The Ghanaian prodigy African leaders  should help realise his full potential

In any given week, people writing opinion essays for newspapers have many things to write about. It is a heady choice most of the time, but deciding what you should prioritise can sometimes be challenging.
Many people would say that domestic matters should take precedence over others, especially matters in far-flung places. I agree — but sometimes something does happen abroad, and it grabs your attention in such a way that you cannot choose but give it priority.
Last week was one of those times. I was on Facebook, which is where many of us get our news from despite the ongoing government-imposed ‘ban’, and I stumbled on an amazing video. It is the story in the video that I want to talk about.

The four-minute video is about an incredible African, young and brimful of ambition and could — if he does overcome hurdles that often kill dreams of enterprising Africans — become a force to reckon with in the tech industry.
The young man is a Ghanaian named Kelvin Odartei. Aged only 18, he has built a car, using materials he has been collecting from scrap yards in the capital, Accra. In the video, Mr Odartei says that he did invest a little under $3,000 (about Shs11 million) in the project. 

He has never been, he says, to any engineering school. He lives in poverty and earned the money doing part-time jobs.
Mr Odartei’s car, modelled on sporty vehicles, is rough and ready, but that is only to be expected in a country that is known for growing and exporting cocoa (and footballers) as opposed to manufacturing. The car accelerated smoothly and impressively when its maker stepped on the gas.

Some people reading this article may be wondering whether this really matters. After all, Mr Odartei did not make the car in the real sense. He assembled pieces of metal — and the engine that powers the car is some White man’s product.
That is undeniable. Still, Mr Odartei is a genius. What matters is not that he did not make the car all by himself, using parts he made; what matters is that he has near-boundless potential to make things happen. He has previously built vacuum cleaners (again — rough and ready).
You have to remember that this man comes from a continent that makes pretty much nothing worth selling in global markets. 

Look around your house. Start with the kitchen. The cutlery, the chopping board, the faucet at the sink, the sink itself, the fridge, the microwave, the bread toaster, the gas cooker, the dish towels, the towel rack, the percolator, the kettle, the mop, the doormat and any other thing you can think of is a product of non-Africans.

We do not make cars, we do not make car key holders, we do not make tyres, we do not make bicycles, we do not make motorcycles, we do not make aircraft, we do not make ships, we do not make submarines, we do not make MRIs, we do not make CT scans, we do not make thermometers, we do not make blood pressure monitors, we do not make glucometers, we do not make stethoscopes, we do not make TVs, we do not make radios, we do not make watches, we do not make irons, we do not make ironing boards. 

We do not even make safety pins.
If African leaders were organised and cared about people who can propel their countries forward, they would do everything in their power to support Mr Odartei and help him realise his full potential.

Mr Namiti is a journalist and former Al Jazeera digital editor in charge of the Africa desk
[email protected] @kazbuk