17th May, 2015
of Bayelsa State
Automobile mechanics in Bayelsa have expressed fears that their trade may go into extinction because of youths lack of interest in undergoing apprenticeship.
The mechanics, who spoke in separate interviews with NAN) in Yenagoa on Sunday, said the trend would not augur well for the country.
They said that many of the youths were no longer interested in being trained as mechanics due to crave for easy wealth.
The mechanics said that most of them now worked alone in their workshops and this had slowed down the pace of their work.
Mr Obinna Olisa, 58, told NAN that for some years now, no apprentice had indicated interest to learn the job from him.
He expressed fears that if the trend continued no one would take over from his generation when they retired.
He called on government to reverse the trend by establishing mechanic villages with modern facilities to aid learning and teaching of technical skills.
Olisa said that such establishments would encourage students of Mechanical Engineering to enrol for their internship under the tutelage of the artisans.
He said that such mechanic villages would also provide job opportunities for Mechanical Engineering graduates who would impact some basic theoretical knowledge in the field to the apprentices.
He advised youths to take up the trade because it would ever remain a lucrative business.
Another mechanic, Mr Uchenna Oka, 48, said that automobile repair now involved high technology because many vehicles were now computerised.
Oka said that such vehicles required special skills to handle and emphasised the need for the training of fresh and young ones to handle them.
“I have spent 15 years on this job and have achieved a lot. I have been able to keep my family and train my children in schools from my earnings,” Oka said.
He attributed youths’ disdain for the job to political activities that seemed to present opportunities for making money so easily.
The artisan also advised youths to change their attitude toward the trade and embrace it.
Mr Iyang Ezekiel, who owns a workshop on Imgbi Road, Yenagoa, noted that youths now preferred riding commercial tricycles and motorcycles to being mechanics.
Ezekiel said that many youths looked down on the job and were no longer interested to be trained as mechanics.
“People no longer come here to become apprentices. The ones that bother to come are impatient to complete the number of years required to learn the job.
“They do what they call “sharp-sharp” practice and abandon the apprenticeship half way for other things,” he said.
Another mechanic, Mr Beni Waribgha, urged government to urgently address the situation to save the trade from going into extinction.
Waribgha said that if nothing urgent was done the trend would impact badly on the economy because the country would be forced to rely on foreigners to fix their vehicles.
“If care is not taken, in the next few years, there will be no more mechanics in this country, Waribgha added.
He expressed regrets that youths these days preferred loitering about to working to earn a living.