This Mechanic speaks English, Igbo, Hausa, Fulfulde, and Yoruba despite being an indigene of Orji Local Government of Enugu State. Okechukwu Uzomba learned to be a full- fledged mechanic, skilled at maintaining trucks and other vehicles from Master Gadzama -the elder brother of Barrister Kyari Gadzama (SAN) in Michika town of Adamawa State when he was just fifteen years old.
One of the automobiles he learned to repair was an old model of Land Rover, before he graduated after ten years.
Uzomba said after his graduation he was employed as an artisan by his master and later relocated to Ketaren Gwari area of Minna in Niger State and it took him a year before he made enough contacts and became fully established.
However, he later worked as a fully paid mechanic in Abuja with Briscoe and later Leventis Motors where he learnt how to use computers to diagnose the fault of modern cars which was a new thing for him compared to the old model analogue cars he was used to for decades.
Meanwhile, Mr Uzomba took the bull by the horn when he left the paid job and established yet again his own mechanic workshop in Abuja where he deals with SUVs along Airport Road. He said he deals with the cars he specialized in, which are SUVs and has to be pressed before he agrees to repair other types.
On how they get the applications to diagnose and repair modern cars that are being re-branded every two years, he said he used the internet to search for the type and brand of car and the right computer application made for it and problems to troubleshoot and then get the solution.
He advised those interested in buying fairly used SUVs to get a renowned mechanic to inspect the car. He admitted that luck also plays a role in such transactions as some may be good and the owner wants to just sell the car, while others may be faulty.
According to him, the Second thing to consider is maintenance. “You need to maintain your car whenever you hear any noise or malfunction for your safety and that of others.”
He said SUVs and other cars used abroad and imported to Nigeria have what is called a ‘green card’ -a card inside the globe compartment or pigeon hole- with the history of all the repairs done on the car.
On what is the main problem of luxury car owners, he said the availability of substandard spare parts across the country and “if one doesn’t know the difference between them you will easily fall prey.”
On the difference between four cylinder, V6 and V 8 engine capacities, he said Four Cylinder has a normal engine compared to 6 cylinder or V6 and 8 cylinder of V8 engines. ‘V shaped engines give you more capacity and speed, they also consume more fuel than 4 cylinder engines, as some V6 and V 8 have double exhaust pipes behind the cars compared to others,’ adding that due to the high fuel consumption of the SUVs they are hardly seen on the road when there is fuel scarcity.
Mr Uzomba said in the developed world, these SUVs are not meant for the city but for off-road users in rural areas, such as farmers, hunters, field surveyors, ranchers amongst others, but are patronised by the elites in Nigeria, ranging from government, corporate and private individuals in the cities as a symbol of wealth.
However, some of these cars like CRV which means Comfortable Round-About Vehicles, have big tyres that manoeuvre better on bad roads because they are higher than other vehicles.
He said it baffles him how women like driving SUVs, but are unable to change the tyres when it is flat. He said that some women change their car tyres depending on their social standing in the society while others don’t.
Uzomba narrated some nasty experiences where he fixed expensive SUVs and the owners in the guise of test-driving, ran away without paying for the service. ‘“ don’t go to court even if I know the person because of the delays in adjudication.”
Aside what he does, Uzomba, in order to give back to the society, trained some orphans without a fee and they have established their own garage. “That is my social responsibility to the country at large,” he revealed.
