By Kalu U. KALU
The Perennial Electricity Power crisis in Nigeria is inimical to national development. No
nation can develop without adequate power supply which is the principal factor in national industrialisation.
Without over-emphasis, Nigeria needs to move from
consumption to production which is the only way to revive the economy and create
jobs for the teeming youth population.
Overcoming the persistent power problem in Nigeria requires a multi-pronged approach
that includes decentralized power generation, massive investment in “off-grid infrastructure” (solar) and “grid infrastructure” with cost reflective tariffs and
widespread consumer metering to restore financial viability.
Nigeria needs to start looking inward to use her natural resources & endowment to
address the over prolonged power crisis in the country. In the UK where I live, the sun is not strong with temperature mostly below 18 degrees even at summer, people have
started embracing solar to cut energy cost and reduce carbon footprint. Nigeria with temperature mostly above 20 degrees even in rainy reason should convert the sunny and hot climate to an advantage in providing solution to the recurring power problem.
Embracing decentralization is a major way of getting power faster to the people without the usual encumbrances and long bureaucracy. Thanks to the Electricity Act, state governments and private entities are now legally empowered to generate, transmit, and
distribute their own electricity. By establishing state-specific regulatory commissions, regions can bypass the central grid and develop localized, regional Power systems to solve their power problem.
The installation of solar system in the presidential vila should not be condemned nor looked at as government giving up on national power supply, but should be seen as a
way of easing the pressure on the national grid, and leading by example.
One of the best appointments of this present administration is the appointment of Dr. Abba Aliyu as the MD/Ceo of Rural Electrification Agency popularly called REA, an agency charged with the responsibility of delivering power to the rural communities.
As someone who has been in the power sector since the 90s following up developments
very closely, I had to check the guy out when I heard of the appointment. It was heartwarming to know that the REA MD is a seasoned administrator with over 20 years
experience in the power sector.
In governance, results speak louder than promises. At the Rural Electrification Agency under his watch,
the results are becoming a testament proof that deliberate leadership and targeted
funding can light up the forgotten corners of Nigeria.
When President Bola Tinubu confirmed Dr. Abba Abubakar Aliyu as substantive
Managing Director of REA in January 2025, he handed him more than a title. He handed him the Renewed Hope Agenda’s most practical test: can rural Nigeria get reliable power without waiting for the national grid?
Within the short period of time, Aliyu has taken the right direction and has made
remarkable achievement in the renewable energy initiative – solar to be precise.
He facilitated a $550m World Bank and AfDB facility that put mini-grids in off-grid communities is noteworthy. He also secured approval for the $750m DARES facility to scale distributed renewables. That track record became the first testament to his capacity.
Today, the testament is measured in projects. During the 2026 budget defence, Aliyu unveiled over 500 electrification projects worth N170 billion. The centerpiece is the
N100 billion National Public Sector Solarisation Initiative — hybrid mini-grids for MDAs to cut diesel costs and prove that government can lead by example.
The National Hospital, Abuja as I was made to believe already runs on REA-deployed solar. No more flickering lights in the operating theatre. No more budget haemorrhaging on diesel. That single installation is a testament to what happens when policy meets
execution.
Electrification is not just wires and panels. In the North-West andNorth-East, where 66% of Nigeria’s out-of-school children live, darkness means more than inconvenience.
It means clinics can’t store vaccines. Schools can’t run night classes. Small businesses can’t process farm produce after sunset.
Each mini-grid REA commissions in Sokoto, Borno, or Yobe becomes a testament against the cycle of poverty and insecurity. Power becomes a quiet form of security — because cartels thrive in darkness, but communities grow where there is light.
According to the House of Representatives’ through Honorable Mohammed Bukar,
Chairman of the House Committee on Rural Electrification, after scrutinizing REA’s
submissions said that the agency has made “measurable progress in expanding energy
access through off-grid and renewable energy interventions across rural communities,
federal institutions and public sector establishments nationwide”. What atestament indeed.
Yet the real testament will be written this 2026, when those 500 projects come online.
Nigerians will judge not by the budget size, but by the number of villages that switch on
bulbs for the first time.
I encourage Dr. Aliyu to keep the flag flying as the work is starting to speak. From my
study and research, having followed up Solar PV production in our factory, Solar panels do not emit radiation, noise, or toxic airborne particles during normal use as the
electromagnetic fields are completely safe. But REA must ensure that only quality Solar Panels, batteries are deployed to their network to avoid toxic fumes when overheated. I have done a few solar projects in Nigeria and the cost benefit analysis (CBA )shows that under 5 years, you can conveniently recover the cost of project and continue to enjoy the installation for
over 20 years.
The N100 billion for the National Public Sector Solarisation Initiative is a Giant stride.
This means that government buildings are getting off diesel and onto solar mini-grids. MDAs in Abuja and beyond will stop burning money on fuel, contributing to a safer
environment.
States should join hands with Dr.Aliyu and his team at REA to ensure that power gets to the nooks and crannies of our rural communities. Imagine the joy when kids in some villages switch on a bulb for the first time and do their homework at night. Clinics and
hospitals have light to store their vaccines, farmers have light to process and store their harvests, schools have light for studies and practicals in their laboratories, etc
I urge us as a nation to take advantage of this career energy expert who moved from
running REA’s biggest World Bank/AfDB project to heading the entire agency to provide
community mini-grids, solar for reliable power in our teaching hospitals, PHCs, Agro
processing centres and markets, and public facilities that are of direct benefit to the populace. Since Aliyu’s focus is on rural mini-grids and getting donor money to electrify communities that the national grid is yet to reach, there should be no excuse for any state not to partner.
Kalu U. KALU, a United Kingdom-based solar expert, can be reached through +447867032967,
kukalu2002@yahoo.co
