Abuja — Before the unveiling of Tata Nano the cheapest car in the world was the Suzuki Maruti - a Japanese product. Cheap automobiles are produced to address the transportation needs of the poor in the urban and rural areas. Now, we all know that Nigeria is rich in this category of people. And we do know that the Suzuki Maruti was developed by the Japanese for the Japanese and global community. It is not necessary to say that the Indians have developed their Tata Nano to meet the needs of India and possibly to address global transportation needs. Despite the global criticism from environmentalists about the carbon emission risks as it affects global warming, one must agree that the patriotic zeal behind the development of these vehicles must be saluted. This is where Nigeria must derive its lesson from.

During the Nigerian civil war, the Biafra soldiers developed the Ogbunike armoured tanks. These tanks were crudely constructed but they worked. A nation with its focus on development would have assembled the brains behind the design and construction of those vehicles after that war and built a team around their experience so as to actualise Nigeria's automotive development policy. Those brains are either dead or attrited due to old age today. They were never harnessed nor encouraged. But the neglect is not limited to this example.

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