^^^^^^

Biafra enjoyed air superiority over Nigeria!!!! The author must have been smoking some very potent weed. This is the type of embellishment I find so irritating.
Why do you need to lie so much? 100 years from now I doubt if we are not going to be told about Biafran exploration to Mars.

Aigbofa:

This is really sweet coming from the guy who told us ogbunigwe was an Anti-Aircraft Missile.Was that a statement of fact or some emotional outburst?

Of course, you conveniently forget that Dede1 immediately corrected me and I accepted.
Be man enough to accept that the Autonov 1 bears a striking resemblance to this:

Behold the Autonov II

It's ok Beaf, we both know the game.

Una still dey?
No wahala, i don get gwugwuru, make d match abi na film continue.

Chei, and the argument still goes on 

On the contrary, I still don't get what  this argument is about? No one has been able to explain to us what component of this jeep/ truck (  ) is an invention? No one could tell us what basis of comparison it is to the Ogbunigwe? There are several question unanswered here; proponents are talking about how local and backwards Nigeria is, Autnov 1 would should have been further researched upon, AGREED. Has anyone thought if the Biafrans were to have successfully separated and focused on modern technical Research and Development, Ogbunigwe will be refined and be a breaking ground for both Ground to Air, Air to Ground, Air to Air, and Ground to Ground Missiles.

manny4life:

Chei, and the argument still goes on 

On the contrary, I still don't get what  this argument is about? No one has been able to explain to us what component of this jeep/ truck (  ) is an invention? No one could tell us what basis of comparison it is to the Ogbunigwe? There are several question unanswered here; proponents are talking about how local and backwards Nigeria is, Autnov 1 would should have been further researched upon, AGREED. Has anyone thought if the Biafrans were to have successfully separated and focused on modern technical Research and Development, Ogbunigwe will be refined and be a breaking ground for both Ground to Air, Air to Ground, Air to Air, and Ground to Ground Missiles.

Agreed, but why call it Anti Aircraft Missile? Why didn't any of you refute the claim that Biafra built planes? Why the need to misinform and lie so much about things that never happened?

Aigbofa:

Agreed, but why call it Anti Aircraft Missile? Why didn't any of you refute the claim that Biafra built planes? Why the need to misinform and lie so much about things that never happened?

What difference in the name does it make? Anti-Aircraft Missiles (Surface to Air Missiles) is what it is. If Obgunigwe had the capability to shoot down or at least launch up to a certain height in the air, crude or not, firecracker or missile, bottom line it lived up to it's expectations. Then again, if it performed then, I will call it that, but if it did not, then I understand .

Refute Biafra built planes? To be honest, I've heard about that news, and although it cannot be verified so I wouldn't speak on something I'm not familiar about. I will ONLY refute claims that I'm knowledgeable of; something I know that I can verify. If other claim with facts that Biafra built planes, the burden of disproving is upon you. No one has to lie nor misinform anyone who is capable of researching the articles and facts from reliable trusted sources. It's very unfortunate that Nigeria, in our bigoted minds, we do not have a Civil War Memorial and Archives

manny4life:

Chei, and the argument still goes on 

On the contrary, I still don't get what  this argument is about? No one has been able to explain to us what component of this jeep/ truck (  ) is an invention? No one could tell us what basis of comparison it is to the Ogbunigwe?

let the OP answer the questions, what is the truck/Jeep meant for?

Torch1:

let the OP answer the questions, what is the truck/Jeep meant for?

The question has been answered in the link I provided. Even if this invention on it's own does not solve a problem, it could in addition to other ideas solve some other problems. The guy who invented plastic will today marvel at all the stuff it's being used for.

Nigerians may be very good at sneering at things they don't understand, but then that is one of the reasons we are unable to copy existing technology, not to mention creating new ones.

I mean, the Russians improved on assault riffles and made Ak47, the Israelis made Uzi. But some people made some crude replica of something already perfected and try to promote it as the height of their technological achievement! what is wrong with this picture?

