Nigerian engineers study in China to drive power sector back home

.What does electricity mean for 41-year-old Ajayi? It means everything from watching a soccer game without interruption and running a successful bakery to bringing real prosperity to his hometown in Nigeria.

This is why Ajayi and 59 other Nigerian engineers departed the West African nation and traveled over 10,000 km to learn the transformer manufacturing in China.

Two months have passed since Ajayi arrived in a factory of Huaye Group in the city of Anshan, northeast China's Liaoning province, one of the heartlands of China's heavy industry. The Nigerian engineer is well adapted to this new life.

"If a power station is compared to a heart, then the transformers are the vessels that carry the blood. Now, we don't have the ability to produce and repair these vessels on our own," Ajayi said. "As an engineer, I have a dream to change this situation and provide sufficient electricity for my country."

Nigerian engineers attend a training session in a factory of Huaye Group in the city of Anshan, northeast China's Liaoning province, Oct. 14, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Dream of stable electricity supply

With a rapidly growing population and increasing demand for electricity, the outdated Nigerian grid system is overwhelmed.

"As a soccer fan, I was extremely frustrated when I watched a match on TV, but the electricity supply was suddenly cut off," Ajayi said.

Living in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, Ajayi sometimes had to use an electric generator to keep the TV running.

A generator is a necessity for many Nigerians. His wife, Benedicta, runs a bakery. "Most times, I run the power generator to make cakes ordered by my customers," she said, adding that with a steady grid, her bakery could cut its electricity costs by at least 80 percent.

Nigerian engineers study during a training session in a factory of Huaye Group in the city of Anshan, northeast China's Liaoning province, Oct. 14, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

In the Chinese "school," Wang Yi is the idol of Ajayi. Speaking fluent English, the 39-year-old staff of Huaye Group is the teacher of the Nigerian trainees.

"Although they lack professional knowledge about transformers, they are all very serious and hard-working," Wang said.

When Imadu, another Nigerian engineer, could not distinguish phase resistance and line resistance, Wang first changed the obscure professional vocabulary into clear English words. Then he explained the theory through a circuit diagram while taking Imadu through a workshop.

Imadu was suddenly enlightened. "Teacher Wang is great! He can do anything!"

"Knowledge is stored in my head, and no one can take it away," Imadu said. "With powerful and stable electricity, Nigeria's economy can grow faster and better."