Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has assured that he would assist a South Africa-based Nigerian, Toyosi Craig, who is making the country proud in the area of engineering technology.
The 29-year-old engineer was said to have been discovered as a genius on a social media platform, Penpushing, which brought him to the public glare.
Craig secured Obasanjo’s support, when he visited the former president at his Presidential Hilltop residence in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The former president said that he was impressed by Craig’s achievements, saying that it had become imperative to encourage him so that his dream and talent would not die.
Obasanjo urged the young technologist to contact him on a regular basis so that his career would be used for the benefit of the country and the world at large.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Ogun State Council of Obas, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, who also doubles as the Olu of Ilaro and paramount ruler of Yewaland, said that he was amazed by Craig’s brilliance.
Oba Olugbenle urged him to consult with him personally before his return to South Africa.
Craig, a former student of Abeokuta Grammar School, however stated how his earlier plan to put Nigeria on the world map of technology was not successful.
The graduate of Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, who came from a poor background, said he had invented a pounded yam machine which can produce a full two-man size meal in less than 30 seconds and a parabolic solar cooker.
According to him, he also invented the Yoruba version of scrabble called ‘Akomolede’, which he said if included in school curriculum, would guide against the extinction of the language.
Craig said, “I couldn’t find support to develop it. The project was built with the loans my parents got. I never knew that it was a country’s responsibility to fund quality research.
“At that point, I knew I had to change my orientation. I got opportunities to study further on all these innovations and infrastructural development in Europe and America, many of which came with part-scholarships, but there was no way I could get the remaining funds.”
He recounted how he had written to government at all levels, seeking their support to grant him loan to no avail, as they did not fulfil their promises.
”There is no government I didn’t try to meet. I wrote to everyone, pleading for a loan, not even a scholarship. I remember begging some kings for education, promising to payback in three years. Those days were painful”, he added.
Craig, therefore, explained that he had almost given up his dream when he discovered some world class schools in South Africa and later applied to Stellenbosch University.
”I found out that some schools in South Africa are world class. I applied to Stellenbosch University and God favoured me,” he said.
Craig, who is currently pursuing his doctor of philosophy degree, said while in the university he became a toast of the country, following his research in the building of a stand-alone parabolic solar cooker for African environment.
