Buhari’s Directive To CBN, Agric Ministry: Expert Pushes For Renewable Energy Adoption

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

An appeal has been made following the recent directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to Central Bank of Nigeria and Ministry of Agriculture to wave collateral on loan in Nigeria.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that during an audience with a UK – based foundation for Good Governance for Development in Nigeria, President Buhari directed both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Ministry of Agriculture to wave the knotty issue of collateral to enable farmer’s access money to boost productivity.

A Nigeria’s Renewable Energy Promotion Professional and Researcher, Prince Okedele Timothy Adekola, appealed to the Federal Government to extend all loan facilities as well as wavers to renewable energy sector.
He said that the country needs the urgent effort of Researchers, Promoters and Mini/Off-Grid Developers in the country to complement the Agro Sector with functional renewable Solar, Wind Off-Grid, Hybrid and advanced technologies of new alternative power engineering urgently.

Prince Okedele stressed that President Buhari’s second tenure will consolidate development and morality in the leadership sphere of Nigeria strongly if stakeholders of renewable energy are enabled to deliver. He noted that without grant or loan fertilities, renewable energy researchers may not be able to attain their full potentials and there would be no ‘Next Level’ in the sector.
Okedele called on the Federal Government to take the advantage of open partnership with researchers in renewable and alternative energy in the country (with track record) for the development and commercialization of Advance Technologies of New Alternative Power Engineering to boost productivities of all other sector of the nation’s economy including SMART City and Agric-Tourism.
He said the use of One-Stop-Solution System in line with President Buhari’s plan for MSMEs/ entrepreneurs will enhance the development of the nation’s economy as being practiced in Singapore, Russia, Australia,Brazil, USA, India and South-Korea to boost  their food security, mass employment, attracting foreign investors, investments and equal wealth growth.
The Renewable Energy Promoter held to the fact that countries improve Gross Domestic Productivity with One Stop Solution and achieve clean Environment/Mobility, Massive industrialization, and improved their
Human Productivity, as well as  expanding the nations’ economy activities. Therefore, it is important for the Federal Government to create a revolution rooted in the values of One Stop Solution System.
He described the idea of One Stop System as a technical means of getting things done faster and easier, giving specialists, other stakeholders and governments one point opportunity to find solutions to critical development issue. He further said that the idea can foster mass development if adopted in all sectors.

The Osun State born energy expert, MD/CEO, Prince AdeS Oke Int’l Ventures, a research and consultancy firm, who has been promoting sustainability of new and renewable energy technology in Nigeria since 2010 with self finance and effort promised to support the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Agric Bank and Commercial Bank with “One–Stop-Solution system” in facilitating success in their dealing with Micro Small and Medium Entrepreneurs as well as large Scale Industries
He furthered said he and his team of experts and investors from India, Russia, USA, and Singapore have come to the conclusion to assist Nigeria and other African Countries in tackling challenges of Food, employment, MSME, power, environment, waste and rural community development as well as tone down  planet change problems in Africa.

According to the Renewable Energy enthusiast, if the concept of the present administration’s Next Level is aiming at taking the nation to the next level in development, the development Project Scheme developed by himself and his foreign team of renewable and alternative energy technical experts and investors will be of huge support if adopted.
In the research tour embarked by the Nigeria Self Built renewable Energy expert to some Southwest states of Nigeria, aimed at discovering the challenges facing the farmers, he emphasized that since the existing conventional energy sources have failed to support commercial activities growth nor fulfill the yearnings of the people, particularly in the rural areas, it has become exigent for the government to adopt new renewable and technologies of new alternative power engineering.

Okedele, who is the African Exclusive Representative to many foreign companies,   stressed that though the Federal Government’s effort at enhancing the sphere of agriculture for food sufficiency and power stability in Nigeria is laudable, he pointed that energy deficit or absence in most farms or agro firms have been a serious bane to the growth of the sector, asserting that the new energy sources can ameliorate the plights of the farmers, apart from the loans. Against these backgrounds, Okedele Timothy shared that all loans policies or facilities devoid of plans to get reliable alternative solar autonomous (hybrid/off-grid) power will be counter-productive.
The energy experts stated that his Research & Development (R&D) visit to certain agro establishments in various states of the Southwest and Ilorin, Kwara State showed that agro investments and efforts without commensurate energy provisions will amount to naught or even create difficulty in the process of loan repayment and recoupment.
He said his effort was never deterred as individual who has not gotten finance assistance, though without finance it will be difficult for any serious minded researcher to had traveled far and wide looking around the global technology advantaged nations for answers to the Nigeria’s food security, youth employment, waste, economic and environment challenges as well as in search for best renewable and new alternative (hybrid/off-grid) power technologies that can solve the energy needs of the household and entrepreneurs that cut across all sectors of the nation’s economy.

