▪︎ ADOPTING WORLD BANK’S USE OF KILANKWA COMMUNITY AS STANDARD OF MEASUREMENT
Kilankwa Community, has plainland that has huge capacity for housing or accommodating a 36-hole golf club, that can even eclipse the current attractions of Nigeria’s number one golf club, the IBB International & Country Golf Club, Aso Drive in Maitama, Abuja.
It can also accommodate the construction of an international games village and tourism centre that , can assuage the hospitality appetite of potential tourists , explorers , visitors and research scholars, due to the irresistible beauty, allure and attraction that the serene and peaceful local environment, possesses.
The people , who are mainly easy-going, friendly and adaptable rural dwellers of great creativity and industry, showed some form of uncommon euphoria as soon as they saw their august visitors.
The visitors were mainly populated by staff of the Rural Electrification Agency [ REA ] and those of the Project Unit of the Nigeria Electrification Project [ NEP ], including the team of media personalities, housing photographers and camera men from the print and broadcast media, on the entourage of the World Bank envoy, Ms Elizabeth Huybens.
Ms Elizabeth Huybens, doubles as the Director of Strategy and Operations In-Charge of Western and Central African Region.
The presence of Ms Elizabeth Huybens, attracted a lot of undue attention for the villagers, made up of children who were not used to hosting such an audience in their rusty , local community..
The only educational institution , we saw as we drove into the village was in a sorry state and needed the urgent quick-Interventionist attention and rehabilitation by the authorities of the Universal Basic Education Commission [ UBEC ].
As Ms Elizabeth Huybens, braved the subtle rainfall that heralded her arrival to the village to visit the different locations of interests , the rural citizenry, elicited excitement.
Even as the rain came down heavily she rounded up her visit , it was like a good omen of blessings of some sorts as practitioners of the traditional African religion , would say.
From the start of the site inspection assessment visit, the visiting World Bank Director, found the very intelligent insights and narrations, proffered by Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, the Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency [REA], very educative as she marvelled as Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad ‘s brilliant grasp of issues, values and norms that define and situate the tri-concept of mass rural electrification, project- implementation and project-management.
He was at his best , in a way that a knowledgeable class room teacher , would impact knowledge to his students.
The occasion, which was the Kilankwa Community Mini-Grid site inspection assessment visit by the World Bank’s Director of Strategy and Operations In-Charge of Western Central African Region, Ms Elizabeth Huybens, provided a platform for the villagers to understand the role of Federal Government agencies in mid-wifing World Bank Performance Based Grants and allied projects that add to the economic conditions of existence of rural citizens.
For Ms Elizabeth Huybens, whose work experience, spans no fewer than three decades with global apex Bank, the outing threw up lots of enriching experiences and lasting impressions.
The Nigeria Electrification Project, [ NEP ] a Unit under the Rural Electrification Agency [ REA ] had chosen June 27, 2023 as the most convenient date for the site inspection visit assessment visit by the World Bank Chief.
As the horde of motor vehicles drove through the rather quiet , lonely and averagely rusty local village neigbourhood settlement , which had an admixture of mud, thatched and fairly near – modern buildings, which could easily be counted within a brief spell, a whole variety of thoughts flashed through the mind of this reporter.
The first was the sociological concept of rural poverty and how it influences or affects semi-urban and urban misery.
Like most rural communities in Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas, the Kilankwa Community, a highly deprived sleepy neigbourhood settlement in Kwali Area Council of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja, the expressions on the faces of the citizenry as the World Bank team visited , were those of euphoria , surprise and high expectations, from the agency of the Federal Government and the World Bank team.
For Ms Elizabeth Huybens, the site inspection assessment visit to Kilankwa Community, provided her an ample opportunity to have a critical evaluation of the institutional capacity of the Nigeria Electrification Project [ NEP] and it’s parent agency, the Rural Electrification Agency, to effectively and prudently manage the Performance Based Grants advanced by the World Bank towards the provision of no fewer than 80,000 off-grid and mini-grid electrification projects, that are solar system enabled power sources , across the nooks and crannies of the Nigerian nation.
Accompanied on the site inspection assessment visit by the youthful 40 year old Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency [ REA ] and Leeds University trained Electrical Engineering & Management, Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, alongside top officials from the Nigeria Electrification Project [ NEP] Office of the Rural Electrification Agency, Ms Elizabeth Huybens, could not hold back her candid feelings and sentiments about the living conditions of the rural dwellers in Kilankwa village.
Specifically, Ms Elizabeth Huybens, graphic image of Kilankwa Community, was that of a rural settlement in dear need of civilization or modernity , first , through the deployment of Mass Electrification Projects that can give the people, like their counterparts in other parts of the African continent, the leap towards economic, educational ,social , technological and agricultural development and growth”.
