Creativity Beats Academics As Man With No Formal Education Bags Honorary Doctorate

A 70-year-old man, Engr. Hadi Usman has bagged an honourary doctorate for his witty inventions in academia.

Engr. Usman bagged the honourary doctorate in Science from Gombe State University, for his invaluable inventions which include a fuelless generator, a stove that operates on water, and a Vespa engine helicopter among others, a development that has generated commendations among Nigerians on social media.

According to the Senior Special Assistant on Media to Gombe State Governor, Safianu Danladi Maringa, the inventor was awarded the degree at the just concluded 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th combined convocation of Gombe State University.

Usman, who lectures at the Gombe State University, OSUN DEFENDER learnt, did not have a Western Education, but also invented a radio station, a radio transmitter, and a handset.

The talented inventor hails from Jekadafari Ward of Gombe local government area, said in a recent interview that he has been inventing for over 50 years.

He said, “I received education, but not Western education. I received an education in Qur’anic Studies. Afterward, I was sent to a village in Borno for further studies, completed the programme and graduated when I was 12 years old, and thereafter came back home and performed the ceremony.

“I have been inventing things since 1971, and I have 78 inventions. However, none of my inventions took so much time for research like the construction of the stove that uses water to produce heat energy. I spent three years on that research and I wondered why there was no lightning and thunder in the dry season.”

It should be noted that Nigeria has been endowed recently with talented inventors with gadgets to help people including a 30-year-old Chemistry graduate, Yusuf Shamsudeen.