Director-General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council, (NADDC), Mr. Jelani Aliyu, has said “these are very exciting times for Nigeria, as the country can now leverage on advanced technology to leapfrog and dynamically enhance the lives of the people, to lift millions out of poverty, to create abundance, peace and prosperity.”
According to him, these developments are being brought about by exponential advances in the sciences, art and technology, that can in effects be described as the fourth industrial revolution.
Speaking while presenting a keynote address during the 2018 Nigerian Auto Journalist Association Awards Ceremony in Lagos on Thursday, Aliyu said the “world is now in an unprecedented era of ever growing interactions between technology, art, philosophy and phycology, creating opportunities never before imagined or experienced in the
history of humanity.”
“We are now in the fourth industrial revolution, characterised by digitisation, virtual realities and an enhanced human consciousness dedicated to the sustainability of the world’s natural ecosystems.
“For example, an electric vehicle has far fewer moving parts than an internal combustion engine, and hence less things to go wrong, the electric motor is virtually good for a million miles. This is good for Nigeria,” he said.
He pointed out that NADDC has also signed an MOU with Volkswagen to produce vehicles in Nigeria, noting Volkswagen is Europe’s largest auto manufacturer and it is very serious about electric vehicles and other new mobility solutions.
“As we position ourselves to provide the best for Nigerians that’s the type of partnership we need for our nation. Volkswagen has just started producing cars in Rwanda, and our intention is for them to do it on an even larger scale here in Nigeria.”
