View Profiles of Our Lady Mechanics
Engr. Joy Obi Amuche
Joy Amuche is a mechanical engineer from
Nomeh Unateze in Enugu State.
At the age of 14, Joy had shown interest in
automobile work.
She was fascinated by the activities of some auto
mechanics while she was assisting her elder sister
in operating a local restaurant at a mechanic
village in Bida, Niger State.
She became curious and got attracted to cars,
which was unusual amongst her peers. She later
enrolled as an apprentice in a mechanic workshop.
Kehinde Adekoya
Kehinde Adekoya, who prefers to be called Kenny, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State. According to Africa Business Radio, she is also the lead engineer at FAMTS auto mechanic repair shop.
Kehinde’s first exposure to an engine and its operations was when she took Auto-Mech as a subject in secondary school. After graduating from university and before her NYSC, she volunteered to work at CODE RED AUTO-SHOP as a mechanic and has been spending her free time there ever since. These experiences intensified her interest in auto mechanics and highlighted the need for more females in the industry.
As a woman in a heavily male-dominated sector, she feels moved to empower other women who, like her as a young child, may not have anyone to guide them.
Sandra Aguebor (NPOM, MFR)
The Lady Mechanic Initiative was established in 2004 by Sandra Aguebor to empower females with mechanical and technical skills. Its skill acquisition program mainly targets girls and women from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those failed by the education system, trafficked or working as sex slaves, single parents, child-labor victims, and others stigmatized by cultural, religious, and gender biases.
Although the group is famous for offering indigent females automobile repair and maintenance skills, it also equips ladies with other related hands-on skills. These include the Lady Mechanic Professional Driver Training; Lady Speedboat Technician course designed for women in the coastal areas of Nigeria; Lady Mechanic Generator Repair skill; the Lady Mechanic Speedboat Driving program; and the Lady Mechanic Summer School Class.
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Sandra Aguebor, fascinated by motors and engines from her teenage years, was inspired by her father to pursue her dream and became the first lady mechanic in Nigeria. After earning a degree in mechanical engineering, she worked for Edo Line and Nigerian Railway Corporation before launching her own auto repair garage. As a female mechanic, she initially turned her private car into a mobile workshop, patrolling Lagos roads with on-the-spot emergency vehicle service, and thereafter opened two garages in Lagos.
Contact
Abijo GRA, Commercial City, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos
Tel: +234 (803) 304 5202
Email: sandra.ladymechanic@gmail.com
Chika Glory Chukwuma
Chika Glory Chukwuma proudly states, “I am a mechanic, I repair cars, Japanese cars, Range Rover, because I went to technical school.”
This Rivers State-born Ikwere girl, who was educated at the Nigerian Railway Technical College, explains her inspiration for becoming a mechanic: “I just love the job from my childhood. Back then, we were selling on the street, when I see females going under a vehicle, doing dirty job, I just loved it. And I noticed that when it comes to other aspects, I don’t have the strength to work, but when it comes to me doing mechanic work, there is this strength that comes within that I don’t understand sometimes.”
Contact
Tel: +234 7081517385
Email: ohuo.chika@gmail.com