A United Continent Can Drive National Progress
As Nigeria seeks to solve its own specific energy challenges, the country calls upon Africa more broadly to strengthen the bonds that unite it
As the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria is blessed with large oil, gas, hydro and mineral resources. The key now is to extract the full potential from these resources to ensure sufficient energy access for more than 200 million people.
The aforementioned diversity of resources has the potential to generate 12,522MW of electric power from existing plants alone, but on average is only able to dispatch as much as 4,000MW at present. According to Dr. Oluwatoyin Akinlade, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines & Steel Development, Federal Republic of Nigeria, this is insufficient for a population the size of Nigeria’s.
“The country therefore plans to generate 30,000MW by 2030, with 3,000MW coming from renewables and 27,000MW from its power plants, to serve all of our population,” she confirms. “Nigeria’s energy sector has, in recent years, undergone a paradigm shift towards increased private sector involvement, by targeting policies that govern the electricity market and its regulation. Even non-state stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the policy-making process.
“Reform and the actions that underpin it are squarely aimed at addressing the structural challenges of poor service, low availability and intermittent reliability.”
Key components of the country’s process of igniting private participation, include creating an investor-friendly environment, to reduce political interference, and to establish strong central regulation.
Dr Akinlade adds: “The Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) guides the strategic planning and coordination of national policies. It enjoys wide representation from the Ministries of Power, Trade, Science and Technology, Foreign Affairs and Finance, among others.
“This gives it a strategic position in ensuring cooperation across Ministries with a direct mandate and other powers which may indirectly affect the governance of the energy industry.”
A pathway to economic and social liberation
Dr Akinlade has been a pivotal figure in driving this change in mindset and strategy in Nigeria, in recent years. As one of the 12 Permanent Secretaries charged with the responsibility of championing the Change Agenda of the Federal Government in August 2020, she then took on the role of Permanent Secretary Ministry of Mines and Steel Development in September of that year; as well as being appointed a Member of the 5th National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Board, by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“My mandate was to reposition the extractive industries in line with international best practices. In my tenure I have brought about the improvement of the Ministry’s rating in the Anti-corruption and Transparency Compliance Index from 25.5% in 2020, to 76.6% in 2021,” she explains. “I have also vigorously propelled reforms in the Minerals and Metals Sector through the implementation of a Mineral Value-Chain Initiative in each of the six Geo-Political Zones of the country.”
Dr Akinlade’s approach and mission isn’t just based on the Nigerian context, however. It stems from a continental analysis where the role of mining and industry is perceived as critical to achieving universal, reliable access across Africa.
“There is an integrated relationship here. Economic development is stimulated by industrial and business activities, which in turn would help to provide jobs and good wages for citizens. Availability of affordable and reliable energy is considered part of good living standards. Thus, the continent needs to imagine an energy growth and provision that looks at economic and social development as inseparable.
“Both have to be treated as equal in energy policy thinking. Energy economy can and should not be an end in itself, but a pathway to economic and social liberation for the continent.”
De-risking and accelerating generation
On this continental scale, there is the consensus that Africa needs all of the energy it can generate at present. With international financing institutions and governments de-risking investments in the mining sector, this must include the utilisation of all the renewable energy resources it is “richly endowed with”.
“We must continue to de-risk the green energy mix through the formulation of effective policies to attract investments and climate change support funds,” Dr Akinlade says. “Again, entry barriers to the sector must be lowered to serve as incentives to investors to partake in developing the emerging renewable energy sector. We must continue to support efforts for the evolution of homegrown strategies towards mobilising local financing, in the face of waning interests to support investments in fossil fuels.”
In Nigeria specifically, this effort of diversification has already led to the development of solar farm projects and wind energy mills. Funding for these projects has largely come from the Central Government and multi-lateral agencies, with individual contributions gradually increasing.
“Recent efforts to privatise the state-owned power utilities have not reached our desired outcome, however,” continues Dr Akinlade. “We are still working towards this goal, by diversifying the energy mix and building a vibrant off-grid sector. Policies in these areas have been largely progressive from as early as 2001 with the National Electric Power Policy.
“Additionally, the NREEEP proposes Free customs Duty for two years on the importation of equipment and materials used in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects, and the National Renewable Energy Action Plans (2015–2030) also propose incentives to encourage participation in the renewable energy sector. These have all contributed to the recent increase in the pace of renewable energy power generation project developments in the off-grid space in Nigeria.”
Strengthening bonds
Nigerian company, Mosra Enerji Limited, in alignment with the current governmental “Coal to Power Program”, plans to generate 30 percent of the electricity needed in the country, from coal; demonstrating a future that the country is now striving towards. “Abundant proven reserves of coal have been identified” already, to this end, pointing towards power potential of at least 50 years.
Dr Akinlade cites such projects as an example of where Nigeria is targeting progress moving forward, but also where Africa more broadly could look to overcome its most pressing challenge – “the continued and unabating exploitation of its natural resources by developed countries”.
She explains further: “Their well-planned programmes exploit and plunder the natural resources of African countries to feed their industries. For all it takes, African nations must rise in a unified action, within the tenets of the African Mining Vision (AMV), to protect the frontiers of safe practices, and ensure local mining communities are prime beneficiaries of the natural resource activities within their jurisdiction. This includes compliance with ESG concepts.”
The vision for a well-structured and properly managed African mining sector is encapsulated in the African Union's African Mining Vision (AMV), which calls for the “transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development”.
Dr Akinlade adds to this rallying cry: “Together, we must accelerate the drive to make African natural resources work for Africa. Let Africa have prospective investors build value-addition facilities within the domains they are found, to ignite employment growth, improve the economy of the host communities, and to develop the skills of locals.
“In this respect, it is time for African countries to strengthen the bonds that unite them.”
