Africa is known to have over 40 percent contribution of natural resources to fight climate change, yet gets only 2 percent in global funding to battle the menace.
Director General, Global Centre for Law, Business and Economy, Dr. George Nwangwu, in this interview with IDU JUDE, called on Africa’s leadership to join the campaign for equitable sharing of global funding by allowing the private sector to drive the project.
He said that for Nigeria to achieve clean energy by year 2030, the government must match words with action.
Excerpts:
You made case for the private sector to drive implementation of energy transition in Nigeria and in Africa.How can this be achieved with poor funding
There must be a symbiotic relationship between government and the private sector to achieve this goal even though government must not be totally out of the programme implementation. It is the government’s duty to create an enabling environment for any project of this national importance.
On the other hand, we are advocating for economic development because there is no innovation that thrives in any nation without 95 percent contribution by the private sector.
For instance, in the telecom industry, we can remember vividly where we were before it was privatised and today, private sector players took over and created so much employment opportunities. People can now work in the sector at different capacities, but government should put an enabling environment to ensure healthy competition to create opportunities for many Nigerians to enjoy the value chain.
What other areas do you think the government needs to do some groundwork?
We need a framework where we have carbon trading but when we do that, the private sector needs to take the lead because it drives the economy.
For example, if one wishes to set up a battery manufacturing company in Nigeria, government is supposed to have put on ground policy guidelines such as custom duty and environmental impact assessment laws and so on. Government needs to make concessionary arrangements for private sector participation, so these are those things the policy document are to accommodate.
Also government should be able to give priorities to local manufacturers of goods being imported from other countries.
For instance, government should not continue to import goods from China or other countries but should give some people priority to manufacture in-country because importation denies us opportunity to create jobs. So that is the only way we can achieve this energy transition programme.
How can private sector participation thrive with government receiving funding from international donors?
In programme implementation, whatever money that comes in already has a purpose for what it is meant for and some of these monies would be used in capacity building and building of government institutions but if we are sensible enough, some of these funding will be used in developing our energy industries for the creation of job opportunities.
If you read the energy transition programme of the Federal Government, it plans to pull 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by creating millions of jobs and you can only do it when you catalyse the private sector which is the sector that can do that.
Let me also take you back to the era of liberalisation of telecom companies. A lot of people were involved in several works created by value chains. Some are engineers involved in construction of masts, others for the printing of vouchers, others in making calls. So many people were engaged in one thing or the other. It is so possible that Nigeria can become a leader in this energy transition. Why is it that China and India are there in energy and Nigeria is not? Why is it that Nigeria should be there in nollywood and technology and not energy transition? We just have to put the necessary things in place for people to begin to come in and embrace the sector. It is widely known that Nigeria’s private sector perform well and I can tell you that Nigeria leads in the banking sector in Africa. So, if we can lead in all these, why can’t we also lead in energy transition project? If we put all necessary framework that would create an enabling environment for investors from the private sector, we will again lead because Nigerian market is huge with our population.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Climate Change, Seriake Dickson, during your forum promised that his committee would ensure speedy legal frame work to back all your campaign. When are you approaching him with your resolutions?
To answer that question one must realise that it is not as if we don’t have laws with regards to climate change. We have enabling laws in place. For me, what we lack is the capacity and political will to execute those laws. It is just for us to implement copiously the doted lines.
The second thing is that the business environment needs to be better for people to come in and invest. You see the whole lot of things that determine investment, need to be in place and not just laws.
First of all, let’s talk of security. When an investor comes into the airport and sees about 20 people scrambling and searching their baggage, he or she might not be comfortable. You see Nigeria time and time again, tells the international communities that we are open for investment but the question is what are we really doing about it? If we mean what we say, we should first of all prepare the enabling environment for investors to come in. That is just the truth here. Our actions do not depict what we say. It is just like seeking to marry a wife. First of all, you tell her that you like her but your actions need to follow that and that you want her to come with you. But in the case of Nigeria, she says that she wants investors but other things leading to that remain negative.
Also, there is lack of incentives for investing. I say this because in economics, there is what is known as nudging. You nudge people in the right direction. You don’t just bring people to invest because there are some of the things to do. If I am an investor and I see things on ground it makes me to be positive, like oh there are concessional loans provided by government, the likelihood that I invest in that area is more and that is what usually happens. So the government needs to put in place policies and measures that encourage people to invest in renewable energy.
As a private sector man, how far can you push the campaign forparticipation in energy transition in Nigeria to attract this needed support?
We can’t succeed without the government. But it also behoves on the private sector to push as much as possible. The reason why we put together a forum recently was because we said look, the African governments went to Nairobi Kenya, sat down and had a conversation and there was limited private sector imput during that conversation. We from the private sector decided that we cannot allow governments take all the decisions without participation. We believe that we all need to come under one umbrella and make sure that this works. Government needs to do its part and the private sector needs to do its part and I keep coming back to this because we all need each other for business to thrive. We feel that we have contributed our own part by bringing the forum to Nigeria and coming up with resolutions which would be shared to the government. We are going to share it at Cop 28 and publish it for public consumption.
So we would do our part and hopefully, people in government would as well look at this resolutions and implement it and that is the dream.
