Prof. Ibrahim Dabo, the Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, says the university is working to develop a made-in-Nigeria car that will use water.
The dean made this known on Saturday in Zaria while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the commemoration of the 2023 World Engineering Day for sustainable development.
Dabo said there were several breakthroughs in ABU, including the recent development of an electric car and a shell eco-marathon car.
He added that the faculty was working on the development of a car that would be running with water.
“The shell eco-marathon car that was developed by the university had a capacity to cover over 100 kilometers with a litre of fuel,’’ he said.
According to him, the shell eco-marathon car has been taken to South Africa where it performed excellently, stressing that the university is working to improve on its fuel efficiency.
“The concept for the shell eco-marathon car was a small car that takes a maximum of two people for a racing competition, not for mass transit,’’ he said.
He added that the electric car that was developed is also a small car that takes a maximum of four people.
The dean however noted that the closure of Nigerian Universities for 2023 general elections made the commemoration of the event low keyed at ABU.
He described the theme of the event, “Engineering innovations for more resilient world”, as topical, apt and timely.
Dabo, therefore, called on the government to encourage outcome based education across tertiary institutions to boost and strengthen the quality and skills of engineers produced in Nigeria.
He also appealed for improved collaboration between the academia and industries.
He lamented that most of the industries around most of the institutions were closed, few functional ones import skills and essential raw materials, resulting into parallel position between the academia and industries.
NAN recalls that the World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development was proclaimed by UNESCO at its 40th General Conference in 2019.
The day is celebrated worldwide on March 4 of each year since 2020 as a UNESCO international day of celebration of engineers and engineering.