Gift Usen, 25, born handicapped, tries on a bionic prosthetic arm at Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria, on August 16 2025. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Gift Usen cannot wait to have her hand. Born 25 years ago in Akwa Ibom, southern Nigeria, she has navigated through her life with only one fully developed hand.
“I grew up to see myself with one-and-a-half hands. Most times I felt discouraged, but I had to encourage myself because this is how I saw it. I didn't create myself,” said Usen, a cosmetologist.
Nigeria has no precise data on how many citizens use prosthetics, but prosthetics have been inaccessible or unaffordable to a significant number of amputees and other Nigerians who lack a hand.
Immortal Cosmetic Art, a Nigerian prosthetics firm, hopes to remedy the situation with its Ubokobong Bionic Arm. The company has designed a humanoid bionic arm that works with electromyography signals sent from the brain to muscles when an amputee loses a hand.
It hopes to launch production with support from the government or NGOs, whose financial support will make the prosthetics affordable for ordinary people in Nigeria. So far the company also has orders from the US, UK, Australia and Ghana from people attracted to the humanoid bionic arm.
“Bionics are readily available in other parts of the world, but what we have here are hyperreal bionic forms, which means they look human and yet functional,” said John Amanam Sunday, a hyperrealistic prosthetic artist and Immortal Cosmetic Art's CEO.
“They are not just static but they are functional and human-like. So this is a step further from what we have obtainable in the market. The most beautiful part of it is it is black skin coloured.”
Built for Africans by Africans, the Ubokobong Bionic Arm has received multiple orders even before its official launch, Amanam said.
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Ubokobong Amanam, 28, who lost a limb, applies code to a bionic arm ready to be made an artificial arm, which he co-created with his brother, John Amanam, a former movie effects artist who creates custom prosthetics that match skin color, at their Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria, on August 15 2025. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Samples of custom-made prosthetic body parts are displayed at Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
An anaplastologist applies silicone gel to a prosthetic mold at Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Nigeria, on August 16 2025. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Ubokobong Amanam, 28, who lost a limb, prepares to create a flesh-like bionic arm, with his brother John Amanam, 36, a former movie effects artist who creates custom prosthetics that match skin color, at their Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Nigeria. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Ubokobong Amanam, 28, who lost a limb, displays a bionic arm ready to be made into an arm prosthesis, which he co-created with his brother John Amanam, 36, a former movie effects artist who creates custom prosthetics that match skin colour, at their Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
An anaplastologist prepares silicone gel for a prosthetic mold at Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria, on August 16, 2025. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Gift Usen, 25, born handicapped, tries on a bionic prosthetic arm at Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Gift Usen, 25, born handicapped, attempts to pick up her handbag while testing a custom-made bionic prosthetic arm at Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria, on August 16, 2025. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
An anaplastologist prepares silicone gel for a prosthetic mold at Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Nigeria. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Gift Usen, 25, born handicapped, attempts to pick up a plastic bottle while testing a custom-made prosthetic arm at Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria, on August 16, 2025. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Gift Usen, 25, born handicapped, adjusts her clothing as she walks to a laboratory to try on a bionic prosthetic arm at Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Nigeria. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Gift Usen, 25, born handicapped, tries on a bionic prosthetic arm at Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Nigeria. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
Ubokobong Amanam, 28, who lost a limb, adjusts a flesh-like bionic arm, which he co-created with his brother John Amanam, 36, a former movie effects artist who creates custom prosthetics that match skin color, at their Immortal Cosmetic Art laboratory in Uyo, Nigeria. (REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun)
The idea of a hyperreal bionic arm was born after Amanam's younger brother Ubokobong lost his fingers to exploding firecrackers during a New Year's Eve celebration six years ago.
The brother's emotional distress at the inability to find artificial fingers that could match his skin tone in Nigeria inspired Amanam to establish Immortal Cosmetic Art.
Initially, the prosthetics were purely aesthetic and lacked functionality. Recognising this gap, Ubokobong applied his background in technology and electronics to develop a working solution. After three years of research he built the Ubokobong Bionic Arm.
Amanam has not announced a date for the official launch of Ubokobong Bionic Arm, but Usen said she cannot wait for the day.
“When we are launching it will be my greatest happiness ever. Finally, I'll have two hands. You know, maybe feel,” she said.
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