ECOWAS elixir

From the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the ECOWAS Commission, under its Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (EAP), would light up 15 rural education and public health facilities in three distinct areas: Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Abuja, and the surrounding rings of Niger and Nasarawa states.  The deal was signed with REA, which would be the implementation agency.

It is ECOWAS’s pilot region-wide project to light up member-states’ rural areas, for sustainable growth, development and integration.  The EAP, supported by the World Bank, is to expand off-grid electricity across West Africa and the troubled Sahel.  REA is the ECOWAS Nigerian technical partner and direct implementer. 

The project’s technical nitty-gritty is to instal photovoltaic solar systems in rural schools and health centres – a twin move sure to boost rural development beyond the specific facilities benefiting from the grant; and give rural living a healthy jab in the arm.

Dr. Abba Aliyu, the REA CEO, in his comment after signing the MOU, said it all: “This partnership with ECOWAS reinforces Nigeria’s commitment to expanding reliable electricity access to critical public institutions.  Electrifying health centres and schools,” he added, “means improving healthcare delivery, enhancing learning conditions and strengthening community development.”

That looks – and sounds – like a primer in electricity as driver of community development!

Omar Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, also shed some light on the vision of the EAP. “This pilot phase in Nigeria is a cornerstone of our regional strategy to eliminate energy poverty,” he said. “By providing sustainable solar solutions to schools and clinics, we are not just lighting up buildings; we are powering the future of West Africa.  This collaboration with the REA,” he further explained, “demonstrates how regional grants can be effectively localised to touch the lives of the most vulnerable citizens.”  Excellently put, again!

But two pieces of advice: the first to ECOWAS, the second to Nigeria.

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If the chain is as strong as its weakest link, and EAP is a fresh project piloting in Nigeria, then ECOWAS should marshal more funding to replicate such projects in other West African/Sahellian countries.  Nigeria, the biggest yearly contributor to ECOWAS, would take its win.  But that would mean little if other countries in the bloc, far behind Nigeria in the development mix, are not captured, very soon after the pilot launch.

Then: Nigeria.  The elephant in the room is almost always sleaze: that willful filtering of scarce public funds for doomed personal greed.  In this project, the REA must be the open and transparent envoy of Nigeria.  EAP’s Nigeria sparkle should be the glow for other ECOWAS rural light-up projects. REA, therefore, has its job cut out for it.

Still, it is only fair to note: REA is building a powerful rural light-up portfolio, leveraging the solar technology, through the Rural Electrification Fund (REF), Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), Solar Power Naija (SPN) and Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES), among others.

Even more exciting: REA and Lotus Bank just struck a N100 billion energy bill.  That means beyond the rural development financing coming from ECOWAS, a Nigerian commercial bank is seeing, in rural electrification, a growth area for fresh opportunities.  Other banks should think along that line. Off-grid electricity provides a sound strategy to bridge the Nigerian electricity gap.