There are few self-made stories like that of Ignatius Asabor. His recent success caught the news media and admiration of many when he landed a job with a Finnish company as drone maker. He is one of the few feel-good stories about Nigeria and talent redemption.

But before then he was a poor fellow in the country, like many youths, who dream and go nowhere but the perdition of expectations.

He tapped into the new wave of technology, which includes robotics, artificial intelligence and software. He tacked on to robotics at the age of nine, and he stuck with it in spite of the absence of support and a hostile environment.

In the western world, a boy like him would take advantage of scholarships or grants, and rise on the hope, support and gratitude of the society.

But he started with scraps. “First, I was building small cars from cardboard and other materials which I got from scrap yards and other similar places around me,” he told DroneJ, a magazine that specialises in the subject. “But after a while, that started to seem like child’s play; it didn’t satisfy me anymore. I knew I wanted to build more ambitious projects and innovate something new. That’s when my interest shifted to drones, custom-made airplanes, and other robotics systems.”

He decided to earn a degree from Utagba-Ogbe Technical College, Kwale in Delta State. But the certificate did not earn him a job, and he concentrated on the idea that he had loved from childhood and started to take advantage of the internet and social media to project his talent. It was not an easy ride, but one of whirlwinds, turbulence and failures.

“I started making videos about my drone projects in 2016 when I got my first smartphone. I posted some videos and photos on Facebook, along with short writeups about my projects.

I built several prototypes and I was improving the quality of the system step by step. After several crashes, I finally managed to build my first working custom-made crop duster RC model. Many people in other countries offered support for my project, including Radai. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any support from Nigeria. Radai is the first company to offer me a work contract.”

But it was the faith of one man and one company that turned his career trajectory up into the skies. The managing director of Radai, Ari Saartenoja followed his work with painstaking attention. “He had seen my innovations on my Facebook page, and he was impressed with my skills and persistence to develop and innovate new things.”

The company offered to train him online, but the vagaries of Nigerian backwardness caught up with him.

“But soon we realised that it was highly difficult to train online. The main issues were bad internet connection and annoying electricity outages. So, after a few months of training, we decided it’s better for me to come to Finland and start training here,” he narrated.

He had to be flown over to Finland.

It is an extraordinary story for him and for Nigeria, and it also demonstrates how Nigerians have been taking care of themselves in spite of a failing economy and leadership. Asabor is 22, and we have seen many Nigerians excel abroad, and bring accolade to their country in spite of the knocks the education system has suffered in the past few decades

When he arrived Finland, his boss raved about it on social media, “Ignatius Asabor, young Nigerian drone talent has just arrived to Finland, Oulu,” he wrote. “Ignatius will strengthen Radai’s survey team in future and bring more international expertise in the field. Welcome, Ignatius Asabor to Radai Team.”

We welcome him to his dream, and many young Nigerians to dream like him.

Update news