1st Female Mechanic Sandra Aguebor Begins After School Program To Teach Girls

She is one woman that has decided to be different. To her, the saying, ‘what a man can do, a woman can do even better’ isn’t just a cliché. She walks and works in a man’s world, and has made a huge success of it. Her name is Sandra Aguebor, and she’s regarded as Nigeria’s first female mechanic.

And through her efforts, very soon, female motor mechanics might dominate the automobile industry in Nigeria, with the recent campaign by Aguebor who is also the founder, Lady Mechanic Initiative (LMI).

Working in collaboration with MacAthur Foundation based in the United States, her group launched a catch-them-young programme tagged, After School Club Project, for public schools in Lagos State to groom young female students for gainful employment.

At the induction ceremony of 30 female students drawn from Government Technical College, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Oregun Junior High School and Agidingbi Junior Grammar School, Aguebor recalled her humble beginning as a motor mechanic. In her words at the event, according priority to technical skills would reduce the high unemployment in the country. The woman informed her audience that she started her apprenticeship in a motor mechanic workshop during her early days in secondary school, a decision she never regretted till date.

The induction ceremony, which was held at the premises of GTC, Agidingbi, had in attendance board members of the Lady Mechanic Initiative, alumni members of the group, other female mechanics, principals of the participating schools and other eminent guests.

Aguebor said her group established a partnership with the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) to commence the programme, noting that the project was introduced to the benefiting students at no cost. She said the students would rather become members of the parent body, the Lady Mechanic Initiative and have access to its numerous empowerment programme for women.

“The inducted students are now pioneer members of the Lady Mechanic After School Club. The club is all about imparting technical skills to the young students at the early stage of their education in secondary schools. From JS 2 to JS3, they will be able to know how automobile works, how vehicles move, what makes the tyres roll and so on,” she said.