Her thoughts, “First , using the global measurement or evaluation index, I would say that from my findings at the Rural Electrification Agency [REA] and its Project Unit, Nigeria Electrification Project [ NEP] , showed that there had been very merticulous and prudent handling as well as management of project -implementation and resources, from site selection to ground determination of such projects , nationwide in Nigeria””.
“” The Rural Electrification Agency [ REA ] and its Project Unit, Nigeria Electrification Project [NEP] , have shown positive dedication towards service delivery , in terms of sustainable electricity provision to rural communities with particular focus on assisting the most impoverished sub-populations or individuals.””
“” These class of individuals, have long endured the animated social problems of lack of access to the national grid power source. I am very impressed about the Kilankwa 60 Kilowatt system. This is because these Mini-Grids, will actually help Nigeria to provide access to many more people, faster than it could have done with just extending the National Grid.””
According to Ms Huybens, the fact the mini-grids in small communities, work, shows that a lot of strategic thinking and planning guided the foresight to think about how and when one can fully optimize the use of electricity generated and to equally expend productive activities in the communities like Kilankwa Community, particularly now that Nigerians, are gradually adjusting to the removal of the petroleum products subsidy by the Nigerian Federal Government. I hope that in the future , we will see a lot more of that connection between the mini-grids, the productive use and other means of agricultural processing facilities for irrigation and electric motor vehicles etc. I think that the opportunities are pretty boundless.””
Providing Electricity Access To Rural Dwellers In Nigeria :
Responding to questions put to her by journalists during the site inspection assessment visit regarding her evaluation on providing access to electricity in terms of reaching the locals in Nigeria and its relationship between rural poverty and urban misery , Ms Elizabeth Huybens, said ,” Access to electricity is a priority goal for the World Bank. It is one of the fastest routes towards eradicating poverty. It is hard for me to think about modern life without electricity. It is also hard to think about reducing poverty , without access to electricity. “”
Ms Elizabeth Huybens explained that , “” since the World Bank’s over-reaching goal is to help countries to eradicate poverty, we need to help countries within the African continent to also provide access to electricity to their various national populations.””
The concept of consumer – behaviour ,whether in developed or developing economies , such as Nigeria, had become one area of immense concern to the multiplicity of electricity consumers , across the African continent, particularly in Nigeria, prompting a functionally friendly moderation in terms of bills payment and affordability, in view of the nature of the personal income profiles and economic conditions of existence of large percentage of the populations, spread across population -sizes , population -patterns and population -distributuions.
In volunteering what looked more like a psych-social response to the above concept, Ms Elizabeth Huybens, spoke thus , “” the concept of consumer – behaviour , is certainly one area of immense concern to consumers of electricity or electrical power consumption, the world over. ”
Ms Elizabeth Huybens, gave a further and better insight regarding her expert view, when she said, “Well , one thing that comes to mind about consumer – behaviour, is the predisposition to move towards more environmentally friendly behaviours.”
“In fact , this helps with those two, because I was just learning in the car while driving to this site inspection venue and , honestly, I was astonished to learn that a large majority of electricity generated in Nigeria , is currently generated by use of small generating sets or generators.”
“I am told that oil , petroleum and fuelled small generators, provide power to a large percentage of the population. And of course, that is one incredibly expensive exercise to engage in, particularly, now that the petroleum subsidy had been removed by the Nigeriam Federal Government. ”
The second point to be considered Ms Elizabeth Huybens, hinted , is , “” it is extremely a major source of pollution within the immediate physical environment.”
“” It is extremely, polluting as it also adds to the effects of climate change””.
In suggesting what seemed a new and most convenient policy direction by reason of her experience in Energy Generation & Management, Ms Elizabeth Huybens, World Bank, would support a system which favours the switch towards imbibing and internalizing the culture of cleaner and alternative energy sources , particularly as evidenced by the commendable current efforts being spearheaded by the Rural Electrification Agency [REA] and its Project Unit, Nigeria Electrification Project [ NEP], this type of electricity generation, would help Nigeria and other African countries , to step towards the future of a growth -path that minimizes carbon consumption””.
World Bank’s Motivational Incentives For Driving Nigeria ‘s Nationwide Mass Electrification Projects, through the use of off-grid and mini-grid alternative solar enabled power sources , is of great interest to Ms Elizabeth Huybens.
A lady imbued with colorful use expressive thoughts and good mastery of the English Language, Ms Elizabeth Huybens, summed up her views this way, “” We believe that access to electricity for all, is one of the most important goals to pursue for any county, particularly, in the African continent. “” This is because, without electricity, it is very hard to think about how countries in the African continent, can really live. If you don’t have electricity for instance, children cannot study at night. Nobody can have a refrigerator.
“You cannot charge your cell phone. Neither can you move towards embracing the emerging technological concept of electric powered motor-vehicles. And so , it is hard for me to think about modern life without electricity? ”
▪︎ The author of this piece , Ichie Enyi Ejike- Umunnabuike Jr, contributed it from THE COSMOPOLITAN Nigeria.
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