Ranger Odyssey contest in Namibia produces Nigerian qualifiers

Three winners have emerged in the second edition of the Ford Ranger Odyssey in Nigeria and organised on the nation’s democracy day by Coscharis Motors, franchisee of the Ford brand in Nigeria. They emerged out of a total of 12 final participants that participated in the brain and brawn, energy-sapping puzzle tasking exercise and test of driving skill on an undulated driving platform.

The grand finale of the Ranger Odyssey involving finalists from other African countries were the Ford brand have their dealerships will be hold in Namibia later in the year after a final selection is drawn from a final selection in a boot camp in Johannesburg, outh Africa.

The trio who emerged winners that will be joining Chinonso Okezuo winner of the maiden edition last year are Ugochukwu  Onuiri who came first, Fawole Moyo  and John Amadi who emerged first and second runner-up respectively.

Others who battled it out inside the 4×4 track of the local dealership at Awoyaya, located on the Lekki outskirts of Lagos to book a place in the grand finale in Namibia later in the year include Funlola Abiola Odulola, Balogun Olaniyi Azeez, Olukunmi Alalade, Enumah Stephen, Olisakwe Vincent, Anthony Uba, Peters Esere, Anieto Nnaemeka and Nkechi Uzawa.

Last year, Coscharis Motors hosted the maiden Ranger Odyssey in-market event to select Nigeria’s representative to the Ranger Odyssey Africa 2014 event. The in-market event, which was won by Chinonso Okezuo, was as exciting increased awareness and established Ford in the 4×4 leisure market as well as appealed to a wider demographic ambience while displaying the Ranger’s ‘Built Ford Tough’ off-road capability.

But Okezuo’s participation for the grand finale of the Ranger Odyssey in Namibia was incidentally truncated as a result of a travel ban on travellers from Nigeria in the wake of the Ebola crisis ravaging across many after African countries at that time.

Giving a synopsis of the event which would become an annual ritual, Josiah Samuel, group managing director, Coscharis Group, represented by Abiona Babarinde, general manager in charge of corporate strategy and marketing said that, building on the success of last year in-market Ranger Odyssey, this year’s event will yet again be a unique and exciting 4×4 challenge as Nigeria now has four slots as against one slot in 2014.

He stated that The Ranger Odyssey is not a race nor is it a rally, but rather an extremely tough adventurous expedition. It included elements of competition where participants tested their 4×4 driving and mechanical skills, endurance, courage, stamina, perseverance and resilience against the worst that nature could offer.

Odyssey is a brand that will appeal to the authentic, adventurous, outgoing, free-spirited, as well as the hard-working, the professional and the bold individual. The main emphasis will focus more toward testing human endurance and adaptability combined with the fierce ruggedness that comes with the Ford Ranger brand.

The weekend event witnessed an adrenaline soaked Odyssey as the 12 participants including two women braved it up amongst themselves, brain and brawn, bolstered by the “Built Ford Tough” Ranger. This is in the quest to clinch one of the remaining three tickets to represent Nigeria at the boot camp in South Africa, from where only two of them will scale through to the Ranger Odyssey finale in Namibia.