‘Hand of God’: Inspired by own amputee story, Nigerian brothers develop bionic arm
Drawing from his own experience as an amputee, a Nigerian man and his brother have developed a bionic arm to make advanced prosthetics more accessible — a device they named “Ubokobong,” meaning “hand of God.”
Brothers John and Ubokobong Amanam, through their company Immortal Cosmetic Art Limited, developed a prosthesis that uses electromyography (EMG) technology to enable the arm to respond to brain signals transmitted to hand muscles. This allows amputees to perform everyday tasks, including gripping and lifting objects.
The idea for the device began in 2019 when Ubokobong lost his fingers in a firecracker accident. His brother John, a former special effects artist, created a silicone glove to match his skin tone after finding only white-coloured prostheses available.
“Ubokobong was born out of a quest to solve an individual need for my younger brother Ubokobong, who lost his fingers to an accident some years ago,” John Amanam, Immortal Cosmetic’s founder and CEO, told Reuters.
While the prototype provided a cosmetic solution, the brothers were eager to make it functional.
“After solving this need for him, there was a need also to improve on what we already had. So Ubokobong decided to invent this idea called the ‘Ubokobong Bionic’ to add functionality to our already made hyper-realistic prosthesis,” John added.
Their product is already gaining worldwide traction, receiving orders from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ghana. The Amanam brothers are seeking government and non-governmental support to make the device affordable in Nigeria, where access to prosthetic technology remains limited.
For Ubokobong Amanam, creating the “hand of God” is not only a pursuit of innovation, but also a personal mission to extend a helping hand to others who have faced similar circumstances as him.
“I know how it feels like to lose a body part no matter how small it is, it is very painful and I feel so fulfilled and it gives me joy to see that I can put smiles on someone else’s face, and I am also happy that it is a problem in Africa that I have solved,” Ubokobong said.
“The solution is already here, but I am trying to spread the solution.”
Earlier this year, 25-year-old Gift Usen became one of the first to test the prototype in Akwa Ibom state.
Born with her left arm ending at the elbow, she used the bionic hand to pick up her handbag — a task she had never been able to do before.
“I was born like this, growing up like this, growing to see myself with one and half hands, and most times I feel discouraged but at times, I have to encourage myself because this is how I saw it, I didn’t create myself,” Usen said. “When we are launching it will be my greatest happiness ever. I feel so good, like I am happy, finally I’ll have two hands, and maybe feel among.”
The bionic arm closely mirrors human features, including nails, wrinkles, and fingerprints. The brothers say their vision goes beyond restoring function, as they hope to change public perceptions of amputees.
“Our project for the future… I’ll always maintain, is to make prosthesis fashion, to take away the pity factor from the public, so people don’t have to see amputees as a different kind of people, people don’t have to sympathise with them but see them as classy people, as fashionable people,” John said.
Although the mechanical version of the Ubokobong bionic arm was introduced in February, the final version with realistic skin covering has not yet been officially launched.
For Usen and many others awaiting access, the device represents more than technology. It symbolises dignity, confidence, and the possibility of feeling complete — the promise embodied in its name, the “hand of God.”
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
