The North East region of Nigeria has largely remained economically dependent on the country’s monthly federal allocation despite the availability of natural resources which could be viable sources of income for the area.
Apart from its untapped natural resources, the region is also blessed with abundant sun light that prevails throughout the 12-calendar year, which could be exploited for alternative source of electricity. That is to say that if the abundant sun shine can be harnessed into solar energy it can even be converted into an export commodity to neighboring countries.
Many have argued that because of lack of technical know-how, or misplaced prioritisation of policies such viable areas of investment are often neglected.
BusinessDaySunday had recently spoken to diverse residents of Northeast Nigeria who shared similar thoughts that the Mambilla project, a 3,050 MW proposed hydro power project of the federal government, which has the capacity to light the entire northern Nigeria, has been on the drawing board for about forty years – spanning through various regimes both military and civilian! That is a clear testimony of lack of political will to tackle the power gap in Africa’s most populous nation.
This prevailing situation about the Mambila Hydro-power project has left many residents of the region, deeply worried, especially people around Taraba State where the project is domiciled. To them, if the government has lived up to its commitment, their problem of electricity would have for long been a thing of the past, even as it could have by now become a veritable source of employment for thousands of youths especially in the area irrigation farming.
“I think it’s high time that those in authority in all the states of the northeast refocus their attention to this project and tap this abundant natural resources. Mambilla hydro power project can change the fortune of the entire Northern states,” said Abubakar Mohammed Kareto, a public affairs analyst based in Damaturu, Yobe State.
“Apart from that, we are also blessed with abundant wind energy because we are in the Savannah area where the wind blows from east to north, from west to south, south to north throughout the year. And if the resources of the wind energy were to be harnessed, in fact, it’s enough to generate enough electricity,” Kareto added.
He also noted: “We can see even in temperate lands, people that have foresight, they use windmills to generate electricity, and it goes a long way in reducing their dependency on fossil energy. But in this part of the country, we are just looking at it either because of, as I said earlier, lack of technical knowledge, or people because, you know, when you have too much, you tend to downplay many things, and that’s why we abandon this project. If it is harnessed, this alone will solve our electricity problem, not only in northeast but the entire Northern states.”
Abubakar also pointed out that aside the Mambilla project, if Chad Basin Development Authority is rejuvenated, it has capacity to feed the entire nation, “We can create fishery industries like tinned fish or just process the fish resources to export.
He revealed that LBDA attracted a lot of resources even before the advent of Boko Haram conflicts, when Chad Basin in his 70s was leading in wheat, rice, and cotton production, unfortunately the crisis has changed the narrative.
He said, “Only Lake Chad was producing adequate wheat, rice, and cotton in 80s, it produced wheat that was servicing the Maiduguri flour mills, Kano flour mills and all that. And we had the best quality of flour because the type of the resources we had. But you can see all these are no more, simply because of this monster called Boko Haram.
“These resources that are supposed to be harnessed and used for the national development are not being put to use. They are not being put to use, not because these people do not want it, but because of this monster called Boko Haram, if only you knew how much the Chad Basin alone was contributing towards food production- rice, wheat and other products, even cotton, which could feed our textile industries. It’s not being put to use again. So, it’s unfortunate,” Abubakar lamented.
Mohammed Alkali, a policy and tax expert, explained that the future is solar and renewable energy, noting that the Borno State in Nigeria has significant opportunities for solar energy development, given its abundant sunshine and which creates opportunities and developments in solar energy in Borno State.
According to him, the Nigeria’s largest solar panel factory is situated in Borno State, located in Jimtilo Village, with a capacity to produce 40 megawatts of panels per year. But sadly, this firm seems not to be operational now.
He said that the Borno State Government aims to provide cheap and affordable electricity through solar energy, boosting economic activities and helping people out of poverty.
Mohammed said: “Indeed, solar energy is a viable option for power but the state will need more public and private investments to make solar a premium option for power supply and thus, improving on Borno State and North-East region energy mix which is slowly but steadily evolving for the socio-economic good of the region.”
Recall that former president Olusegun Obasanjo started the project but abandoned it. When the late president Muhammadu Buhari assumed office, he visited the project with high commitment.
The contract for the project was awarded at the cost of $5.7billion about N5.3 trillion with 85 percent funding ($4.85bn) from the Chinese Export-Import Bank (EXIM) while the federal government is providing a counterpart funding of $850 million which is the balance of 15 percent.
The Ministry of Power, under the former minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman, signed a pact with the Taraba State government for the release of site for the project in Sardauna local government area of the state and the aerial survey of the project site was awarded at the cost of N350 million.
In the 2021 appropriation bill (budget), the ministry had pegged N200m for the survey work of the project. The consultancy services for enumeration and valuation of communities and persons to be affected will gulp N75m while another N75m will be spent on what the ministry described as detailed engineering design, project management and supervision of the project.
Survey work of the project site was awarded to 10 surveying firms by the federal ministry of power. The survey work started by 10 surveying firms with the portions divided into 10 lots for the firms, officials supervising the survey at the sites said.
The official, who spoke in Gembu, another town to be impacted by the Mambilla hydropower project, said the first phase of the survey was conducted through the use of Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and satellite images.
However, in January 2020, the ex-Minister of Power, Sale Mamman in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust, said a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Taraba State Government and the Federal Ministry of Power.
At Gembu, a community member, Mallam Haruna Kakara, said they were convinced that the federal government was now serious and committed to executing the power project.
Commenting, the Taraba State former commissioner for Power, Badina Garba, who is also the leader of the Sensitization Committee set up by Taraba state, stated that the communities have embraced the project after they were informed about its potential.
Governor Agbu Kefas since his assumption has been calling on the federal government to revisit the Mambilla hydro power project which has the capacity to generate electricity for the need of entire North East and other part of the country.
Hassan Jika Ardo, a former Taraba State chairman of All Progressive Congress, suggested that the federal government should revisit the project. He said the proposed Mambilla hydro power project had potential to meet the power needs of this country.
Jika, a former Ambassador and a key stakeholder in Taraba State, further stated that Nigeria needed the Mambilla hydro power because of its potential of generating over 3, 350MW and the biggest source of power in the country.
Also, Ibrahim Gwamna Mshelia, a NorthEast-based journalist, noted that the region was massively blessed with resources but unfortunately, the misfortune of Boko Haram insurgency has halted the exploration of oil within the Lake Chad Basin, and the Kolmani oil field, situated along the Bauchi-Gombe state border in the region.
Ibrahim recalled that the activities of terrorists have contributed to lack of farming and food insecurity in the region where more 80 percent of the population is agrarian society.
“The region has been endowed with several natural resources including Mambilla hydro power project, windmills, Chad Basin development, Jafi falls, sunshine abundant land for farming but the terrorists in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states have halted the activities.
“We are getting it wrong from the planners, the politicians that are in charge of things. Jaffu falls in Kwaya-Kusa in Borno State can generate enough energy to cater for Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, and we have so many of such falls within this region. We also have one of the greatest endowments like the Mambilla plateau, where it was said that over $6 billion was wasted,” he said.
He also said that electricity was one of the fundamentals for development, because if there is adequate electricity, then the region can reactivate the industrialisation.
He alluded that God loves the region and endowed it with untapped natural resources, and that it’s up to the leaders with political will to manage it.
“We are only praying that God will give us leaders that will manage our resources in line with priority, that will actually have impact on the lives of the people so that we they can generate electricity. We can have mechanized farming. We have almost everything. It’s only for us to pick it, and yet we are not doing so,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Shehu, Chairman Network of Civil Society Organisations in North-East has said that a
lot of economies have been transformed because people are switching from the electricity to solar energy now due to the rising cost of fuels.
He urged the leaders to take pragmatic steps, and think of how to harness this so that it can contribute to national revenue especially now that solar production is in high demands.
“It will be of great benefit, and this will have direct implication to issue of job creation, and besides this, you will see that the economy of the state and country will really pick up once there is stable electricity.
He queried: “I think the previous governor came up with factory in respect to this solar, I don’t know the status currently and I will want you to investigate further and find out the status of the factory.
“For me, I once have a meeting with Governor Zulum, as the Chairman of North East governors on the issue of this hydropower generation in Taraba, I think it’s a bit complicated issue, they made effort sometimes ago on how to revive it. For this, I will call on the federal government to key in and find out what are those issues that stop the Mambila project not to be actualised.
“Although I learnt about contractor issues, and as a civil society, we made effort to find out about the actual issue too, but is like it’s very complicated. So, from this, I will urge our leaders to look within, especially now that we have a federal government that has concentrated on generating revenue and if you are not bringing anything to the table, it going to affect especially with this tax reform policy that we have. And as civil society network, we are ready to advocate and be part of this process too.”
Stakeholders urged the leaders and governors to put aside the politics and prioritise the development of the region by providing adequate electricity for consumption and generating revenue for the region.
They described Mambilla as potential tourist haven. The highest elevation in Nigeria, Chappal Wadi peak, is one of the several wonders of nature in the region but lack of political will has hampered the full harnessing of these natural resources that could generate and attract billions of dollars both in investment and revenues.