Aigbofa:

The question has been answered in the link I provided. Even if this invention on it's own does not solve a problem, it could in addition to other ideas solve some other problems. The guy who invented plastic will today marvel at all the stuff it's being used for.

Nigerians may be very good at sneering at things they don't understand, but then that is one of the reasons we are unable to copy existing technology, not to mention creating new ones.

I mean, the Russians improved on assault riffles and made Ak47, the Israelis made Uzi. But some people made some crude replica of something already perfected and try to promote it as the height of their technological achievement! what is wrong with this picture?

The Autonov 1 was never an invention and not even a replica. It was attempted retrofit that went seriously bad. The vehicle was the invention of Steyr Motor Corporation of Austria.

siamese wheel drive?

amor4ce:

siamese wheel drive?

[size=16pt]Nairalanders!!!my belle don burst I need a doctor oo!! [/size]

I know the OP meant well but this thread was hilarious,

Crayola1:

I know the OP meant well but this thread was hilarious,

Some of the comments are indeed funny. I enjoy a good laugh myself, but the truth will remain the truth.

Why some of you are laughing at the Autonov 1?. As soon as a black African even thinks of creating a new invention or doing something useful the very first obstacle he encounters are his fellow Africans. You will always hear things like: It is not safe, it will not work, it is a lie, he didn't make it, it can't work, its too crude, its dangerous, or they will say that Oyinbos are making better ones,e.t.c, those are the usual chorus of condemnation we will always hear. But there is virtually no beginning that is not crude, dangerous, cumbersome , slow or even ridiculous. This is just the way it is. And if a black African innovator persists against great odds, overcomes the its not safe/its too primitive chorus he runs into the next level of obstacle his own government and its agents. Either the government agents demand bribe or they simply criminalize the fellow.

I really dont know much about the Ogbunigwe, but i am sure Inventing what will destroy [b]takes very less ingenuity(you can ask boko haram).  [/b] I think the Prof's invention 40 years ago had some clear objectives. You can not be looking at a thirld world country invention of 1970 with the eye of 2011.

The objectives are quoted below

While as a lecturer in the University of Lagos, Awojobi successfully converted his own family car, an Opel Record, from right-hand drive to a left-hand drive.[10]

He tinkered further with motor engines when he acquired an army-type jeep and proceeded to invent a second steering wheel mechanism, adjoined to the pre-existing engine at the rear end, so that the vehicle was able to move in both forward and backward directions with all four pre-existing gears.[11] This gave the hybrid vehicle, which he christened Autonov 1, the ability to achieve its highest speeds at a moment's notice, in the normal reverse direction. He highlighted the advantage this might offer to army vehicles, as an example, that might need to make a fast retreat, in a cul-de-sac or ambush situation.[12]

You guys should put aside ur diff

Ibos and their jealousy. Na jealousy go kill you.

Relax101:

By VINCENT UKPONG KALU Saturday, March 5, 2011

Dr. Felix Oragwu is a nuclear physicist and the arrowhead of the scientific and technological innovations that sustained secessionist Biafra during the thirty months of the Nigerian civil war. While many records have been made of the bloody struggle, there has not been much attempt to chronicle in details the scientific and technological feat that took place in Biafra.

To fill that gap, Oragwu decided to provide that missing link by writing the book, Scientific and Technological Innovations in Biafra: The Ogbunigwe Fame 1967 – 1970.

Ogbunigwe, the deadly mass destruction missile that made the federal troop jittery, was a product of the scientific feat of Biafra. Oragwu revealed how the Biafran scientists were assembled and how the name ogbunigwe was coined.
The author, in an interview with Saturday Sun, informed that the book basically deals with two major things – the ability of a nation in the development of science and technology and an instrument for the economic and industrial development of a country. The book was supposed to have come out in the 1970s, but couldn’t because of the heightened emotions then.

