Upgrading of cars have become a common practice in Nigeria's automobile industry. At one point, you must have come across ads or people saying a car has been upgraded from a particular year (older year) to a more recent year. What does it mean when this is said?

WHAT IS CAR UPGRADING?
Automobile manufacturers launch a new generation of a model of a vehicle every 3-5 years. For instance, the Toyota camry 1997-2002 (popularly called pencil ) is a generation of the toyota camry model ,while the toyota camry 2002-2006 (popularly called big daddy ) is another generation of the Toyota Camry model. Cars, being a consumer good that need to be upgraded regularly, what manufactures do to bridge this production gap before producing a new generation is to facelift old model in the same generation to create a new design. For instance, Toyota face-lifted a 1999 Toyota Camry to a 2001 Toyota Camry; they both have the same frame, the minor changes are in the lights and some other things. Same with the Toyota Camry 2002-2006. Most car owners for different reasons rather than buy the new model face-lifted by the manufacturers, prefer to do the facelifting themselves.

Facelifts or upgrade (like it's popularly called ) is the modification of a car from an older design or year to a more recent year or design. This is done by replacing the old parts like bumpers , lights etc., with parts from a more recent model of the car to give it a more recent look. For example, replacing parts of a toyota camry 1999 with parts of a toyota camry 2001 to give it a toyota camry 2001 look.

WHY YOU SHOULD NOT UPGRADE YOUR CAR.
Upgrading your car is a more attractive option than buying a more recent model because its a cheaper option, it also saves the buying process for a new car. But it is not the best option.

When you upgrade your car, the old parts on the car are replaced with newer parts to give the car a more recent look. The new part most times are substandard and not of the same high and tested quality as the parts formerly on the car. This puts the safety, functionality and longevity of the vehicle at risk.

Upgrading, if not done by a very good technician can be a nightmare. Most car owners in Nigeria especially in Lagos prefer to upgrade their cars in Ladipo (a popular spare part market) and this is a place filled with uncertified technician who do shabby jobs for quick money. The result of these bad jobs most times are structural defects, electrical isssues, etc. There are reports of cars getting burnt from a wrong wiring done during upgrades.

Also, when you upgrade your car, most times you are not getting the complete package. There are cars that only the exterior parts can be upgraded and the interior can't be upgraded. Especially in cases where car owners do extreme upgrades like upgrading of a car from an older generation of a model to a newer generation of a model, which has also become a common practice; you won't get the full package. For instance upgrading a Toyota Hilux 2010 to a Toyota Hilux 2020; the only thing that can be done is body modification. The interior, engine, gear system, and other functionalities will still be that of a 2010. So it's still like driving your 2010 hilux but with a 2020 face. Most car owners go as far as upgrading from a brand of car to another .

Another thing most car users need to know is upgraded cars are not easy to sell. Most car buyers prefer not to buy an upgraded car because, they are not sure of the quality of the upgrade, and when they do want to buy, the price they offer does not reflect the price of the upgrade in most cases.

All in all, upgrades are a welcome option if it is not too extreme, that is, within the same generation of a model ;2002-2003,2003-2004. This has its disadvantages too but they are limited if it is properly done. Extreme upgrades like from a generation of a model to another generation of model or between different models of car should never be considered. It puts the safety of the car and its occupants at risk.

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I have always heard people argue about who is a legend in a field and who is not. The conversation is not restricted to a particular field or walk of life.some people will tell you Ronaldo is a legendary footballer in making and Messi is not, while others will tell you it’s the other way round. But compared to the legendary Pele, what does these three great footballers have in common to be ascribed this sacred title? Achievements! What makes anyone a legend in their field is their achievement, their impact and their uniqueness. Think 2pac, think Michael Jackson, think Fela, in football think Pele, what comes to your mind? Their greatness! what they have achieved, their impact in their fields; these are what made them legends. Considering all these can we say Nigeria own superstar Ayo Balogun popularly known as Wizkid has achieved enough to be on the path of ‘legendhood’ or is he just an artiste in his prime riding the wave of his fame?
Wizkid started music at a young age of 11 but he got his big break at the age 19 when he signed under Banky w’s EME in 2009, he followed this with his debut album ‘Superstar’ and rose to prominence with his hit song ‘Holla at your boy’ topping different charts in the country, and consequently wining him the next rated award at the 2011 Headies award, and it has been up from then for the afro pop act. Many people will tell you Wande Coal ‘Mushin to Mohit’ album created a distinct style for afro pop in Nigeria, which is been followed till today, but the fact is Wizkid’s ‘Superstar’ redefined afro pop in Nigeria, he brought something new and exciting which was lacking before. This album was followed by Wizkid’s self-titled second album ‘Ayo’ and final album under EME, this album further confirmed Wizkid versatility and musical genius with hit songs like Jaiye Jaiye, Ojuelegba, On Top Your Matter to mention a few. In 2017, under his own record label; Starboy record, Wizkid released ‘Sound From The Other Side’, an attempt by him to delve into the international market with collaboration with top American artiste Chris Brown, Trey Songs amongst others and an attempt which some will say was not successful, as the album did not receive the expect acceptance by his fans. Typical of Wizkid he didn’t let this slow him down and that has paved way for him in the international market with collaboration with drake on ‘One Dance’ giving him wide spread international recognition and he also became the first Afro beat artist to appear in the Guinness world record in 2018.
Talking about achievements, Wizkid is one of the most awarded Africa act, he has a fan base cutting across nationality, culture and religion. Mention Wizkid in UK, South Africa and even in the United States of America and see how popular he really is. Last year he sold out the prestigious Royal Albert hall, becoming the first solo African act to achieve this. He followed this 7 month later, earlier this year with a sold out concert at the 02 arena in London, on a champions league final night(if you know the football culture in England you will know how great a feat this is), where he served up a beautiful music experience for his over 20,000 fans present. If this isn’t greatness I don’t know what is.
Let’s not forget the ‘Wizkid effect’, everything the star boy touches turns into gold, from collaborations, to singles, to endorsement. Whatever has Wizkid name on it is destined for greatness. There were arguments on his effect on a collaboration he has with Duncan Mighty; ‘Fake Love’. Some felt the song would have blown with or without Wizkid, as Duncan Mighty is a star in his own right but I can tell you Wizkid blow the song. Without Wizkid’s mesmerizing voice, it would have just been a usual Duncan mighty song; this single has opened a flood gate of collaboration for the P/H act. That’s the type of effect Wizkid has and he has been doing this consistently for the past 10 years. Major brands know this and it has been earning him major endorsement deals with the recent one with P Diddy’s Ciroc and the top American producer and business mogul in one of his post referred to Wizkid as ‘a young black king’. Wizkid also recently launched a Star boy jersey in collaboration with Nike and sold out in 10mins!!!! Even major fashion brand find it hard to achieve this.
Some might argue he has not done enough for the ordinary people and be their voice like the legendary Fela was, to be mentioned in the same breath with the Afro beat legend but every artiste has their path, what inspires them differs. 2pac was more of a freedom fighter and it reflects in his song while Micheal Jackson was a different type of artiste compare to 2pac, does that take away from their greatness? We can’t all be freedom fighters.
It has become increasingly evident that celebrities only reach the cult status and become immortalized into legendhood when they die, because it is then we stop and appreciate their greatness but whatever the case may be, one thing that cannot be disputed is Wizkid in one of the biggest artiste out of Africa at the moment and he will go down as one of the greatest artiste to ever do it.

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