Jelani Aliyu is a United States-based Nigerian automotive designer, who designed the General Motors’ leading auto brand, Chevrolet Volt. SEYI GESINDE, in this piece takes a look at the background of this Sokoto-born, but now US-based automobile genius.
Jelani Aliyu
Alot of people may not know that a Nigerian actually designed Chevrolet Volt, a car described as the future of General Motors, the world’s biggest automaker based in the United States. Who is then this genius? He is Jelani Aliyu, the man from Sokoto, who left Nigeria to become the General Motors Lead Exterior Designer.
Jelani, who started off in Sokoto State, is now a world-class car designer. With focus and determination, Jelani said he was able to fulfil his dream, not minding the initial discouragement from people around him who felt he couldn’t go far in the industry.
After his exemplary work, a night of honour was organised for him at Detroit by Nigerian Foundation of Michigan. At the event, the president, Nigerian Foundation of Michigan, Professor Chile Chukwu, described Jelani as “an embodiment of what Nigeria needs, creativity, honesty and worthy ambassador.”
His teachers who were also asked to comment about him said he was such an exceptional student. Jelani’s Senior Thesis Project Supervisor, Carl Olsen, said: “Jelani was exceptionally gifted as a designer. More surprising is the fact that of all the students we had at that time, he spoke English better that any of the American students that were there. Indeed, I gave him the title Laureate of Transportation Design, because not only that his designs were of high standard, but the verbal presentation of his designs was exceptional and the best I have ever heard.
“He led the design team for Chevrolet Volt for General Motors, one of the leading brands of GM. From the GM’s perspective, Volt is a car representing the future of GM,” Carl Olsen said.
Another Professor of Automobile Design, William Porter, said: “Jelani always asks the question that is most searching and has the most profound consequences. His questions have greater depth and searching than those of other students.”
Jelani, also responding tells his own story thus: Background
I grew up in the northern part of Nigeria, in Sokoto, the capital of Sokoto State. I’ve always loved cars since I was a kid and my brothers and dad also loved cars a lot and I love drawing. So I put the two together to really go into car design. But as you know, there is nothing like that in Nigeria, actually in the whole of Africa, there is nothing like car designing. So, I had to go out of Nigeria to study automobile design.
Challenges abroad
The first challenge I faced out of the country was the weather. When I left Nigeria, it was very hot, leaving that hot terrain in Sokoto for Michigan which was very cold was really the biggest challenge that I had. Also, the school itself was very challenging because a lot of people wanted to go into car designs, but there was a little space, so you really have to be one of the best to get in there and the competition between the students was very stiff.
How he goes about designing cars
Car designs take quite a while between the time you come up with the concept and the time it hits the road, so we are always dealing with the future. In car design, you must be able to really look down the road to see what the competition is to come up with solutions.
Inspiration
I personally grew up in Africa; I take a lot of my inspiration from nature. I try to take from that and put into my design. For instance, we look at the planet earth and you see that we live on a truly magical planet; it is a gigantic overfly hustling through space. Everywhere we look around we see that we are surrounded by wonders of our natural world, from the tiny leaf, only a fraction of millimetre thick yet highly efficient to the amazing sea race at the deep waters of the atlantics. The planet earth is a perfect balance of beauty and practicality. So, I reach into nature, learn from it and apply it to car designs.
Perspective about Nigeria.
In life everything has its positives and negatives and you can find anything wrong with any society, any community in any part of the world. It is really not right to talk or think about negative things about Nigeria. The positive far exceeds the negative and that is why I keep focused. People may think or talk negatively about Nigeria, but there are a lot of people who are doing good and had contributed positively to the development of United States and other countries around the world, most especially our own country, so I take that as my focus and adopt it to move forward.
Counsel for Nigerians.
There are so many potentials in Nigeria, so people living within or outside the country should really contribute to the development of that great nation. It is great to live outside and make a living, but it is a spiritual call to contribute to our root. It is just amazing. Each time I think about Nigeria, the potentials that exist, the potentials in the land, I’m just mind-boggling about what could be done. Nigerians in the Diaspora really need to look at that and know that there is a potential that they can invest in. And this has to be done by both Nigerians inside and outside. Together, Nigerians everywhere can be able to make a difference and make Nigeria one of the best countries in the world.
For the youth It reminds me of many years ago when I had a dream myself and a lot of people said you can’t do that, we don’t even make cars in Nigeria, but I had a dream and that passion and I know nothing is impossible. We must never underestimate the power of human determination and human imagination. When we see young kids beginning to excel and develop interest in something, it is up to the community and the parents to help the child try to nurture that gift; it can get better and better. The biggest thing is never to lose hope and believe in your imagination, go for what you want to do. If everybody around you says you can’t do it, never give up.
Born in 1966 to the family of Alhaji Aliya Haidara and Sharifiya Hauwa’u Aliyu, Jelani grew up in Sokoto with his other siblings as the fifth of seven children. He didn’t capitalise on the limitations around him as a northern Nigerian, rather, Jelani said he considered it amazing growing up in Sokoto and being surrounded by the rich culture of his people from where he taps from to develop good inspiration.
In 1971, Jelani attended Capital School, Sokoto, and in 1978, he secured admission into Federal Government College, Sokoto, and graduated from the institution in 1983, winning the Best Technical Drawing Student award.
The judgment overturns that of the Lagos High Court which sentenced both men to death by hanging.
