Nigeria’s Unbalanced Ambitions: Lights and Satellites

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By Kristi Pelzel

Past colonial administrations in Nigeria had established power grids in the main cities, but after the country’s Independence, and without a plan to expand and update what was there, these grids lacked connectedness.

As the national plan to bring affordable electricity to all homes failed due to corruption, civil disputes, and inaction, the generator business became a monopoly with motives to keep cheap electricity out. Diesel generators provided power for those who could afford them.

During the mid-’80s, Nigeria became the world’s biggest diesel generator importer. The profits from generators and diesel fuel were so great that the motivation to provide citizens with affordable and renewable energy was lost.

Instead of taking what had been built before Nigeria’s Independence and innovating from there, monies and deals led the way. This pattern of problems occurred long before President Muhammadu Buhari was elected president.

During the Obama Administration, Power Africa launched, and USAID was supposed to oversee the project bringing power to 20 million households.

The USAID Power Africa ‘Fact Sheet’ for Nigeria states, “Nigeria has the potential to generate 12,522 megawatts (M.W.) of electric power from existing plants. Still, most days, it is only able to generate around 4,000 MW, $50 million investment by The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) $15 million OPIC loan, Lumos, Inc., awarded nine $100,000 grants to entrepreneurs for innovative, off-grid energy projects in Nigeria.”

The follow-up to this program, now non-operational, was a report issued by the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Agency for International Development. “Vandalism of oil and gas pipelines prompted by ethnic conflict and economic disparity in Nigeria. Gas supplies and energy generation were interrupted and investor confidence is shaken,” (p.11 2019). This comment and a list of other problems connected to a history of cultural accountability and corruption, including a lack of adherence to safety regulations, funding for positions that were never filled, and lack of transparent data on progress, ended the program.

Nigerian leaders should care more about Nigeria than anyone else in the world. When we look at the state of electricity today, we must ask where the trillion dollars and trillion hours of manpower have gone. If Nigerians genuinely want to grow industries, expand technology, and have equal access to essential services like lights and clean water, the people must find a way to change.

How do we make this transformation?
How can we shift from a culture of not questioning elders, still show respect, but hold elders accountable for mismanaging funds that stagnate collective growth?
How can we reprogram people’s mindsets, if they’ve grown up to bribery, and tipping police at every corner, or paying for basic household supply 4 to 7 times the original cost out of sheer dishonesty?

As everyone knows, electricity is still not a consistent service. It’s not available and where it’s available it’s not affordable. The generator business is still leading the way. However, despite not launching a simple innovation from the ground, China and other countries are ready to move on to more significant projects that are out of this world! Satellites!

Satellites are used for broadcasting to television in homes, connecting cellular signals for phones, using navigation systems known as Global Positioning Systems (GPS), e-banking and credit card processing, monitoring the weather, monitoring climate and environmental patterns like sea temperatures, supporting safety when radios call out in distress, detecting water underground, supporting virtual education and mobile health. Aside from that list, Satellites also provide intelligence and national security information for those in control of the satellites, positioned strategically around the world.

The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, overseen by the National Council on Space Science Technology, works with the United Kingdom, China, Ukraine, and Russia in cooperation on space technology programs.

The Nigerian Federal Government is partnering with the Republic of India on space research, the peaceful use of atomic energy, and biotechnology. (2019) While China is competing against India for Africa’s space market. (2020) Indian Partners have only trained around 50 Nigerians in remote sensing over 12 years, and China has trained over 500. Still, an insignificant number leading to continued reliance on foreign experts to manage programs in the country.

Of all the countries desiring to build a robust space program in Nigeria, China is the most enthusiastic. Among African nations, Nigeria has the most extensive satellite development involvement with China. There are tens of thousands of members of the Chinese and Nigerian diasporas living in each other’s countries, according to the 2017 ‘Mapping the New African Diaspora in China: Race and the Cultural Politics of Belonging.’

In 2018, Reuters reported that Nigeria had agreed to a $550-million deal to buy two Chinese communications satellites, and instead of taking a loan or paying for the satellites, China was proposing an equity stake in Nigcomsat, a company, owned by the Nigerian government and responsible for managing satellite communications. Since those discussions, there hasn’t been a resolution as to how Nigeria will pay for the Satellites or proceed in a future partnership.

Merging and Balancing Lights and Satellites 

President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Nigerian Electrification Roadmap at the end of 2018 with Germany. Another power and energy deal worth millions of dollars USD.

President Buhari said about the deal, “Our intention is to ensure that our cooperation is structured under a Government-to-Government framework. No middlemen will be involved so that we can achieve value for money for Nigerians.” “We hope that as the power situation improves, we will improve investor confidence, create jobs, reduce the cost of doing business and encourage more economic growth in Nigeria.”

While these are grand statements, Nigeria has been here before, and these same sentiments expressed. What makes this deal better than all of the other deals that have been made to provide citizens fair and consistent electricity? How will the money from this new deal be tracked and accounted for from when a government official receives the money to the time a citizen is turning on the lights in their home? How will the generator business push back against losing customers if more people have in-home power?

And while satellites are essential, proving to close the digital divide as we see broadband services expanding in the country every year, it must continue to improve parallel to other services required to grow sustainable industries like electricity.

I can forecast that electricity will be solved for key political regions of interest almost overnight when the time comes. Nigeria has the plan, they have the knowledge, and they have the money.

Nigcomsat has the potential to lead satellite communication throughout Africa—leveraging resources and relationships to dominate in the lucrative and growing industry.

 

 

Kristi Pelzel is an international communications consultant and advisor working across U.S. and African markets. Her industry experience spans 10 years in broadcast, digital, and social media communication. Kristi holds a B.A. from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California, and an M.A. from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

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