How ogbunigwe was invented
Between late July and early September 1967, it was reported that Biafra enjoyed air superiority over Nigeria by mere possession of an old 1939-1945 war vintage B.26 Bomber. One early September morning in 1967, the old B.26 was, as usual, primed for action at the Enugu airport, where the bomber was normally stationed preparatory for its routine bombing trips on military targets in Nigeria.
A Bofor ground to anti-aircraft gun located near the Enugu Airport defended the airport and the bomber. The primed B.26 bomber was ready to take off, at about 0630 hours on that fateful day to Nigeria, when suddenly there appeared a fast moving, low flying Russian MIG 15 Jet fighter, over the Enugu Airport and Biafra airspace for the first time since the war began. No member of the Science and Technology (S&T) Group before this incident had witnessed a MIG Jet fighter in action. The MIG jet fighter promptly attacked the airport and deflated the tyres of B.26 bomber, thereby immobilizing the vital warhorse.
“Later in the evening of that eventful day, the Commander of Biafra Air Force, after recovering from the shock and humiliation of the morning incident, summoned his officers, including the commander of Biafra Army engineers and some leading members of the S&T Group to the Enugu Airport for advice on the matter and what to do to bring down the low flying MIG jet fighter without the ground-to-air anti-craft guns.

“The Air Force commander, in shaking voice, informed the small group assembled of the MIG 15 Jet incidence of that morning and the implications for Biafra short-lived air superiority over Nigeria.”
With the emergence of MIG jet fighters in the federal troops’ arsenal, the use of B26 bomber, says the author, had come to an end. The ‘Bofor’ gun at the Enugu Airport had become irrelevant against fast moving low flying jet fighters. Therefore, he sought for what could be done to contain the jet fighters and maintain the morale of the Biafran troops and the population at large.
“In the course of the deliberations, a number of suggestions were made. The most viable was to find a mechanism for sending up debris, dust, small pebbles and the like in the path of the flying jet fighters in the hope that these dust particles could be sucked in by the jet fighters to impede its propulsion, asphyxiate and bring the jet fighters down. The question was what type of mechanism could be produced easily and quickly in Biafra to accomplish the task.
“To utilize this scientific principle in throwing up the debris in the path of a fast flying Jet fighter, the S&T-Group had to solve two problems. The first was the rotation of the debris in the bucket to set up laminar flow without allowing the latter to spin, the second was to generate such a recoil that the reaction to the recoil could impart sufficient energy to the rotated debris to rise far beyond the rooftops and spread the contents over a large air space.

An engineer member of the S&T Group called William Achukwu, Agricultural Engineer, volunteered to design and fabricate a metallic bucket-like system for the trials.

“A series of trial tests with varying masses (light materials) and sizes of the debris respectively, depending on the mass/sizes of the debris, gave excellent results achieving heights of 30-1000 feet (10-30 meters) respectively depending on the mass/sizes of the debris. The Air Force commander, the military personnel present, and members of the S&T Group present who witnessed the feat achieved, were very excited and went into jubilation. Most people were convinced that the new mechanism was an answer to the jet fighters, and the S&T Group was directed to produce many of the devices to be used not only at the airports but also as air defense cover at various Biafran troop locations.


The name Ogbunigwe

“In October 1967, the federal troops, having captured and secured Enugu, the capital of Biafra were on their way to Awka and Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre of Biafra, through the old Enugu-Awka-Onitsha road. The well armed, heavily equipped federal troops, with their superior fire power, encountered a battalion of poorly equipped, out-gunned and virtually exhausted Biafran troops at the Ugwuoba Bridge, few kilometers into Awka. However the Biafran troops had on hand some of their air defence dust mines. Unable to withstand the superior firepower of the federal troops, they began to run for their dear lives carrying along with them their air defence ‘mines’. Their resourceful commander (whose name has escaped my memory) ordered them back and commanded them to place the air defence mines horizontally rather than vertically as designed and fire them on the approaching federal troops to see what would happen and thereafter run for their dear lives. The command was promptly carried out. Indeed, the federal troops could not understand what hit them. The effect of the horizontal detonation of the air defense dust mines was very devastating leading to loss of many federal troops, as well loss of large quantities of arms and ammunitions some of which got completely burnt. The devastation was, indeed, very extensive particularly in the unintended loss of military personnel, some of who died from the shock waves generated by the unexpected explosions. The mass of water, from the river below the bridge, was thrown up and widely spread by the generated waves, thus adding to the trauma of the advancing troops.

