I once read somewhere that “development is the gradual emergence of a problem-solving system”.
Nigeria is fraught with problems, the tooth-achy type that seem to last for ever. Power failure, crumbling infrastructure, failing institutions, etc.
Half a century down the road, can one say Nigeria has developed over the year?
Has any problem-solving system emerged since 1960 when the Brits passed on the baton? Food for thought!
I just read Businessday’s story on the expected 6000MW promised by the government this December, and how Nigerian policy makers have begun consultation with Germany, India, Malaysia on alternative energy sources, excerpt:
In what appears as the Federal Government’s inability to meet the 6,000 megawatts target by end of December, it is seeking the assistance of the governments of Germany, India and Malaysia in the adoption of renewable energy including solar, coal and wind for the country.
I chuckled. Continue reading…
An interesting media putsch to “lightup Nigeria” is in full swing; several bloggers have posted just as media enthusiasts have taken to Facebook, Tweeter and similar portals to add their might to the campaign. An expanding list of the discussants can be found on Nigerian Curiosity.
Some years back, I would have been part of this mass of concerned and highly enthused people, after all availability of stable electricity is the core foundation of Nigeria’s development and a passport out of doomsland.
So, it’s a critical campaign, no doubt (see past and related articles on the subject), but I doubt if it’s one suited for Facebook and other social networking sites. The policy makers that must be reached are not there in good number, in fact very few Nigerian administrators are online! So what’s the end point…? Must we continue to preach to the choir each time we’re aggrieved and needing an outlet to vent our frustration?
Until social critics and web activists (this writer inclusive) can find ways to extend their campaigns from the pages of blogs and Facebook to the doorsteps of Nigerian administrators, their voices will remained locked up in the Internet void, impotent. These voices must be brought home, clearly and creatively, to engage the right people.
Nigeria crude oil production may decline by as much as 30% as the oil sector suffered two devastating blows on the Bonga and Escravos oilfields. The attacks occurred within the last seven days.
Royal Dutch Shell operates the floating Bonga offshore facility that produces about 200,000 barrels per day. Chevron produces 120,000 barrels per day from the Escravos oilfield. The output from the two oil fields is about 20-30% of Nigeria’s total crude oil production, which was about two milion barrels per day before the attacks.
The attack on the Bonga facility, located some 65 miles from land, marks a new era of Niger Delta militancy: It is the first offshore location attacked.
The attacks fields precedes the government plans for the Niger-Delta summit, an exercise designed to find lasting solution to a crisis that has become tougher and more complicated.
Whatever plans president Yar’Adua has for the Niger-Delta, now is the time to fast-track such and ensure it works. The days for mouthing empty policy statements are over, likewise is the era of scoring quick ceasefires and cash settlements.
President Yar’Adua has his job cut out for him, and his administration will now be judged on one yardstick: His ability to not only contain the insurgency, but build an environment in the Niger-Delta that makes militant violence unnecessary and unprofitable.
Yar’Adua and advisers must be focused on one end point: A fail-proof workable solution that addresses the root causes of the problems in the Niger Delta once and for all. This is the only solution.
I’m all for a greener earth and healthier environment. However, the current global drive to produce crop-derived ethanol or biofuel as a substitute for fossil fuel may just be a double-edged sword for Nigeria and Africa in general.
Ethanol (ethanol fuel) is being used as an additive to gasoline (petrol) in most modern economies, and its use is being canvassed in Nigeria as well - Ondo state government is about to partner NNPC on cassava ethanol project.
While ethanol can be derived from diverse sources, its primarily produced from corn in the U.S, and cassava in Nigeria. The demand for corn by ethanol plants has pumped up the price of corn in America – and this effect will be seen in Nigeria when ethanol plants start using cassava.
Cassava is the source of several stable food items in Africa. When farmers would rather plant cassava and sell their produce to the ethanol plants for more money- then what happens to the food prices, including garri and other items derived from it?
There is no doubt that Nigeria needs to leap-frog into this modern time of biofuel-production and usage, but for its benefits (biofuel is a greener and sustainable energy source) to be most apparent and meaningful – generation of cassava/corn-derived biofuel must be done with care and control to ensure its impacts on food supply and price are minimal.
Natural gas is a by-product of the oil drilling, and Nigeria flares the largest quantity in the world. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) told the House Committee on Petroleum that meeting the government’s target to end gas flaring by 2009 is unrealistic without proper funding.
Even Shell said it would cost about $6 billion USD to end flaring at the 1,000+ wells its owns in Nigeria.
There are no easy options to stopping gas flaring, this has been made clear enough. What would have been the best approach is to use the gas domestically to power electricity plants. Even this comes with a several billion dollar price tag.
May be it’s time to just shut all onshore oil wells until Nigeria is ready to deal with the issue. After all, the people whose lives are being made miserable should matter most than some petrol$$$ or special interest groups…right?
Video below speaks to the issue gas flaring:
The Honorary Strategic Adviser to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on Energy, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, issued a bleak report on the Nigerian power sector:
Lukman said the hope of generating electricity above 4000 megawatt this year was unattainable. He stated that although the nation’s short term demand was 8000MW, only 4000MW could be attained A target to attain 10,000 had been set for last December. Lukman identified hasty privatisation, improper coordination in the power sector and inadequate tariff structure as factors responsible for the failure of the reforms begun by the Obasanjo administration. He called for an effective holistic master plan for the development of the electricity industry, including appropriate funding. Without them, he said, no nation could develop that sector. The former OPEC president, however, said there could not be a one-off solution to the problem of power supply, describing the problem as a moving target.
The report has all the right phrases and recommendations; pretty much along the same line of what we heard in 2000 through 2007. A power reform exercise that cost $10 billion!