By Toyin Adeniyi
A Nigerian man, Mark Titus, is gaining attention online for constructing a unique portable-sized car from scratch with a budget of just N300,000.
His story was brought to the fore by a blogger Lucky Udu on Friday, August 16.
Titus is a welder from Zing, a small local government in Taraba. He built the vehicle without any support, showcasing his natural talent which he said was developed when he was quite young.
Unique shape
He told Udu in the interview monitored by Church Times that he built the vehicle five years ago. The vehicle has a unique shape. It has three wheels and it’s fully functional like any other vehicle. It has all the accessories of a vehicle.
Titus who is just about 30 years said he dropped out of secondary school for lack of funds to learn welding but soon discovered he could do a lot of construction and electrical work.
After constructing the car he drove it over a distance of about 300 kilometers with I litre of fuel for 20 kilometers.
Vehicle driven to Abuja
Titus said he drove the car from Taraba to Abuja for an exhibition sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Science in 2021
Despite his limited education due to lack of support and lack of funds, Mark has continued to follow his passion for invention. In addition to the car, he has also constructed a four-wheeled bicycle and a vehicle for the disabled.
However, Titus is now handicapped due to lack of funds. He is appealing to the government for support.
“I am hoping for more experience with the support of the government to go to China or Germany so I can get more knowledge and come back to Nigeria and start investing in this development”
Ironically, some of the commentators on the Facebook Post who should sheer the young man ridiculed the project describing it as a scrap.
But quite a number commended his efforts and hoped the government would come to his aid. Some cited instances of such talents that have since been buried because of lack of support