Senator Ben Murray-Bruce had took to Twitter on May 17, 2019, to commend Rwanda’s advancements in renewable energy, suggesting that Nigeria needs to catch up to avoid being outpaced by the smaller African nation.
“Rwanda is far ahead of Nigeria in renewable energy. They are a small giant of Africa. If we don’t take steps to cover lost grounds by passing laws and implementing policies to encourage electric cars and vehicles, Rwanda may go from being a small giant to becoming the main giant,” he tweeted.
However, his statement did not go unchallenged. A Twitter user swiftly responded, criticizing the senator for making what they described as an unfair comparison.
The user pointed out the vast differences between the two countries’ energy needs and infrastructure. “Why do you like to compare Rwanda with Nigeria? It’s obvious you don’t know the enormity of our requirements as a Nation. Rwanda’s total installed power capacity is barely 220MW. Kanji dam alone is 760MW of renewable energy. Rwanda has 50,000 cars, Nigeria has over 11m cars,” the user retorted.
The reply further argued that Nigeria, with its much larger population and energy demands, requires a different approach to renewable energy. “Kanji dam with 760MW hydro will supply thrice what Rwanda requires. We require 25000MW, how easy is it for us to get this via renewable energy? SA, USA, India, China, Australia are heavily reliant on coal as their source of energy. They fire coal heavily to generate power.
“Despite the abundant coal Nigeria has, Nigeria doesn’t fire coal rather we rely on hydro and thermal,” the user added.
The criticism didn’t stop there. The Twitter user also questioned the senator’s salary in comparison to that of Rwandan legislators, highlighting the disparity in earnings between Nigerian and Rwandan officials.
“Why can’t you compare how much you take home annually with what the average Rwandan legislator earn? The Rwandan senate president earns 16m RWF annually, $18000. Your monthly salary is twice his annual wage.
“Paul Kagame earns $85,000 annually. With your N13m monthly allowance, you earn 5 times what he earns annually doing nothing. Can you compare yourself to Kagame? Can you justify your callous wage?” the user stated.
See the posts below:
