Oil exploration vs Solar energy investment in Northern Nigeria
NaijaRock
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Posted by Felix Okoli on Saturday December 12, 2015 at 8:44:45:
It appears that the Federal government of Nigeria ha a strong will to keep looking for crude oil in the north particular around the Chad basin. The bulk og Nigeria's wealth comes from oil money and all the oil wells are currently located in Southern Nigeria with the latest discovery already made and being tapped in Anambra state. A lot of states in Southern Nigeria particular the former Eastern region are richly endowed with oil and as fate would have it, oil remains the best and most reliable source of income for the Nigerian government.Despite the fact that Nigeria has generated billions of dollars from oil exports since the 1980s, it's also saddening that this oil wealth has not been properly used to improve the lives of ordinary people most especially in the area of electricity generation. A report by a Nigerian power minister noted that Nigeria required at least 200,000 MW of power to meet the electricity needs of the power and yet power generation as at 2015 was still under 5000 MW. Newer technologies like Solar energy are seen as one of the best things that can help Nigeria make up for the insufficient power generation and the country has an abundance of this particulary in Northern Nigeria which also has a growing dersertification problem.Farmlands in Norther Nigeria uses to be really good for farming in the past but as a result of drought casues by global warming, the land is no longer as fertile as it used to be but it still has an abundant supply of solar energy. One still wonders why the Federal government of Nigeria doesn't invest in Solar power projects in this region rather than keep sinking money into a search for crude oil.If I would have my say, I have to say that Northern Nigeria is not a good place to look for crude oil because there has been exploratiosn in teh pasts that have used up a lot of money but yielded no profitable results. One wonder why the government keeps sinking a good amount of income it generates from the oil wealth of Southern Nigeria into a fruitless search for commercial oil in Northern Nigeria. I feel that even if oil gets discovered in Northern Nigeria, it would probably not be in commercial quantity or a profitable investment unlike the case in Southern Nigeria where there is an abundance of oil. Some say that even lowly sunk water wells in Nigeria's south flows with oil and even seas and rivers surrounding the area are spilling with it but in Northern Nigeria, it is really harder to find oil so why do they keep sinking money in an elephant project.What if Nigeria didn't generate a good income from oil mostly produced by Southern Nigeria? Where will it get the money it's now using to practically waste in the endless search for oil in the north? It would have probably been better if the money was shared among poor people there and helped them in irrigation projects. It would have even been better to divest such funds into more profitable Solar power projects which can also be used in farming.With the way I see it, the search for oil in Northern Nigeria is really a waste of public funds that should be stopped but if the government really has a lot of money to invest, it's better invested in installing solar panels so as to help in generating electricity to meet the needs of Nigerians.Nigerian doesn't need to keep investing in searching for new sources of crude oil in a world that is trying to stop global warming. Oil is no longer as attractive as it used to be and with the price of oil dropping to $40 from $100 within a short time frame, it only makes sense to look for other greener ways to invest and make money.Northern Nigeria has a greater potential to be profitable if the government invests in Solar power generation projects rather than oil exploration projects which the government is still so bent on doing.
It appears that the Federal government of Nigeria ha a strong will to keep looking for crude oil in the north particular around the Chad basin. The bulk og Nigeria's wealth comes from oil money and all the oil wells are currently located in Southern Nigeria with the latest discovery already made and being tapped in Anambra state. A lot of states in Southern Nigeria particular the former Eastern region are richly endowed with oil and as fate would have it, oil remains the best and most reliable source of income for the Nigerian government.Despite the fact that Nigeria has generated billions of dollars from oil exports since the 1980s, it's also saddening that this oil wealth has not been properly used to improve the lives of ordinary people most especially in the area of electricity generation. A report by a Nigerian power minister noted that Nigeria required at least 200,000 MW of power to meet the electricity needs of the power and yet power generation as at 2015 was still under 5000 MW. Newer technologies like Solar energy are seen as one of the best things that can help Nigeria make up for the insufficient power generation and the country has an abundance of this particulary in Northern Nigeria which also has a growing dersertification problem.Farmlands in Norther Nigeria uses to be really good for farming in the past but as a result of drought casues by global warming, the land is no longer as fertile as it used to be but it still has an abundant supply of solar energy. One still wonders why the Federal government of Nigeria doesn't invest in Solar power projects in this region rather than keep sinking money into a search for crude oil.If I would have my say, I have to say that Northern Nigeria is not a good place to look for crude oil because there has been exploratiosn in teh pasts that have used up a lot of money but yielded no profitable results. One wonder why the government keeps sinking a good amount of income it generates from the oil wealth of Southern Nigeria into a fruitless search for commercial oil in Northern Nigeria. I feel that even if oil gets discovered in Northern Nigeria, it would probably not be in commercial quantity or a profitable investment unlike the case in Southern Nigeria where there is an abundance of oil. Some say that even lowly sunk water wells in Nigeria's south flows with oil and even seas and rivers surrounding the area are spilling with it but in Northern Nigeria, it is really harder to find oil so why do they keep sinking money in an elephant project.What if Nigeria didn't generate a good income from oil mostly produced by Southern Nigeria? Where will it get the money it's now using to practically waste in the endless search for oil in the north? It would have probably been better if the money was shared among poor people there and helped them in irrigation projects. It would have even been better to divest such funds into more profitable Solar power projects which can also be used in farming.With the way I see it, the search for oil in Northern Nigeria is really a waste of public funds that should be stopped but if the government really has a lot of money to invest, it's better invested in installing solar panels so as to help in generating electricity to meet the needs of Nigerians.Nigerian doesn't need to keep investing in searching for new sources of crude oil in a world that is trying to stop global warming. Oil is no longer as attractive as it used to be and with the price of oil dropping to $40 from $100 within a short time frame, it only makes sense to look for other greener ways to invest and make money.Northern Nigeria has a greater potential to be profitable if the government invests in Solar power generation projects rather than oil exploration projects which the government is still so bent on doing.