By Dr. Jude Dike, Ph.D.
In the endless cycles of policy drafts, committee reports, and national rebirth promises that define Nigerian governance, one truth remains glaring and painfully unresolved: Nigeria cannot and will not fix itself without fixing its power sector. Accessible, reliable electricity is not just a convenience, it is the protagonist in the grand narrative of national redemption. Without it, every ambition, from economic diversification to internal security, amounts to little more than wishful thinking.
At the heart of Nigeria’s dysfunction lies an irony so profound it borders on the absurd: a nation of over 200 million people, blessed with abundant natural gas, sunshine, and human capital, remains shackled by darkness. Over 85 million Nigerians live without access to electricity, according to the World Bank. The rest endure epileptic supply so unpredictable that diesel generators and solar inverters are more reliable national symbols than the electric grid.
The Economic Argument: From Stagnation to Industrialization
Let us start where the absence of power hurts most: the economy. Nigeria’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs), often hailed as the backbone of employment, operate in an economic jungle where the cost of private power generation inflates prices, shrinks profit margins, and kills innovation. In Lagos alone, tens of thousands of small businesses spend up to 40% of their overhead on diesel or petrol. This is unsustainable.
Without grid power, manufacturing is dead on arrival. Textile mills that once employed thousands are now hollow relics. Tech hubs and innovation centers struggle to run servers, let alone scale. Agriculture suffers from a lack of cold chains and processing plants. Simply put: no power, no productivity. No productivity, no progress.
Now contrast that with the transformative effect of reliable electricity. Jobs in manufacturing, ICT, agro-processing, and services would explode. Domestic industries could finally outcompete imports. Export revenues would diversify beyond oil. It is no overstatement to say that Nigeria’s path out of poverty is paved by electrons.
Security Begins with Light
Then there is the security crisis, arguably the most existential threat to the country today. From Boko Haram in the northeast to bandits in the northwest and separatist tensions in the southeast, Nigeria is riven by violence.
What rarely gets said is how the darkness fuels the danger. Unlit streets breed crime. Communities off the grid become cut off from state authority. Surveillance systems, smart policing, and coordinated response units, tools critical to modern security, depend on stable electricity. Even simple streetlights can transform a community’s safety profile. In conflict-prone rural areas, solar microgrids can offer both electricity and state presence, pushing back against extremist influence.
Borders, Blockchain, and the Digital Future
Consider also Nigeria’s porous borders and the rising tide of illicit trade, arms smuggling, and human trafficking. Securing 5,000 kilometres of borders in the 21st century cannot rely solely on boots on the ground. It requires drones, sensors, data centers, and AI, a high-tech frontier that collapses without electricity. The same applies to digitizing public services, implementing blockchain in the land registry, and securing the national ID system.
A country that lacks the wattage to power its civil service computers cannot claim readiness for a digital economy.
A Matter of Justice and Equity
Beyond the technocratic arguments lies a moral imperative. Power is access. It is the ability of a child in Zamfara to study after sunset, a nurse in Yenagoa to refrigerate vaccines, and a teacher in Makurdi to print assignments. Universal electricity access is a civil right in all but name, a signal that the state recognizes and empowers its citizens.
So What Must Be Done?
The Nigerian government must confront the power crisis with the urgency of a wartime economy. This means:
* Decentralizing the grid and embracing renewables at scale, especially solar, for off-grid and underserved regions.
* Ending any form of subsidies in the energy sector that distort market incentives and reallocating funds to infrastructure investment.
* Allowing state governments to generate and distribute power independently, a reform is already in motion but badly in need of federal cooperation.
* Reforming the regulatory environment to attract serious private capital while protecting consumers.
* Cracking down on corruption and inefficiency in distribution companies (DisCos) and transmission firms that sabotage reforms from within.
Nigeria doesn’t lack technical knowledge. It lacks political will, leadership continuity, and moral clarity. A Marshall Plan-level intervention in power, led by a coalition of government, private sector, and international partners, is not optional. It is overdue.
A Race Against Time
There is a window, but it is closing. Every year without reliable power drives more young Nigerians to migrate, more investors to turn away, and more communities to fall under the influence of non-state actors. The darkness is no longer metaphorical; it is existential.
In the end, nations are not built by slogans. They are built by systems. If Nigeria gets power right, nearly everything else can begin to heal. If it fails, no slogan, summit, or subsidy can save it.
It is that simple.
N.B. Dr. Jude Dike, Ph.D. is an energy policy analyst and frequent commentator on African development and governance and writes from Calgary, Canada.
