as his running mate.

“I was very close to Abiola. I discussed with Abiola right inside his bedroom. That was where I gave my advice to him and he respected democracy. It is the people in Jos that nominated him as the presidential candidate of SDP. I organised all the eastern delegates to vote for Abiola,” he had said.

“Babagana Kingibe came to me and say please support me and I will give you Secretary to the Government. I said Kingibe you are my friend but I am committed to MKO Abiola; that’s the person we are supporting. Kingibe’s people did everything possible to get me to shift ground but I refused. I told him I cannot shift ground. Arthur Nzeribe was supporting him and I told him to let Nzeribe make you whatever he wants you to be and we went to the field and Kingibe was defeated. Kingibe is my friend until tomorrow, but I supported MKO Abiola because Abiola respected democracy. Let Buhari respect democracy.”

In a condolence message on Sunday, the president described the Imo born Izuogu as a trail-blazing innovator and scientist.

As a well-respected academic and gifted engineer, the president said he believes Izuogu will be fondly remembered and honoured for his exceptional work that laid the foundation for the manufacturing of the indigenous prototype car in Nigeria.

The president affirmed that the legacy of Izuogu will live on in the innovations he pioneered, the human institutions he built and passed on to those that came in close contact with him. 

But, would the government Izuogu so admired return to revive the Z-600 idea?