HAS PRINCE ADEWOLE ADEBAYO, THE 2027 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OF SDP CONDUCTED A CENSUS OF EVERY ROOF IN NIGERIA HE PROMISES TO INSTALL SOLAR POWER ON?
Because if we are going to discuss powering every Nigerian household with solar energy, then we must first confront the scale, cost, reliability and sustainability of such a proposition. The numbers are going to be staggering.
Let me be clear: Nigeria’s energy crisis cannot be solved by thinking primarily about how to put electricity on rooftops. Our central question must be:
HOW DO WE POWER PRODUCTION?
Solar photovoltaic systems have an important role to play in Nigeria’s energy mix, particularly for decentralized and off-grid applications. But solar power is intermittent. Photovoltaic panels degrade over time, batteries have finite lifecycles and require replacement, and large-scale deployment requires substantial land, storage, transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Therefore, solar cannot be presented as the principal answer to Nigeria’s industrial power requirements.
Any Presidential Candidate who genuinely understands the Language of Industrialization must tell Nigerians how our abundant energy resources will be transformed into reliable industrial power.
Where is the serious conversation about Coal, Natural Gas, Hydro and Geothermal energy—alongside other firm and dispatchable sources—as part of an integrated national power strategy?
I want to hear a Presidential Candidate tell us specifically:
How will Enugu and Kogi, sitting on substantial coal resources, contribute to Nigeria’s industrial energy security?
How will our natural gas resources be converted into dependable electricity for industries?
How will our hydroelectric potential be fully developed?
How will we build the generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure required to power factories, mines, processing plants, industrial clusters and new manufacturing cities?
That is the conversation Nigeria needs.
We must stop confusing household electrification with industrialization.
A household having electricity is important for human welfare. But electricity becomes a transformative economic force when it powers factories, farms, mines, refineries, processing plants, transportation systems, technology infrastructure and entire industrial ecosystems.
Nations do not become industrial powers merely because their homes have electricity. They become industrial powers because they have abundant, reliable and affordable energy powering production.
This is why I am deeply concerned when African political leaders speak primarily about Solar and Wind while failing to articulate a comprehensive strategy for the firm, high-capacity energy systems required for industrial transformation.
The leading industrial economies understand that energy is the first language of industrialization.
Nigeria must understand this too.
We have spent decades exporting our natural resources while importing the finished products made from those same resources.
That cycle must end.
Our energy policy must be designed around one fundamental objective:
POWER PRODUCTION.
POWER INDUSTRIALIZATION.
POWER AFRICA.
And I will continue to say this: any serious national development agenda that does not put abundant and reliable energy at the centre of industrialization is incomplete.
In the coming days, I will be publishing a series of articles on POWER, ENERGY SECURITY AND THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF NIGERIA, because our leaders must get this right—and Nigerians must be properly informed about what our real energy requirements are.
The Nigerian people deserve more than slogans.
We deserve an industrial energy strategy.
Maazi Obinna Agommuo
Author | Researcher | Afro-Industrial Revolutionist
Founder ESGADIA,
Founder InvestAfrica App.