Further speaking, Okedele stressed that different entrepreneurs of Agro and other MSMEs, attached to the country’s Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) are victims of these power maladies; emphasizing that well financially empowered research can develop new alternative solar autonomous power system (Made in Nigeria) to ameliorate the plight of the local investors who are crying for survival.
Pushing for the establishment of the renewable energy ministry at the Federal and State level, Okedele pointed that to enable quick actualization of renewable energy technology in Nigeria for massive rural development, climate change effect/vulnerability mitigation, MSMEs growth and general energy enhancement and stability, the renewable energy ministry is the needed Sin-qua-non, particularly as the existent conventional energy approaches have been trapped in the quagmire from where they are struggling.
For instance, Okedele affirmed that his tour of Igbimo Rice Mill in Ekiti, Dr. Fish processing operated by “Lovirhap Ventures” both under the Federal Ministry of Science & Technology’s Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) and as well as Manifold Fish Farm at Ado,Ekiti and various Saw-mill visited in Osun State revealed the difficulty the farmers (mostly agro-processing sector) and all other sectors entrepreneurs were facing. He said at Igbimo Rice Mill, Loviahap
Ventures and Manifold Fish farm their various electric powered machines dryer, boiler etc. operate below capacity and most times remain dormant, due to weakness of generating sets or very low voltage from the nation’s centralized power grid.

According to him, the same energy problem hinders productivity at Igodan – Lisa, Igbokoda palm oil processing and cassava (Pupuru) food processing industries in Okiti-pupa area, Ondo state and Ilorin Asa–Dam and Ogundele Village poultry farms operated by (a strong member of Nigeria Poultry Association Kwara State Chapter, Mr. Robinson. He further said that most of these equipments that are lying down in fallowed were obtained through loans. Okedele therefore, advised that for the Federal Government’s good initiatives to augur well, resources for reliable and clean energy, different from the capital – sapping and polluting / environmentally unfriendly power generating sets are essential to adequately catalyze the Nigerian farmers.
Still making a case for renewable energy, Prince Okedele expressed worry that at the popular Ewi Market, Fayose Market  and as well as other Market in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, well over 300 generating sets littered the market environment, the same scenario can be seen at Ekiti State University (EKSU) and Federal University Oye-Ekiti, (FUOYE) when there are clean energy option that could be adopted on
universities. Okedele wondered why power still eludes the various campuses in the face of renewable energy opportunities,
Prince Okedele saluted the Management and Authority of  Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, where 24 hours independent power supply aid academic, Campus Life and the University’s Multi-System Hospital. No wonder the founder Chief Aare Afe Babaloal (SAN) described ABUAD’s successful Open Heart Operation recently conducted as “a memorable success in Nigeria’s Medical Trajectory, he advised the federal government to give the authority of the university the necessary support as they are giving the nation a sense of international standard.
Okedele therefore urged the ABUAD management to continue to trail the blaze in the area of power generation via various clean renewable/alternative energy sources which includes, solar waste/Bio-mass/wind and Hydrogen; especially as this feat is in tandem with the plausible decision of the Federal Government to power 37 federal universities and teaching hospitals; a step he urged states to equally achieved in their various universities and other tertiary institutions of learning. He also emphasized that the Federal Government must consider how the machineries at the farms can be powered through sustainable and reliable working Off-Grid energy system if any loan scheme must be truly beneficial.
Okedele, who is also public commentator and co-founder of “LATEEPOT Alternative Power Ltd, called on the Federal and State Government to urgently consider the establishment of renewable energy ministry to fast track the actualization of renewable energy in Nigeria. He stated his readiness to invite his technical partners from UK, USA Singapore, India, Brazil, Germany and China with interest to transfer technology and sources for financing for green project in Nigeria and other African countries, if government expresses genuine interest and will to adopt measures or techniques (technologies) that will help the establishment of Renewable Energy Ministry in Nigeria the vision of mass agricultural production can still be limited without stable electricity supply despite the directive given by the Federal Government to access loan.

In view of this, the government should partner with experienced renewable energy experts and researchers to provide working solar off-Grid/Hybrid energy system to all these farms settlement and milling facilities across the nation this is the
easiest way to revolutionize agro sector and create massive employment for the youth. Anything short of this is like crashing on the head instead of uprooting it, he added.