<p>Bolaji Fatai has never set foot in an airplane, but that hasn't stopped him from building his own remote-controlled model aircraft from trash and sending it soaring over the sprawl and chaos of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital.</p>.<p>On a recent cloudy day, the single-propeller plane withstood cross-winds high above a sandy football field and swooped low over the heads of onlookers in Oworonshoki, the poor neighbourhood where Fatai lives in the east of the city.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/north-and-central/turning-garbage-into-gold-jk-village-sarpanch-shows-the-way-1191882.html" target="_blank">Turning garbage into gold: J&K village sarpanch shows the way</a></strong></p>.<p>He bought the propeller and remote control in a shop, but constructed the body, wings, tail and fin from pieces of recycled styrofoam gathered in dump sites and held together with sticky tape. The wingspan is about one metre.</p>.<p>"I started this when I was seven. I started picking things around, making some little projects," the 21-year-old said.</p>.<p>"Whenever I see an airplane flying, it gives me a very overwhelming joy."</p>.<p>Fatai's labour of love is now propelling his dreams: a tech company gave him an internship after he was spotted piloting the plane -- an important first step towards his goal of becoming an aeronautical engineer.</p>.<p>"As our country is an under-developing country, so I hope to be a part of the people that will develop the country using this, my drone technology," he said.</p>
<p>Bolaji Fatai has never set foot in an airplane, but that hasn't stopped him from building his own remote-controlled model aircraft from trash and sending it soaring over the sprawl and chaos of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital.</p>.<p>On a recent cloudy day, the single-propeller plane withstood cross-winds high above a sandy football field and swooped low over the heads of onlookers in Oworonshoki, the poor neighbourhood where Fatai lives in the east of the city.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/north-and-central/turning-garbage-into-gold-jk-village-sarpanch-shows-the-way-1191882.html" target="_blank">Turning garbage into gold: J&K village sarpanch shows the way</a></strong></p>.<p>He bought the propeller and remote control in a shop, but constructed the body, wings, tail and fin from pieces of recycled styrofoam gathered in dump sites and held together with sticky tape. The wingspan is about one metre.</p>.<p>"I started this when I was seven. I started picking things around, making some little projects," the 21-year-old said.</p>.<p>"Whenever I see an airplane flying, it gives me a very overwhelming joy."</p>.<p>Fatai's labour of love is now propelling his dreams: a tech company gave him an internship after he was spotted piloting the plane -- an important first step towards his goal of becoming an aeronautical engineer.</p>.<p>"As our country is an under-developing country, so I hope to be a part of the people that will develop the country using this, my drone technology," he said.</p>