Climate change funding for Africa
A lot of the pollution is done by countries outside of Africa but the effect is felt more in Africa and Africa does not have the resources and capacity to fight it. So the clamoring for those countries in the global North to contribute more in solving the problems and that is a fact. But more importantly, one of those things we resolved in the conference is that we wouldn’t stop asking for equity and justice but the more important thing is that all African countries must speak with one voice. Because Nigeria alone , or Kenya or other individual country in Africa cannot do it alone, so we need to come together and share a common position and have a strategy in place to get this done. And our strategy, should not be that of begging, no but Africa should give them the reasons, the facts involving African continent and climate change transition. Fortunately for Africa, climate change is like COVID-19, when that issue came the Western world got the vaccine and stayed treating themselves first but they forgot that it was a global norm and that if they hide the vaccine that it may become endemic and also endanger others. So that is how climate change is. It is a menace affecting both prepared and unprepared. So as they are funding climate change in their countries, they should think of Africa because it has over 40 percent of the raw materials to drive energy transition globally. For example, Africa, has copper, cuboids natural Sun name it. Africa must start by saying that we must not give our raw materials out. We must insist that whose ever want to invest must come in here and set companies to create employment for our youths. So through this we would experience plants and companies for renewable energy. What we are saying is that Africa in this regard must use what it has in a strategic manner to achieve results.
Do you think African leaders can subscribe to investors building plants on the continent
You see it is not as if African leaders do not want industries to be set up on their various countries, the problem, is that Africa has operated from the position of disadvantage. If you look at the production agreements for oil exploration in Nigeria, they were signed a long time ago and at disadvantage and was also signed by people who did not have money and till today don’t have money to develop their countries. When they came they said that they would have a joint venture with Africa to develop their countries. They would offer to take 50 percent of the crude oil and bring 50 percent of their money and this happens at the time you don’t have the money so a lot of times African leaders have their hands tied. Sometimes, we count it as lack of vision, sometimes politics and we know that sometimes some of them want to remain in government and their sponsors live overseas. So it is all about interests but that needs to change because Africa needs to use its resources for the benefit of its citizens. The best way to benefit its citizens is to make sure there is prosperity through creation of wealth so that our people stop migrating and dying on the high sea.
How much does Nigeria need to fight climate change by 2030?
My take is that Africa is not going to meet the target by 2030. I don’t see it happening, based on the trajectory I am seeing.
But we can make serious improvement between now and 2030. I have to say that to make such impact, that we must not wait for oversea funds but to look inwards and generate funds locally to fight the scourge. That is another thing we agreed at the forum that Nigeria and other African countries must look inwards to search for funds and that is why I always make reference to the Nigerian commercial Banks or the power sector.
When the power sector privatisation began, many people thought the monies would come from overseas. But eventually all the investors brought their monies from Nigeria. We just need to learn how to mobilise resources from within. We know that resources will come when the policies are there, it will come if it is profitable to renewable energy and I think if it is like that a lot of people would venture into investing in renewable energy, it is as simple as that. Foe example, if it is cheaper for people to drive electric Keke than that which uses petrol, a lot of people switches over and it is as simple as that and there is not two ways about that.
In economics, we are told that if government wants anything to happen, then it needs to be deliberate.
So in an answer to your question, what borders me is not the amount, be it $200 million $400 million it is that we need to start at making inroads and at making the right decisions at the right direction for investment in the sector.
Is it also possible to say that one of the problem is that donor countries tries also to repatriate the funds back to their countries by bringing expertriats to work in Nigeria?
To be honest, every country looks after itself. So there is no father Christmas anymore. The foreigners are working for themselves and Africa should as well learn how to work for itself. For example, if you are an American President, you wouldn’t use American tax payers money for charity or to develop Nigeria when he has other internal problems. Every country, is looking for strategic investment and if I come to you to give me a job, I won’t say please give me a job that my children are dying and I would not give you a job just because your children are going to die. I would rather say give me a job because I would increase your organization and make you rich. So I would preach the value that I would create than talking of expected death of children. So that is how it works and for you to get people to help you do something, you too need to show them how such project would be beneficial to them. So everyone has a reason for investing in any country no matter how small including image laundering for providing certain product. It matters a lot. So there is no free lunch and the day we realized this, we would be ready to make this country great.
How would you feel if your organization fails to convince government to the realization of this dream?
Well in our own capacity, we would continue to move as an advocacy group. We would continue to advocate for certain things to be put in place. And it goes beyond that because we are not wishing that government will fail in this all important project. We are just saying that government need to work and also that the private sector should be the one to do the job. Looking at what people can do , is it producing solar battery, is it Carbone market. Also take a look at our music industry and the Nollywood industry, look at info tech, banking sector they are all driven by the private sector. We are focusing on them because we know that they are engine for growth but it does not mean that government should go to sleep. They should create enabling environment not to make a lot more difficult for them.
Don’t you think it is a little too late for climate change implementation, while Nigeria is still at advocacy level?
It is not too late, the problem is that we don’t take advantage of our problems to create opportunities for growth. Since 2012, flooding, if Nigeria had dredged the Niger river, it should have given us another reason to be a rich country and at other hand the water gives way from the roads and buildings for people to make use of the roads. These are called adaptation measure because this happens and you build more resilient structures. So these are measures which are never too late to start. We know that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. It is never too late. So it is never too late to start doing the right thing. The fact that I have done wrong things all my life does not mean I should continue.
And you think that all the ecological funds Nigeria has received, has been well utilized?
Honestly I don’t know or can’t say what those funds has been channeled into. Not to my knowledge but the only thing I know is that the agency National Council on Climate Change NCCC and Federal ministry of environment and others that are involved are under funded. That is what I am sure of because there are lots of things in the act establishing NCCC that need to be implemented and they are not able to do that because they are under funded. They even struggle to pay salaries.