Building Engineers From Scratch
Building Engineers From Scratch
The story of Engr. Anthony James, who used to trek 10 kilometers to get to his place of apprenticeship and why he rejected the lure of travelling abroad speak volumes about his grass to grace milestones as his place of humble beginnings has turned into a training ground for engineers of multinational companies
By Jude Nzennaya, Port Harcourt
He obviously knew what he wanted from the very beginning. And that is why the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Alvanxis Limited Engr. Anthony James, has turned his office into a training lab in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
He believes that knowledge is a universal language and that is why people come from Dubai, Gabon, Chad just to learn at Alvanxis Limited. Tracing his journey which began in 2014, Engr. Anthony James told Tentacle in an exclusive interview that had no office, no equipment, no capital, and no students for over six months.
He was trekking between nine and 10 kilometers daily from what used to be known as the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RUST) round about to Rumuokoro where he attached with someone because he had no transport fare.
Ten years later, his company Advanxis Limited is training hundreds of engineers every month for oil majors like Total, Mobil, Shell and Seplat. Foreigners now fly in from Dubai, Gabon, Chad, and Liberia just to sit in his classroom.
In a rare display of ingenuity in what he believes to be a transition from theory to factory floor, his story is that of a man obsessed with building Nigeria’s next generation of automation, robotics and instrumentation engineers from the scratch.
A practicing Electrical/Electronics Engineer, James is a graduate of the University of Science and Technology (UST) Port Harcourt now Rivers State University (RSU), he did his mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 2009 and later obtained an M.Sc in Control Systems Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Imo State.
Narrating his story, he told Tentacle that after two years of paid employment, he pulled out in 2014 to start “Advansis” and by 2020 he rebranded Advanxis.
“We are known for automation, robotics, instrumentation and control systems. We also consult for multinational oil and gas companies and firms in other sectors. But the classroom was not enough. School gave us theory and advanced mathematics. That makes you trainable. The rest is history. I am an avid researcher. I read a lot and I spend a great deal of time on the internet. How can you make a machine talk and walk? That became my inspiration.”
When asked if government or his clients funded his dream. His was blunt: NO grant. NO overseas training. Just grit, adding, “Mobil, TotalEnergies, Seplat Energy and Shell are my clients, but they didn’t support me financially. Nothing from the government either. Everything I have done is through personal effort.”
He explained that his biggest challenge was lack of equipment, which is why, he said, “Most of what we use is for oil and gas and advanced technology, and you have to import them. They are really very expensive. I had no equipment, so I built training kits with wood and wires. I also built my website, did graphics and advertising myself.”
The breakthrough came after a year and it was a contract worth over a million naira to train 10 people. “We weren’t paid in full, but it was a breakthrough.”
He did not mince words in his message to the youths who are now dubbed ‘yahoo’ generation
With “quick riches” luring many youths ashtray, Engr. James has hard advice and that is No Pain, No Gain, saying, “Honestly, you have to pay the price. There is no shortcut to genuine success. I trekked Nine-10km to work. You have to be patient. Even now I am still paying the price because we are still investing.
“My advice to young people is that they should practice delayed gratification. Deny yourself frivolities. Work hard. Be patient. Nothing good comes easy.”
On why he resisted the temptation to travel abroad (Japa) with offers from international organizations on the table, he said, “I would have traveled years ago. I had good offers. But it has never been my thing. If I go there, I will end up just being a worker in an already saturated system.”
“Nigeria has potential. The growth rate here is higher than America’s. Look at Dangote. If he had sited that refinery abroad it would have been a big loss. We can develop ourselves. That is the passion that keeps pushing me regardless of the cost. Even with foreign partners like Siemens, he insists local content remains key. “As long as you have the capacity to deliver, you will get the job.”
To further stamp his authority in his chosen field, Advanxis launched the National Automation Prize (NAP) in 2024, saying, “It is like Big Brother for engineering and technology. The goal is to stop capital flight. Thousands of expatriates are earning thousands of dollars monthly in automation jobs in Nigeria. If we develop local talent, we keep the money here and create jobs for our youths”
In December 2025, Advanxis gave out millions to winners who participated in the 2025 edition. Registration is free at http://Advanxis.com. This year, he wants Chevron, TotalEnergies, Shell, Mobil to play their part in the sponsorship.
Speaking on his feat tagged: From Zero TO 100 Plus Monthly, he explained that as of today, Advanxis has expanded and moved to a bigger facility. From training with wooden kits to consulting for multinationals, the firm now turns out hundreds of engineers monthly.
“The growth did not happen overnight. About two to three years ago, we expanded. People started seeing us. Companies started noticing our capacity,” he said.