“The following morning some members of the S&T Group were summoned to Ugwuoba Bridge by the military to help explain the new phenomenon and what really had happened to make the air defense dust mines accomplish what they did. Meanwhile, the people of Amansi Awka, the neighbouring village, were called out to the scene to help in burying the dead. An elderly man from Amansi Awka on seeing the large number of dead soldiers along the bridge exclaimed in Igbo: “ogbuefa n’igwe” (the dust mine had killed them in masses or massively). That was how the otherwise anti-aircraft “Air Dust Mine” got its name ogbunigwe (mass killer) and the S&T Group came to be referred to by the generality of the Biafra public as ogbunigwe people.

“Arising from the Ugwuoba incident, a device designed and fabricated as an anti aircraft dust mine had suddenly become useful as a ground-to-ground weapon with devastating impact beyond imagination. Its new mode of deployment provided Biafra with additional ammunitions. This incident vindicated the adage “that necessity is the mother of invention.”
*The book was presented in Lagos yesterday


Read more:http://www.gbooza.com/page.html#ixzz456 http://www.gbooza.com/group/nigeriapolitics/forum/topics/3-decades-after-military#ixzz1dbMHYzPw

Congrats!!
You have now succeded in destroying the arguments your brethren have struggled so hard to make. The hilarious thing is, you do not even know what you've done!

So now, we have the words of an educated scientist telling us that the famed 'Ogbunigwe' came from a failed project at improvising an extremely crude 'anti-aircraft' weapon.
I use the word 'failed' and 'anti-aircraft' because only in anyone's wildest dreams would that weapon have been able to bring down even the ancient Migs that was its primary target. It is doubtful if any of the fighters or bombers used by the Nigerian forces ever flew below 1000ft to be within the reported radius of the pellets thrown up by the 'Ogbunigwe'.
Of course with no automated aiming system and of course the unlikelihood of all conditions to align for even ONE particle to be sucked up into the air intake of a fighter jet, the weapon wasn't ever likely to bring down anything.

So now we've established that for its intended actual purpose, it was practically useless. Thanks, Relax 01 and Dr. Oragwu.

As for its use as an anti-personnel weapon, I can appreciate its lethality. But European nations have been using cannons with 'grapeshot' since the 18th century. Filling a bucket with directional explosive charge and shrapnel is a decent improvisation for a war time weapon. But it is not an example of extreme brilliance and is not a shining example of technological supremacy.

As I said before, the Libyan rebels came up with similar improvised weaponry out of neccessity. Welders created a 'tank' out of a bulldozer covered with welded metal sheets for armor plating. Welders fixed a tank turret to a Jeep! People strapped cameras to toy cars to make recon vehicles!

Thanks to Relax 101 for his input

If I was the president, I would have ordered the the IG to deploy "Otumokpor", sorry! "Otonov" to all Nigerian police formation in the North to aid their escape from all directions when Boko Haram strikes. Before that, adequate training will be given to the police drivers so that they will not drive from all angles at the same time lest they disintegrate the "Otumokpor", sorry! "Otonov" in panic.

I cant stop laughing.!!!!lwkmd!!!!!

If I was the president, I would have ordered the the IG to deploy "Otumokpor", sorry! "Otonov" to all Nigerian police formation in the North to aid their escape from all directions when Boko Haram strikes. Before that, adequate training will be given to the police drivers so that they will not drive from all angles at the same time lest they disintegrate the "Otumokpor", sorry! "Otonov" in panic.

amor4ce:

siamese wheel drive?

