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The world witnessed cross pollination of modern technology and culture during the opening ceremony of the XXIX Olympiad of August 8, 2008. China showed the world how technology and culture can be merged seamlessly. Beijing was lighted up in a show of technological prowess. August 8, 2008 was a date that China told the world that she has finally arrived and the world took notice.
Not
too long ago, Nigeria was not too far behind China in rudimentary
technology. China has been carrying herself in dignity before the world
while Nigeria’s development is reaching a crisis stage since her
independence. One thing that is sure is that, even though China has a
tight control on her citizens, she has always had visionary leaders
such as Mao Tse–Tung to engineer people-based revolution. China has,
therefore, re-written her economic history in gold while Nigeria is, on
the average, walloping in abject poverty and seem to lack appreciation of economic fundamentals and political trade-offs in market driven economy.
In
January 2008 I started a series on energy sufficiency and stabilization
in Nigeria. I discussed several renewable energy alternatives (Hydro,
wind, solar, bio-mass, etc.) and ways to achieve energy sufficiency
through renewable energy rural electrification. This was long before
the soaring energy prices and spirited discussion on the climate change
from man-made emissions of carbon dioxide became prominent discussions
on the world stage.
Man-made
emissions of carbon dioxide have propelled energy efficiency to the top
of the agenda in the developed world especially in the boardrooms,
public debates and as emissions concern is shaping public policies as
never before. This Internet medium provides a forum for an overview of
the challenges, how different governments are tackling these problems
and how Nigeria can use this new energy crisis and reduced oil
consumption to find an optimum solution for her energy crisis
especially as crude may become irrelevant in the near future.
The
rising standards of living in the developing countries and their
participation in the global markets have exposed the mass critical
needs of companies to be more competitive and realize the increased
pressure to increase productivity and lower costs. Nigeria is no
exception to this pressure even though she is stuck in the consuming
stage of development.
Industries
within Nigeria and outside of her shores and governments, Federal and
State levels, are presented with strong incentives to use energy more
efficiently and to look for more energy sources within her shore. The
surging price of oil in recent years, even though it is indirectly to
Nigeria’s advantage, is being sustained by demand from rapidly
developing countries including Brazil, China, and India. Therefore, it
is important that
Nigeria understand her
limitation in increased industrial capacity when the most fundamental
ingredient for industrialization, energy, is missing.
The
International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that, with the way the
world is growing, world electricity use would double as the global
energy needs and the related emissions of gases demand increase. Carbon dioxide emission which is believed to be responsible for global
warming will be more than 50 percent higher in the next twenty-two
years than it is today as economic activities increase in the
developing world is accelerated. Moreover, the earth’s average surface
temperature will probably rise by 1.8 to 4 degrees Celsius by the end
of the century, according to the latest major report by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in February 2007.
Because
of the warnings of this nature, governments have started taking note
and perfecting actions. Many governmental policies are set to lay down
minimum standards for energy efficiency. Governments are placing
minimum standards in place around the world and laws are being
tightened further for the enforcement. For example,
China adopted a
development plan for the five years through 2010 that calls for a 20
percent reduction in the amount of energy used per unit of gross
domestic product (GDP). But then,
China is the world's second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the
United States of America. In August 208, California, the world's 12th-largest
emitter of greenhouse gases, passed legislation committing the US to
reducing emissions of carbon dioxide by 25 percent by the year 2020.
Presently,
Nigerians are concern with just day-to-day survival; they need to also,
on the long run, be concerned with global warming and quality of life
just as governments around the world are clamping down on pollution. Many governments are now making businesses operating within their
global space pay penalty for emissions of carbon dioxide. Nigeria
government must demand for no less in her Nigeria Delta crude oil
producing zones. Though Nigeria is not yet a high manufacturing
nation, she must start her energy management by making sure that
products coming into Nigeria are energy efficient as well as engaging
in sound maintenance culture through power transmission technologies
and requiring factory control systems. Improvement in infrastructure,
especially power supply will go along way to enhancing peace and
security in the Niger Delta.
While
Nigeria is restructuring her
energy needs, she has to consider efficiency in her distribution
system. It is believed that apart from generating energy, movement of
energy through transmission can be made more efficient. There is
high-voltage direct current, HVDC technology, which is capable of
transporting electricity over long distances using fewer cables and
with much lower electric energy losses than conventional alternating
current technology. Many companies have perfected this type of
technology and
Nigeria needs to dispel the old adage and go with efficiency right from the beginning.
In
the energy generation industries, HVDC allows clear linkages of one
power grid to another safely and cost effectively. I was discussing
with a friend in Norway in order to understand how Norway deals with
her energy generation and distribution so efficiently. My friend says
that
Norway has an
efficient energy distribution. Nigeria must use Norway and the
Netherlands for her case study and learn how these two nations link
their grids with, for example, the GE and especially the ABB technology
in order to allow the Dutch to import hydropower from Norway during the
day when demand is high. HVDC can also boost development of wind power
all over
Nigeria by compensating for the power fluctuations caused by generating energy from wind.
Our
universities must be actively challenged in the areas of efficiency in
energy research through software development and active control
systems. They must add value to our collective appropriation by
developing power plants that operate more efficiently either
theoretically or by design. By encouraging this, many of our nation’s
factories such as cement, pulp and paper to pharmaceuticals consuming
large amount of energies can benefit from government investment on
Research and Development (R&D).
If
Nigeria continues on her disposable society status, the generator cabal
will soon leave the stage but leave the next generation to facing the
music of the foolishness of the yesteryears, this will be
unconscionable. While other nations are coming up with policies to
reduce fuel consumption in order to reduce cost for the energy, our own
nation is just consuming the energy for no purposeful use, selling
electricity that is not available to Nigeria to neighboring countries
as big brother while the politicians are busy transferring the proceeds
to their own personal overseas accounts. Nigeria too can
benefit by putting forward a strategy for combining control systems,
high efficiency motors and variable speed drives.
Small
but landmark political missteps precipitated many nations’
revolutions. In Nigeria, politicians should take cognizant of the fact
that energy might just be the Achilles' heel that may crystallize
people’s revolution. When a nation is battered and citizens are
disrespected by those that ought to be advocates, revolution is
inevitable. A nation can only be battered for so long before citizens
wake up from their slumbers. Nigeria surely needs a revolution of
ideas otherwise she will be stuck in a dungeon of energy hopelessness,
despicable healthcare system, moral decadence, jaundice educational
standard and massive capital flight.
Our
politicians have not yet understood that Nigerians are not beggars nor
are they fools. An average citizen is not begging for hand outs but
for opportunities to be self sufficient. One way for leaders to be
relevant both on national and state levels is to make energy a top
priority and use the energy emergency to create opportunities for self
reliance, improve standard of living, establish new entrepreneurs that
will create jobs rather establishing atmosphere for job seekers in a
hopeless job market.
In
order to prevent revolution of any sort, politicians must recognize
that charity begins at home. Any type of revolution prevention begins
with energy infrastructural development which must start with
establishing strict standards, embarking on R&D by identifying,
encouraging universities to champion energy projects and allowing
Nigerians to add values to projects. By developing efficient control
systems and purchasing high efficient motors and equipments and
providing some stability in the nation’s life, citizens may see that
government of Nigeria is finally a government of the people, by the
people and for the people and our nation’s ultimate national salvation,
patriotism, and our belonging to the comity of nation depend on her
ability to solve her resolution demands.
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Posted by Robot| 13.08.2008 22:15