Dikanna Onuigbo, bitter leaf washing machine inventor gets Anambra State scholarship, as two boys did wonders on bitter leaf

Anambra state government has promised to sponsor Dikanna Onuigbo, a secondary school student in the state who invented a machine that processes bitter leaves (onugbu) to study Mechanical Engineering in the university.

The Deputy Governor, Dr. Nkem Okeke, who made the promise in Awka, on Friday, also assured him of government assistance in patenting his invention.

He praised the 16-year old SS3 student for his resourcefulness, saying the feat was an indication that the State was blessed with rich talented people.

Earlier, Onuigbo, a student of Community Secondary School, Okpuno, Awka South Council area of the state, said his dream was to patent the invention and secure funding for its commercialization.

He also said the machine would relieve people from the use of hand processing method they were traditionally used to over the years.

Accompanied by his father, Peter Onuigbo, the Anambra-born student demonstrated his invention before the presence of the Commissioner for Agriculture, Afam Mbanefo and his Lands counterpart, Nnamdi Onukwuba, among others.

Earlier before now, there was another invention by two Anambra boys of a machine that washes the bitter leaf and converts its juice into medicinal substances. 

The machine named OGANIHU C². Oganihu is the Igbo word for progress, adding that the C2 stands for the first letters of their names.

OGANIHU C² inventors, Ubaka Chukwuebuka Patrick and Atikpo Chukwuebuka Patrick, stated that the machine washes bitter leaf and converts the juice into medicinal substances.

They revealed that the juice that is generated after washing bitter leaf can be used as liquid fertilizer, methanol and insecticides.

Ubaka Chukwuebuka said: “After washing the Bitter Leaf, we will Convert the bitterLeaf Juice (water) into Fertilizer(Liquid). We also uses its water(Juice) to Produce Methanol, Insecticides etc. The project is quite Mechanized. You don’t need to touch anything, it’s Automatic.”