The energy sustainability story is about people. It is therefore worthwhile for industries and institutions driving and working towards energy sustainability to consider the competency level of their workforce and stakeholders. Suppose we aim to achieve the energy sustainability goals by mid-century. What should we be doing about the competency levels of professionals and stakeholders at this point? The future of energy will depend heavily on the knowledge, skills, and attitude of its professionals and relevant stakeholders, wherever they are in the world. 

In the Nigerian electricity context, irresponsible energy consumption by users remains a constant driver of increasing production costs and carbon emissions. Irresponsible energy consumption, including energy theft, is a problem for both the national grid and renewable energy solutions. Wastage due to poor usage habits, inadequate energy management and ignorance remains top of the chart. If we cannot achieve or strive to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns), how can we attain energy sustainability? 

Consumers are central to achieving this goal because they are the primary driver for production through their consumption rate. Since we are already suffering the effects of irresponsible consumption, we should be educating consumers more and in better ways, hence SDG 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all). Institutions and industries must educate and re-educate their consumers and users to improve their knowledge and change their attitude towards more responsible consumption. 

The effectiveness of energy management systems to achieve cost and production management, reduce waste and achieve sustainability could be greatly improved if users are educated and have the right attitude. We can employ technology, but ultimately people still have to get it to work. Unfortunately, with the educational challenges we face in Nigeria, what will be the case by 2050?

Government and company policies should demonstrate high competency levels in the education levels of officials and in management approaches. However, this has not always been the case. For example, the Lagos state government recently deployed 1,000 SUVs as taxis. This has led many people to ask how this approach will solve the transportation challenges in the metropolis. I am yet to understand or see a deeper explanation of how increasing the number of fossil fuel-intensive vehicles would contribute to attaining energy sustainability. 

It is possible that contemporary arguments that the problems of Global South countries cannot be solved with solutions from the Global North countries is influencing government policy. Nevertheless, insufficient competency is evident in the Nigerian energy sector as it aims to reach net zero by 2060. 

PwC published a three-part report in 2020 to evaluate Nigeria’s gas value chain, focusing on the economic impacts of gas flaring, the potential economic impact of Nigeria’s untapped proven gas reserves, and opportunities for private investment in the sector. With 187tn cf, Nigeria has the ninth largest natural gas reserves globally and so the most rational move towards achieving energy sustainability is to also start transiting into the use of gas. Since gas is relatively cleaner than coal and oil when combusted, Nigeria should be trying to power up more infrastructure using gas. 

Is Nigeria ready?

But is the workforce ready for this transition, either gradually or rapidly? How equipped is the current workforce? Has Nigeria invested enough into technical and vocational education to build the right technical workforce? Is the curriculum of university students sufficient to capture the required gas systems and operation competencies? 

In 2020, as Head of Technical Training Operations and People Development at the Institute for Industrial Training Lagos (IIT), I continued implementation of the electrotechnics curriculum designed in 2014 through the Seeds of Hope project created by IECD, IIT, Cummins, CFAO and Schneider Electric. This partnership identified a lack of competent technicians in the power sector. It drew up a curriculum to train out-of-school youths by equipping them with the most updated and globally approved energy and power industry standards and technical skills. This curriculum is reviewed annually, capturing feedback from graduates of the programme, the industry and current students. The programme has graduated over 100 technicians, several of whom work for power, gas, renewable and service companies. But is this enough for the sort of future Nigeria wants for energy sustainability?

In summary, every stakeholder must increase their competency level to achieve a sustainable energy future. Sustainability communication professionals must also learn to speak a language that ordinary Nigerians can understand. Companies must educate consumers to consume more responsibly (responsible consumption does not only apply to alcohol drinking). The government must train its officials or engage more competent technocrats to design sustainable solutions. Companies must prepare and retrain their workforce for this future. Educational institutions must constantly review their curriculums to come up to date with sustainable energy courses. 

But most importantly, government and private institutions must provide funding support to technical and vocational institutions to implement technical programmes for the youths and young professionals who form Generation 2050.

kelvin.enumah@gmail.com

The views and opinions expressed in this article are strictly those of the author only and are not necessarily given or endorsed by or on behalf of the Energy Institute.