Young inventor dazzles Jonathan with power-generating football - 2013-08-17 00:27:41President Goodluck Jonathan on Fridayexpressed delight over the creativity of a25-year-old Nigerian, Jessica Matthews,who invented a power-generating footballcalled SOCCKET ball.Matthews, who is a co-founder and ChiefExecutive Officer of Unchartedplay, was atthe Presidential Villa, Abuja to present theball, which can generate three hours oflight from 30 minutes of play to Jonathan.She also presented an energy-generatingskipping rope to the President.While congratulating her on her creativityand innovativeness, Jonathan said he wasimpressed that Matthews, who trained as apsychologist and economist, developedherself in the field of science.He described her feat as a proof of thequality of human resource present inNigeria.The President said the invention wasuseful as a major tool that could be usedto mobilise young Nigerians andencourage them to think more deeply.Matthews said, "Sometimes power is lostand you say what can you do to solve thissituation and I saw my cousins andeveryone playing football, playing witheverything not even with football alone."I say this is amazing and they can rivalMessi. If we can take this kinetic that isgenerated here and use it to address theissues that we really have; kinetic energyis used for windmill, why not the ball?"She said although the items were alreadyon sale in New York, she had not startedmaking them in Nigeria.She, however, said when they would bemade available for sale in Nigeria, the costwould be equivalent to what people payfor a solar inverter.Minister of Trade and Investment,Olusegun Aganga, said the FederalGovernment was looking at thepossibilities of manufacturing the items inNigeria and see how to make themcheaper for Nigerians.He said, "Jessica is a Nigerian, she studiedat Harvard University, she went toBusiness School and actually taught herselfElectrical and Mechanical Engineering. So,she is an inspiration to every Nigerianespecially our children in Nigerianuniversities. This is a product not only forNigeria, but a product made in Nigeria bya Nigerian and for the world."The second thing is that the product isactually versatile, it is not just about theelectricity you see, you can use it tocharge your mobile phones, for fans, sothere are so many things for which it canbe used."