FOR Nigeria to make any tangible progress, it must end the regime of darkness imposed by the electricity crisis that has defied solutions for decades.
Nigeria loses an estimated $25 billion annually to unreliable power and crumbling infrastructure, says the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, at the signing of an MoU with Galaxy Backbone to deliver electricity and digital connectivity to public institutions recently in Abuja.
This crisis is a fundamental barrier to growth. It is a profound economic and social tragedy draining the country of its potential. With electricity generation and consumption at abysmal levels, millions remain trapped in poverty, their lives constrained by darkness.
Despite its vast resources, Nigeria has the world’s largest population without electricity—85 million people, or 40 per cent of its citizens.
The numbers tell a stark story. Nigeria’s annual electricity consumption per capita is a mere 181.63 kWh, dwarfed by South Africa’s 3,779.72 kWh, Brazil’s 3,295.31 kWh, and Turkey’s 3,726.45 kWh.
This gap mirrors the disparity in wealth: Nigeria’s per capita GDP stands at just $835, while Mexico and Brazil, with far higher electricity use, boast per higher per capita GDPs of $12,690 and $9,960, respectively, per IMF 2025 projections.
The consequences ripple through every sector. Businesses, burdened by erratic power, rely heavily on expensive generators, which inflate costs and squeeze profits.
Manufacturers, who should be driving growth, are hobbled by inconsistent supply and lose their competitive edge. Energy expenses consume up to 40 per cent of production costs, according to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.
Investor confidence wanes as the power sector’s failings deter the capital essential for diversification and job creation.
Hospitals struggle to keep equipment running, water plants cannot function optimally, and millions remain cut off from digital financial services, deepening poverty and exclusion.
What makes this crisis more tragic is Nigeria’s enormous energy potential. With proven gas reserves estimated at 210.5 trillion cubic feet and hydroelectric power generation potential estimated at over 14,120 MW, the country should be powering a thriving economy.
Instead, decades of mismanagement, dilapidated infrastructure, and political inertia have left these resources largely untapped. The rigged privatisation of the power sector has failed spectacularly, plagued by inefficiency, weak regulation, and a lack of accountability, especially within the Transmission Company of Nigeria. DisCos are collapsing under the weight of debts due to poor services.
Nigerians are turning to private solutions like solar power, mirroring the widespread use of private boreholes for water. These stopgap measures expose the state’s failure to provide basic services equitably.
Even the Presidency has lost faith in the grid, recently allocating N10 billion to solar installations.
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