Hot SourceOghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja
As Nigeria hosts over 60 million small generators, gulping over $22 billion annually in off-grid diesel generation, the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, has prescribed green energy as the future of energy solutions in the country.
Olawande spoke at the third edition of the Technology Ecosystem Dialogue (TED), organised by the Young Innovators of Nigeria (YIN) in Abuja yesterday.
At the event with the theme, ‘Green Tech and Energy Revolution, Transforming Business and Society’, the minister who was represented by his Senior Technical Adviser, Dr. Obinna Ebirim, said there was the need to support young people with the right skills, platforms, and investments to shape their destiny and secure Nigeria’s leadership in the global digital and green revolution.
His words: “Let us ensure that everyone is carried along; no one is left behind, be it those in rural areas, young men and women and the future of digital and green future is not distant, it is here.
“A time when technology is powering the economy, shaping destinies, refining business models, and enabling young people to solve problems that once seemed impossible.”
He also noted that the ministry recognised the creativity of young people as the nation’s greatest asset, adding that the future of Nigeria would be written in digital codes, powered by renewable energy and driven by the creativity of young people.
According to him, “The dialogue was a pathway for young people to move from learning to earning, from innovating to scaling, and from dreaming to doing.”
The Chairman, House Committee on Renewable Energy, Hon. Victor Ogene, emphasised the need to embrace digitalisation as a cornerstone by integrating smart metering, remote monitoring, AI-driven load management, standard systems, and mobile-enabled vending systems that can reduce losses, ensure transparency, and optimise performance, in service delivery
“For instance, digital monitoring has been shown to cut operational downtime by up to 30 per cent, while mobile-enabled payment systems increase collection efficiency to over 90 per cent, compared to less than 60 per cent in task-based systems.
“The International Energy Agency, IEA, estimates that Nigeria hosts over 60 million small generators, consuming more than $22 billion annually in off-grid diesel generation.
“These are expensive, polluting, and unsustainable. Yet, with digital-enabled ministries, we can replace these generators with cleaner systems that are not only 30 to 40 per cent cheaper per kilowatt-hour over their life cycle, but also more resilient in rural and peri-urban contexts,” the lawmaker said.
Nigeria, he added, still has about 85 million people without access to electricity, arguing that if just 25 per cent of these households were connected through digitally-managed mini-trees and solar home systems, in the next five years, “we will generate over 200,000 green jobs, expand rural agro-processing, and reduce CO2 emissions by tens of millions of tons annually.”
He noted that innovation in clean energy and electrification should go hand-in-hand in order to bridge the energy gap, power industries, preserve farm produce, and drive the productivity that transforms society.
The Director General, Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, harped on the need to build industries, provide jobs, and skills within local innovators.
Aliyu, who was represented by Head of Research and Development, Bala Tyoden, said citizens should not be bystanders but co-owners of energy policy.
“Renewable energy solutions can help our lives, whether through our solar home systems, mini-grids, or productive use of energy.
“Yet, we also know that technology alone is not enough. We must give innovation to high-level, nationwide portfolios.
“We must move beyond supply and productive use, and ensure inclusivity among our young innovators. And we ensure that our innovators are at the centre of energy policy,” he said.
Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, said green technology was not a choice but an imperative, requiring collective action from both government, industry, academia, and citizens to build a future that is digital, green and inclusive.
Speaking through his Senior Adviser on Innovation and Research, Lukman Lamid, he said the agency was ready to collaborate with stakeholders to ensure Nigeria benefits from green energy and leads Africa in leveraging green technology for growth, jobs, and sustainable development.
In his address, the President of YIN, Andrew Abu, noted that the purpose of the dialogue was for innovators to showcase their products and to proffer lasting solutions to the challenges affecting the energy sector.
“The vision was for Nigeria to reach the mark when it comes to providing electricity and clean energy for our citizens.
“So, the young innovators, we are the champions of this programme. We are the thinkers, visionaries of this programme, because we want to see our country work. We want to see our country be able to sustain itself in terms of generating clean energy for ourselves, and also which leads to food security.
“Also because energy also affects food security, so there is the nexus of linking this together to ensure that from affordable, clean energy, we can address food security,” he said.
