Imo govt gives scholarship to 20-yr-old boy for manufacturing aircraft

The scholarship was announced on Wednesday in Owerri, by the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, after meeting with Akobundu.

He said the aim of the scholarship was to enable Akobundu, actualise his dream of becoming an aerospace manufacturer.

The Commissioner said: “Governor was not happy, that due to paucity of funds that the young man has not been able to accomplish his aim of fully manufacturing an aircraft to perfection

“Worried of this situation, the governor has directed we meet with the young man and tell him that the government will take responsibility of his educational requirements to any university of his choice so that he can actualise his dream of constructing an aeroplane. This is a government of shared prosperity and it is part of this government agenda to encourage young people with such initiative to move to the next level and not allow this talent to waste.”

Earlier in his remark, Akobundu said his “20 years old, I had the intention of becoming a naval officer, but I keep seeing myself in the area of creativity and started constructing an aircraft when I was 17 years old, and by 2019 when I created an aircraft, I tried it, it did not fly and I continued in 2020 and by 2021, I was able to fix the aircraft and I succeeded in flying it.

“I test run it in my place, Ehime Mbano, it takes five minutes running before it will fly and I can fly for about three to four hours in the air. I can fly from there to the Imo Airport.”

“Today, I am very happy for this opportunity given to me by my governor, Hope Uzodimma, I never thought this will happen to me one day. The Imo government has brought me hope and I want to say thank you and I will not disappoint you.”

SOURCE: Vanguard news

Incase you missed it, below is image of his aircraft:

In an interview with BBC Pidgin, the 20-year-old boy identified as Akubundu Kenneth revealed that he was taught in his dreams. Kenneth explained that he did not get his ideas from books or videos before he could build those things, they were all revealed to him in his dream and he put them into real practicals once he woke up.

While speaking with BBC Pidgin, the young lad said that it took him four years to build his first airplane due to the issues he had with the control, he added that his first plane crashed during an examination. Kenneth has built other things among which are a scooter bike, an F1 type of car, and an airplane.

Kenneth told BBC Pidgin that his only desire is to travel abroad where he could meet top engineers that will teach him how to build more things

I think that what this young boy need is empowerment and strong support. If he could assemble those items without being a graduate, I believe that he will go far in life if he is allowed to explore more things and advance his knowledge.