Jelani Aliyu

Jelani Aliyu (born September 8, 1966) is a Nigerian automotive designer who worked for the American car company General Motors. He was a senior creative designer at GM until his appointment as the director general of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) in 2017 by the former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari.

Early life and education Aliyu was born in 1966 in Kaduna, Nigeria into the family of Alhaji Aliyu Haidar and Hajiya Sharifiyya Hauwa Aliyu, and was the fifth of the seven children in the family who originated from Dogon-daji in Sokoto State. This fact was why young Aliyu was moved to Sokoto for his education. He studied at the Sokoto Capital School from 1971 to 1978 and then Federal Government College Sokoto where he received an outstanding award of the best graduating student in Technical Drawing.

In 1986, Aliyu gained admission to study Architecture at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. However, Aliyu quickly dropped out from the university when he found out that studying at the university would unlikely give him the opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a car designer as studying there is not as practical as in the polytechnic and then went on to the Federal Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi in Kebbi State from 1986 to 1988 where he earned an associate degree in Architecture with an award for the Best All-Round Student. While he was there he began seeking admission into design schools in Europe and the U.S. that would lead him to a career in automotive design.

In 1990, Aliyu was sponsored by the Sokoto State Scholarship board to study in the United States at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit to study automotive design. While studying Aliyu won two prestigious awards from Ford Motor Company and Michelin, US. In 1994, Aliyu got his qualification in automotive design and immediately joined General Motors team, where he started his design career.

Career Chevrolet Volt concept photographed at the Washington Auto Show. In 1994, after graduating from the College for Creative Studies, Aliyu joined General Motors.

Notable designs

2010 Chevrolet Volt