Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has found itself repeatedly plunged into darkness. In 2024 alone, the country's national power grid has collapsed ten times, leaving millions without electricity. The most recent blackout, triggered by weak infrastructure and sabotage, underscores an enduring energy crisis that hinders economic growth and development. But beneath the surface lies a critical question: why hasn't one of the world's most resource-rich nations been able to build a resilient energy system?
The answer lies in a combination of internal challenges and external pressures -- most notably, the influence of climate colonialism, where global financial institutions and wealthy nations dictate energy policies that prioritize carbon reduction over human development.
Despite having over 200 million people, Nigeria's energy system is woefully underdeveloped. The country has the capacity to generate up to 13,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, but weak infrastructure allows for the transmission of only 4,000 MW. This is less than 0.02 MW per person -- barely enough to power basic household appliances. To fill the gap, households and businesses generate an estimated 40,000 MW using costly, gasoline-powered generators.
This overreliance on small-scale generation is neither efficient nor sustainable. Yet international financing for large-scale fossil fuel infrastructure -- such as natural gas-fired power plants -- has dried up. Instead, funds are increasingly directed toward renewable energy projects that fail to meet Nigeria's baseload energy needs.
In recent years, wealthy nations and global institutions have adopted aggressive decarbonization policies, with a growing refusal to fund fossil fuel development in poorer countries. This policy shift disproportionately affects nations like Nigeria, which lack the financial resources to replace fossil fuels with expensive renewable technologies.
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These restrictions come at a time when Nigeria is desperate to modernize its grid. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar, while useful for localized power generation, cannot replace the reliability of fossil fuels for baseload power. Worse still, attempts to accelerate a renewable transition have backfired. Solar panel installations, for instance, have proven difficult to maintain, with failure rates exceeding 30% in certain regions within five years.
Compounding the crisis is the physical vulnerability of Nigeria's grid infrastructure. Armed groups frequently vandalize transmission lines, exacerbating the already fragile system. Just last month, insurgents disrupted power to the northern regions for over a week.
This raises a bitter irony: while international policymakers insist on eliminating fossil fuels to combat suppose climate change, Nigeria continues to burn more diesel -- a more carbon-intensive fuel -- just to keep the lights on. As it stands, diesel generators account for nearly 20% of Nigeria's carbon emissions. This misguided approach highlights the failure of climate colonialism to achieve its purported environmental goals.
Developed nations' climate mandates for the Global South are fraught with hypocrisy. While countries like Germany reopened coal plants in 2023 to address energy shortages, they preach renewable-only policies to developing nations. Similarly, China, the world's largest coal consumer, continues to fund its industrial growth with fossil fuels while promoting solar exports to Africa.
Such policies not only stall Nigeria's development but also entrench global inequalities. By forcing developing nations to rely on unreliable and expensive renewables, wealthier countries maintain their industrial advantage.
Nigeria's energy crisis is emblematic of the broader challenges facing the Global South. To address this, several measures are needed:
The blackouts crippling Nigeria are not merely technical failures; they are the direct result of a global energy agenda that prioritizes ideology over pragmatism. By imposing stringent anti-fossil fuel policies, wealthy nations and international organizations effectively bar Nigeria from leveraging its own resources to lift millions out of poverty.
For Nigeria, the path forward must involve rejecting externally imposed solutions and embracing a development-first approach to energy policy. Only by asserting its right to define its own energy future can Nigeria escape the darkness of climate colonialism and unlock its true potential.