…..Former President urges government to replicate telecoms revolution in electricity sector
By: ABC News Nigeria
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared that Nigeria may never overcome its persistent electricity crisis unless the private sector takes the lead in running the country’s power industry.
Obasanjo argued that government control and involvement alone cannot deliver the lasting solution to Nigeria’s electricity challenges, insisting that the country must embrace a private sector-driven model similar to the reforms that transformed the telecommunications industry.
The former president called on policymakers to draw lessons from Nigeria’s telecoms revolution, where the opening up of the sector to private investors triggered increased competition, massive infrastructure expansion and wider access to services.
According to him, the electricity industry requires a similar transformation if Nigerians must enjoy stable and reliable power supply.
His position comes against the backdrop of years of electricity shortages, frequent grid collapses, inadequate generation, transmission bottlenecks and distribution challenges that have continued to frustrate households, businesses and manufacturers.
Obasanjo maintained that meaningful progress would remain difficult without a fundamental change in the way the electricity sector is managed, with private investors given greater responsibility and opportunities to drive its development.
The former president’s reference to the telecommunications industry is particularly significant, considering the remarkable expansion of mobile telephone services following the liberalisation of the sector in 2001.
Before the reforms, access to telephone services was limited, expensive and largely dominated by government-controlled infrastructure. The entry of private operators subsequently transformed the industry, expanded connectivity and created new investment opportunities.
Obasanjo believes that a comparable approach could help address the structural weaknesses confronting Nigeria’s electricity industry.
However, greater private sector participation would also require effective regulation, transparent market operations, adequate infrastructure and safeguards to ensure that improved efficiency does not come at the expense of ordinary electricity consumers.
His intervention has once again brought the question of ownership, management and investment in Nigeria’s power sector to the forefront of national economic discussions.
For millions of Nigerians battling erratic electricity supply and businesses spending heavily on alternative power sources, the former president’s message underscores the urgency of finding a sustainable solution to a crisis that has remained one of the country’s biggest development challenges.
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