Margaret Bassey Shares Her Joys And Challenges As A Mechanic

23-year old Margaret Bassey did not set out to be an automobile repairer but when life became unbearable due to financial resources, she knew she had to do something.

From a family of three girls, Margaret was registered at Nigeria Opportunity Industrialization Company by her uncle and instead of learning a trade that would be expected of  women, Margaret chose be  a mechanic .

Today, she is doing well as a mechanic but it did not come without challenges. After a year and six months of learning her vocation, many still doubt her competence as a female mechanic.

She told Okwe Obi of The Sun, that even her uncle didn’t believe in her capabilities.

Thankfully, she got a job at a mechanic shop but the test she was given by her boss amused her.

“When I went to seek employment, my boss surveyed me; and told me to stretch and fold my hands. He looked at them and told me to start working the next day.

“Out of curiosity, I asked him what that meant. He told me that if he didn’t find scars, on them that means I was not a mechanic. According to him, mechanics were synonymous with injuries considering the nature of the work.”

My boyfriend loves what I do, says female mechanic

With time, she was able to prove her skill as her customers preferred her to work on their cars.

Margaret didn’t set out to become a mechanic, she took up the job after her uncle enrolled her in the Nigeria Opportunity Industrialization Company in Lagos, as a means to help her out of her financial situation.

After spending a year and six months of rigorous training in Lagos, she arrived Abuja with dreams of making it in the male dominated occupation. Margaret got a job at a mechanic shop at Lokogoma, around airport road at N30, 000, monthly salary.

The journey to been a professsional mechanic hasn’t been a walk in the park for Margaret as she had faced a lot of discrimination whenever she introduced herself as a mechanic. However,  some people, especially the men took her seriously, supported her because of competence.

Margaret, who hopes to have her own workshop someday said that she would not discourage any of her children who wants to toe her path.