It is a universal truism that great ideas do not need a special place to blossom, they can come at odd places and are sometimes found in those least expected to have such.
That is the story of Wisdom and Kingsley Gift Udoh, two young siblings residing with their mother at a shop inside Ashamu Estate of Oke Afa, axis of Isolo in Lagos State.
The two teenagers, whose only main source of livelihood is from their mother’s vegetables and fruits business, reside in the shop which serves as their home and business outlet.
Wisdom Gift Udoh, a 17-year-old student of Oke Afa Senior College, Isolo revealed that he did not have any formal training in the art of designing and/or building prior to his embarking on this creative masterpiece of building designs.
According to Wisdom, the initiator of the creative art business, he started manifesting his creativity at a very tender age. However, his building design arts began the day he opted to help a schoolmate with his school project.
“I started this artwork as a fun to keep my soul and body busy, and as a way to be helpful to someone who needed help”, he said.
The creative young mind who has now been joined in the business by his immediate younger brother, Kingsley Gift Udoh, a 15-year-old pupil of Low-Cost Estate Primary School 2, Jakande Low-Cost Estate, Isolo; said his creative instinct comes as divine inspiration and his ability to imagine things
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“When I see good architectural designs, I have a way of registering the concept in mind to replicate later; however, my imagination is my strongest source of concept development”, Wisdom asserted.
Both brothers attested that their raw materials comprised of cartons, bond papers, evostic gums, glue, tape gum and many other things they could consider needful per time.
“Sometimes we may use brass or silver metal works to beautify a section of our design”, they chorused.
Their raw materials are mainly obtained from a building material market at Pako junction, off Oke Afa neighbourhood.
In order to construct one ideal building, these great inventors said that it cost them up to N10,000 and above on a good. And that the sole sponsor they have is their mother, who has been the only source of help for them since the death of their father in July 2014.
Hence, their major challenges have been how to raise funds and how to perfect their trade in a more professional way. Besides, they are faced with the problem of sourcing raw materials such as cartons, bond papers, etc.
Consequently, in order to ensure that they do not lose track of their creative ideas, these young Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State- born great thinkers would sometimes sell their designs just to get some money to buy the needed raw materials instead of always falling back to their mother.
“We don’t really sell for gains, rather ensure we have the funds to get the materials to continue with our creative works”, Kingsley said.
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Sometimes they could sell their work for as low as N2,500 to N4,000. In most cases when there are no demands, they would display their works for people passing by their street to feed their eyes.
The young Udoh Ibanga brothers wish they could get a sponsor to help them live their dreams of becoming great architectural designers and building engineers of repute in future.
For their mother, Gift Udoh Ibanga, a widow with four children, it has not been easy bringing them up after the death of her husband. She is practically selling every edible foodstuff to make ends meet.
“It has been very challenging sponsoring them and at the same time taking care of their other life needs, with the little income I’m getting from my vegetable business”, she said.
Udoh further revealed the family would be relocating as they were asked to park out of the shop, hence, she said any help to the children will be of tremendous benefit to the entire family as her children realise their dreams.
“I will be very glad if my fatherless boys are assisted to fulfill destiny with their creative arts”, she pleaded.
