Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on
October 22nd informed the Nigeria High
Commission in London that the country has a
little more than 4,000 megawatts of electricity
now, “but we are hoping we can get up to 5,000
megawatts by the first quarter of next year.”
The VP was explaining the focus of the Federal
Government’s policy on solar power to the staff of
the Nigeria High Commission.
“All the same, 5,000 megawatts of power for
Nigeria is completely ridiculous but we cannot
move faster than we are moving; so, we have to
go off the grid and look for other ways to
generate and supply electricity,’’ said the Vice-
President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
He made the declaration after signing an
agreement with the UK government for the
commencement of a massive solar power
development programme in Nigeria.
On that day, UK’s Department for International
Development (DFID) launched the Energy Africa
Campaign and Nigeria signed an off-grid solar
power agreement with Britain on the use of solar
power to light up millions of homes in the
country.
A report by Donald Ugwu of the News Agency of
Nigeria stated that Osinbajo signed on behalf of
the Federal Government, while Mr Grant Shapps,
the Minister of State for International
Development, signed on behalf of the British
government.
At the event, Osinbajo underscored Nigeria’s
commitment to regional and national efforts to
improve the citizens’ accessibility to electricity via
enhanced use of other energy sources,
particularly solar power.
The vice-president, who noted that the Energy
Africa Campaign was a great opportunity to
expand the access of Africans to electricity,
pledged the Federal Government’s commitment
towards boosting the supply and consumption of
solar power in Nigeria.
“This aspiration would have been virtually
impossible 20 years ago because of the high cost
of solar power at that time but with the recent
innovations in solar technology, the low cost of
solar power has now made this all the more
possible.
“This is an incredible opportunity in Africa,
especially for Nigeria with over 96 million citizens
who do not have access to power,’’ he added.
Emphasising that the sustained use of kerosene
had created a lot of safety and environmental
challenges for the people, Osinbajo said a default
energy source should be solar; the option was not
available for so long but now it is cheaper, safer
and more environmentally friendly.’’
The Vice President believed that the Energy Africa
Campaign would provoke investments in solar
power projects, just like what obtained in the
telecommunications sector.
“However, the challenges are probably as clear as
the prospects, but thankfully enough, they are
surmountable,’’ he said.
It was gathered that Nigeria’s partnership with
DFID in the solar power project had been
successful with the utilisation of solar power
systems in several schools, hospitals and primary
healthcare centres, particularly in Lagos State.
One of the companies working on the solar power
project in Lagos State, Adam Smith International,
described the project as ‘very successful.’
“Our company intends to connect 2.8 million
residents, 500,000 households and 183 schools
and clinics in Lagos State to electricity supply via
the solar project,’’ said Mr Kristofer Gravning, its
Manager, Infrastructure Development and
Climate Change.
Mrs. Uju Hassan-Baba, the Executive Secretary of
Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission
(NIPC), who witnessed the agreement’s signing,
underscored the need for Nigeria to look for
alternative sources of power. She commenting on
Nigeria’s solar power development agreement
with Britain,
“Definitely, Nigeria is squarely on board in this
campaign to light up Africa and the NIPC will
definitely facilitate investments coming into
Nigeria by ensuring the review of regulations and
incentives to support the Africa Energy
Campaign,’’ she said.
Also speaking, Gov. Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna
State, said that the application of solar power
technology in Nigeria would expand the citizens’
access to electricity, particularly in the rural
areas.
His words: “This is a great opportunity for Nigeria
to leapfrog from where we are now to the latest,
state-of-the-art solar power technology.
“Many people think that the only way to get
electricity to everyone is by building huge power
stations with transmission lines and distribution
infrastructure.
“However, in the last three to four years there
has been a remarkable advancement in solar
power technology and this has made it possible
for us to execute our plans to democratise
electricity.’’
“I think it is a great step and it reminds me of
how we leapfrogged from having half a million
land lines to 150 million mobile phones.
“There is an opportunity here to leapfrog from
having centralised power stations and
transmission lines to a situation where 60 million
Nigerians can generate electricity through solar
power in their own homes and pay for it on a pay-
as-you-go basis.
“If we are able to follow the project through, we
will be able to take electricity to the poorest and
remotest parts of Nigeria without having to make
huge investments, just like the resources we sank
into NEPA and PHCN without achieving the
desired results.’’
El-Rufai emphasised that the gains of the solar
power projects would be seen almost
immediately, adding: “In Kaduna, we are already
financing the use of solar power in 40 primary
health care centres.’’
Osinbajo had attended a solar power trade fair
organised by DFID at Trafalgar Square in London,
where he reiterated the Federal Government’s
resolve to initiate a solar power revolution in
Nigeria within the next one year.
“Nigeria will no longer watch as millions of its
citizens continue to lack access to electricity. This
is the time to jump in and use solar power to
solve the problem; we are all set to do that,’’
Osinbajo said.
For Shapps, the British minister, the Africa Energy
Campaign would bring justice to more than 600
million people in Africa with no access to
electricity.
“Many Africans do not have light in their homes,
their children are unable to do their homework,
while others die of household pollution arising
from the use of kerosene and charcoal,’’ he said.
At the Nigerian High Commission, Osinbajo was
asked certain questions on why Nigeria could not
use its vast coal reserves to generate electricity.
Responding to such questions, Osinbajo said we
know that coal is available in some states like
Kogi and Enugu but the main issue is that solar
power, which entails the conversion of sunlight
into electricity, is available everywhere.
“You don’t need to transport it; you don’t need to
put it in a grid. It is much cheaper to buy some of
the solar power equipment with about 200
dollars, which is about N50,000, and use it to
provide electricity.
“The cost of using the grid is quite expensive and
of course, very time-consuming. Consider the
time you need to fix all the transmission lines and
all of that; and we have 96 million Nigerians who
have no access to electricity.
“If we want to deliver electricity quickly to that
number of Nigerians at a relatively cheaper cost,
we must take the solar route.”
The Vice President recognised that that all of our
solutions must be a mix, pointing out that if
Nigeria should rely on grid power alone, it can
take us forever and it is going to be too
expensive. He continued:
“Other countries of the world, which do not have
as much sunshine as we have, still use solar
power to their advantage. I think we should also
use it and when we start manufacturing our own
solar panels and be creative about it, the prices
will even drop.’’
Concerned observers however declare that the
energy challenges facing Africa have reached an
alarming proportion; compelling experts to insist
that the prompt adoption of solar power is the
only way out the crisis.
For instance, Shapps argued that “Africa may not
be able to achieve universal energy access until
2080 – 200 years after Thomas Edison invented
electricity.
“We are, therefore, signing up for the Africa
Energy Campaign so that everyone should have
access to energy by 2040.
“For businesses to thrive in Africa, we need a
whole range of energy sources. A few individuals
can access Africa’s rich energy wealth but the sun
is abundant in that region,’’ Shapps added.
The minister acknowledged the initial skepticism
of the people concerning the adoption of solar
energy, saying that the cynicism was borne out
common complaints such as ‘the solar cells are
too expensive’, while the appliances require too
much power.
“Nowadays, that situation has changed,’’ Shapps
concluded.
However, observers are optimistic that Nigeria’s
adoption of solar power technology will soon
translate into better life for a larger percentage of
its citizens, as the gloomy days of darkness in the
country will soon disappear.
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