Adeleke Mamora, the Adeleke Mamora, of science, technology, and innovation, has outlined the reasons why Nigeria, despite its blessings, is still a poor nation, Entrepreneurng report.
The minister claimed that despite having many resources, Nigeria remains underdeveloped because it cannot turn potential into reality. The minister was speaking at a workshop geared at speeding up small hydropower projects in Nigeria.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization, in cooperation with the Nigerian Energy Commission, organized the event that took place on Tuesday in Abuja.
He claimed that if deliberate decisions are not made to ensure the exploitation of our potential into reality for our good, the cliché of applauding the wealth of natural resources will be of little use.
“In Nigeria, we always talk about our potential, about what we can do, and about so many renewable energy sources,” he remarked. However, possibilities won’t change until we make them a reality. And I inquire as to the issue. Why are we so fortunate and so underprivileged?”
It’s not a question I can answer; instead, I’d like everyone to consider it and make a deliberate choice to make sure that we realize our potential for our good.
“A country is only as developed as its research and development initiatives, therefore if we want to achieve where we want to, we must likewise enhance our research and development efforts. These are important elements that govern how our nation develops.”
Mamora outlined his ideas as he bemoaned the difficulty of securing investments in renewable energy sources despite the nation’s 278 potential hydropower sites’ combined capacity of 24,020 megawatts. He claims that less than 3% of this capacity has been utilized to increase access to power.
He expressed hope, nonetheless, that Nigeria’s prosperity will be expanded through collaboration and communication as a result of the restructuring of the energy industry.
“Collaboration between policymakers, academia, public financiers, and private sector actors to effectively enhance investment in renewables especially small hydropower in Nigeria is a necessity to successfully attain the desired result,” he said.
In the meantime, Maryam Katagum, the minister of state for trade and investment, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to boosting hydropower investment in the energy sector in her remarks.
According to her, the goal of the workshop is to hasten hydropower investments in Nigeria and raise awareness of the necessity of utilizing already-present prospects while utilizing and funding hydropower prospective sites with enormous and modest scales that are dispersed around the nation.
In conclusion, the formal launch of a technical committee tasked with developing strategies and workable regulations to boost investments in renewable energy was the event’s high point.
Source: Punch
