As Nigeria recorded its 12 collapse of the national grid on Wednesday afternoon, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged Nigerians not to expect a “magical response” to the prevailing electricity challenges in the country as the existing power infrastructure has been on the ground for decades.
Energy generation in Nigeria plummeted from 3,087.05MW at 2:00 pm on Wednesday to 0MW, resulting in a nationwide grid collapse with none of the 19 listed electricity Generation Companies (GenCos) producing power.
This effectively plunged the nation into darkness for the 12th time this year.
From January 2024 till November, the grid has collapsed 11 times. In fact, within one week in October, the grid collapsed three times with its attendant blackouts, sparking reactions from Nigerians.
A tweet via the official handle of Nigeria’s National Grid confirmed that the grid collapsed at about 2:09 pm on Wednesday.
“The major grid setback has occurred and the restoration is to commence,” the handler wrote.
But speaking during the visit of German President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Tinubu highlighted ongoing reforms aimed at fostering a business-friendly environment and attracting foreign investment in the country.
The President warned that even though Siemens Energy is “working very hard” to fulfil its part of the partnership, Nigerians should not expect a “magical response” due to the state of existing power infrastructure.
He said, “Nigeria, being a nation in a hurry, wants a magical response. But don’t forget, those transmission lines are about 50 to 60 years old.
“The snags are what we are trying to improve and reduce the possibility of problems. We are doing that. I’ve signed a reform that decentralised the power distribution and generation in the country. The states and various sub-sectors and sub-national can generate their power and distribute it; they are working on it all.
“We have German businesses who are promoting alternative sources of energy, and they are here. We have the sun; they have the technology. I think we can utilise that for rural electrification; as mentioned earlier on, we can use the various dams that are not effective. We assure you that we will put these dams to use for the benefit of our people.”
The President also underscored the importance of youth training, solid minerals, and industrial partnerships in advancing Nigeria’s development agenda.
“We have a brilliant youth population that is energetic and ready to learn. We have a population that is market-friendly. We have an industrial plan that is anxious to establish assembly plants.
“We equally have solid minerals and the best proportion we can harness to attract German businesses and partners for progress.”