1 or 2 drivers?
life is tough enough with a driver and a back seat driver.
if you have 2 drivers, and one wants to head to lagos and the other say better dey ibadan,
and both fire down, na one spot autonov go dey till night fall ooo!

Too funny for words!

Dede1:


The Autonov 1 was never an invention and not even a replica. It was attempted retrofit that went seriously bad. The vehicle was the invention of Steyr Motor Corporation of Austria.

It 'went seriously bad' eh? Where is your evidence of this?

It appears you're just as prone to excessive hyperbole as the other tribal champions on nairaland. . . .

Out of curiosity, i checked up on the Professor on Wikipedia.

Seriously, no matter your opinions on this vehicle here, anyone bad mouthing the fellow has to be a cretin. The guy was truly one smart fellow and a distinguished scholar whose memory MUST be treated with respect.

texazzpete:

Congrats!!
You have now succeded in destroying the arguments your brethren have struggled so hard to make. The hilarious thing is, you do not even know what you've done!

So now, we have the words of an educated scientist telling us that the famed 'Ogbunigwe' came from a failed project at improvising an extremely crude 'anti-aircraft' weapon.
I use the word 'failed' and 'anti-aircraft' because only in anyone's wildest dreams would that weapon have been able to bring down even the ancient Migs that was its primary target. It is doubtful if any of the fighters or bombers used by the Nigerian forces ever flew below 1000ft to be within the reported radius of the pellets thrown up by the 'Ogbunigwe'.
Of course with no automated aiming system and of course the unlikelihood of all conditions to align for even ONE particle to be sucked up into the air intake of a fighter jet, the weapon wasn't ever likely to bring down anything.

So now we've established that for its intended actual purpose, it was practically useless. Thanks, Relax 01 and Dr. Oragwu.

As for its use as an anti-personnel weapon, I can appreciate its lethality. But European nations have been using cannons with 'grapeshot' since the 18th century. Filling a bucket with directional explosive charge and shrapnel is a decent improvisation for a war time weapon. But it is not an example of extreme brilliance and is not a shining example of technological supremacy.

As I said before, the Libyan rebels came up with similar improvised weaponry out of neccessity. Welders created a 'tank' out of a bulldozer covered with welded metal sheets for armor plating. Welders fixed a tank turret to a Jeep! People strapped cameras to toy cars to make recon vehicles!

Thanks to Relax 101 for his input

I so much doubt you read understood what you read,

Relax101:

I so much doubt you read understood what you read,

The whole debate on the other thread (and continued to a lesser extent here) has been on the hype attributed to the Ogbunabali as a 'great invention', not on its efficacy as a lethal weapon against lightly armored infantry. Even a simple IED made with fertilizer and packed with shrapnel will mow down human beings.
Please if you struggle with comprehending written English, i can help pay for night classes for you.

thank god for internet u can learn hw to make bombs from goggle,back then that when people with inventiveness command big respect in history channels, Taliban makes bomb too are they smarter than you?

ak47mann:

thank god for internet u can learn hw to make bombs from goggle,back then that when people with inventiveness command big respect in history channels, Taliban makes bomb too are they smarter than you?

Olodo, what do you know about back then? Back then, Apartheid South Africa was making this: The Ratel APC designed and made in South Africa.

Compare that to this;

Clowns.

Imagine how Aigbofa has held his ground against igbo guys tryin to rubbish d work of a yoruba professor ! Must we really brin tribal sentiments to all issues on nairaland ,

Dayokanu,Ekt_bear,Bluetooth,Gbawe,Jarus and all yoruba guys on dis forum,where are thou ?

lateef4me:

Dayokanu,Ekt_bear,Bluetooth,Gbawe,Jarus and all yoruba guys on dis forum,where are thou ?

Ekt_Bear is not Yoruba.

He is akata. His first name is 'shaniqua' or something along that line.

Aigbofa:

Compare that to this;

Clowns.

my friend go and sit down are we talking abt your silly motor kom kom or are we debating ogbunigwe bomb that served it purpose which one pal