#SolarPowerNaija: Finally, 25 million Nigerian households will get electricity

How do I explain my excitement? That 25 million households in Nigeria will be getting electricity is so unbelievable. There are a lot of us that have called on the Nigerian government to do this for so long, finally, it is happening.


Like God said; “let there be light and there was light”, and it was morning and it was evening and it was the first day and ever since then, mankind has been fixated on the concept of perpetuating the daylight hours and the solution came in the form of power.


Power is defined as a source or means of supplying energy, especially electricity or the rate at which energy is emitted or transferred. Permit me now to jump from Genesis 1:2 and cull in from 1:14, for it is from the great light created to govern the day and the Buhari administration is seeking to further chase the darkness and empower the people.


For those not up to speed, the Nigerian Government is seeking to improve the power situation across the country by commencing the process of installation of 5 million solar-home systems across the country. It is not news that a majority of Nigerians, over 60% of us are off the national grid and these under-served and off-grid communities are the main targets of this scheme.


This means that, the target of this clean solar energy are those who have not enjoyed any form of electricity before.


The programme which is estimated to be worth N140 billion will include the assembly and manufacturing of components of off-grid solutions to facilitate the growth of the local manufacturing industry. 

By design, a total of 5 million homes encompassing about 25 million individual Nigerians not currently connected to the national grid would be served.


With the first phase of the scheme expected to commence in various communities across the country in December, if you went home for the holidays and you find your otherwise “often in darkness”, “we run generator 2-4” hometown all lit up, then you should cheer, having been a beneficiary of one of the schemes of the Economic Sustainability Committee which was set up earlier in the year by the President who asked Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to chair its formulation and implementation.


Some of the other schemes that Nigerians have been benefitting from the NESP include the Covid19 relief funds as well as the Survival Fund which is broken down into Payroll support and One-off grants for artisans. Social Media has been awash with the testimonies of recipients of these schemes and by the time the holiday cheers are upon us, the videos of our relatives back home with brightly lit smiles is what I expect will rend the SM stratosphere.


For those wondering why I am particularly happy about the commencement of this scheme, let me categorically say that it is as regards the jobs that would be created. The NESP’s 5m solar installation is expected to create about 250,000 jobs including in manufacturing, assembling, installations, maintenance and payment systems.


And nothing says “Happy Holidays” as much as the ability to buy chicken and presents for our loved ones. So if by the government saying; LET THERE BE POWER equally translates into Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance because they’ve put more monies in people’s hands, who am I to begrudge them of that?https://youtu.be/CWpophEPetk



 

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