“Would you say Tesla don’t make Cars” Chude tackle Seun Kuti Over comment about Innoson manufacturing cars

You all won’t believe what happened yesterday. Like…. I’m still in shock after hearing what I heard yesterday. I’m somehow surprised one of us would actually say that. It’s about the scene that happened between Chude Nnamdi and Seun Kuti, where Chude tackles Seun over a comment.

I know some of you might have heard it, seen the video, or probably heard someone talk about it. But if you’re confused about what happened and you really want to know, don’t stress yourself too much, because that is why I’m here.

Let’s get down to the scene… It all started when one of the Seun Kuti commentators, Omar17499, asked a question: What car does he drive? Innoson? Nord?.

And boom, Seun Kuti sparked like fire with terror in his eyes and gave his response, which is what we’ll be focusing on in today’s gossip.

Seun specifically said that there’s no ‘Made in Nigeria car’, like seriously… It’s actually my first time hearing that, though. He also went ahead and said Innoson is not a Nigerian-made car; rather, they have assembled plants that got their license from Nissan. Well,  that sounds awkward, but he said it. And the last part got me wowed. Seun stated, “Nigeria does not manufacture steel, nor do we manufacture bolts and screws, so why would anyone dare to say we have a car made in Nigeria, like a car assembled in Nigeria?” Asif that wasn’t all, the part that pained me most was when he said, “Dey no born us well to make cars.”  He said Nigerians can’t even refine crude oil or build a refinery all by themselves, and the fact that Nigerians are also finding it difficult to eat makes us incapable of having a Nigerian-made car.

Mehn, that wasn’t a fair statement to make; that was horrible, even if some words were true. But…. Nevertheless, I love the fact that someone actually brought up an intriguing question, tackling almost everything Seun said.

And the person is none other than Chude Nnamdi. Chude only made a statement with a question, saying, “99% of Tesla car parts are made in China. Would you say Tesla doesn’t make cars? Or would you say Tesla cars are Chinese cars?”.

Wow, finally, someone gave me the courage to speak. Viewing from what Seun said, so because we don’t make steel, bolts, and screws in Nigeria, or probably because refining crude oil in Nigeria took years to achieve and was a collective bargain and global effort to build a refinery in Nigeria, or because the cost of living in Nigeria at the moment is a little bit intense, you had to really bring Nigeria so down by saying we don’t have any Nigerian-made cars. Like, for real? Not even a single one?

Speaking of Innoson, According to a good source, “roughly 65% of IVM (Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing) parts are sourced locally. All manufacturing processes involving plastic, rubber, electronics, and frame moulding are carried out within a 100-kilometre radius of IVM’s Nnewi factory. An example of this is Union Auto Manufacturing, a division of @IbetoGroup, which manufactures the batteries used in IVM cars. Another example is Innoson Technical Co., a division of Innoson Group, which manufactures all plastic, rubber, foam, and upholstery components used in IVM cars. The only parts of IVM vehicles that are imported are the engine blocks and other steel components because Nigeria lacks the required steel smelting capacity,” said David Hundeyin.

And again, the fact that a product is not produced in a particular place, where the source of the idea is, doesn’t deprive the source of the idea of claiming ownership, because “Ownership of manufacturing operations in 2024 is not determined by where specific production processes happen, but by who owns the intellectual property.”. 

Anyway, that has been said, and I would not want to judge based on my own point of view. That’s why we’ll need your own thoughts about what was said. 

Do you also think or believe Nigeria does not make cars?