Martins Ifijeh was just 10 when his mother, Nneoma, bled to death in their rural home in Aninri, Enugu State, while trying to give birth. With no nearby hospital equipped to save her life, the agony of watching his mother die with a child made Martins—now in senior secondary school—vow to become a doctor. But that ambition may be short-circuited.
At Community Secondary School in Ndeaboh, Martins spends his days in classrooms without electricity. The science laboratories he needs to prepare for medical school sit idle, dark, and literally powerless. “We don’t even have light to run the fans, much less microscopes,” he says.
While Nigeria has long touted its ambition to build a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy, it is instead watching its human capital erode—chipped away by the persistent failure to deliver reliable electricity. Grid collapses, erratic supply, and surging generator costs are not just inconveniences; they are structural barriers holding back education, productivity, and economic potential.
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Power-starved giant
Despite being the continent’s largest oil producer, Nigeria’s national grid delivers just 4,000 to 4,500 megawatts on average to serve a population of over 220 million. That’s less than one-tenth the per capita supply of South Africa, whose population is half the size.
Nigeria’s per capita electricity consumption—just 181.63 kWh—is among the lowest globally, according to the World Bank. By contrast, South Africa consumes 3,779.72 kWh per person; Brazil, 3,295.31 kWh; and Turkey, 3,726.45 kWh. This chronic energy deficit comes at a high cost: individuals and firms spend N327 billion annually on petrol and diesel, while businesses pour $10 billion into fuel and generator maintenance, according to Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).
Economic Impact: From designers to doctors
The power crisis cuts across all sectors. Kunle Adewale, a freelance graphic designer in Lagos, says he spends more than half of his N60,000 weekly income on fuelling a near-defunct generator. “Some days, power doesn’t last six hours. I lose clients when the generator fails,” he says. Missed deadlines mean lost revenue—an increasingly common story among Nigeria’s freelance and remote workforce.
Compare that to Johannesburg-based designer Thandiwe Mokoena. While South Africa has its own energy troubles, a predictable load-shedding system and access to solar inverters allow her to work around disruptions. “I never miss deadlines due to power,” she says. That ability to plan, produce, and deliver on time is a core productivity advantage—one Nigeria’s young professionals sorely lack.
Education on life support
The education sector suffers most visibly. At Babcock University, where power is relatively stable, disruptions still derail medical and lab-based instruction, according to student Emmanuel Owolabi. “In medicine or computer science, you need uninterrupted power for practicals. If the light goes off, the lesson ends,” he says.
Public schools fare far worse. In Lagos, more than 54 percent of candidates failed Mathematics and English in the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). Across Nigeria, frequent blackouts reduce classroom hours, restrict lab access, and limit study time—especially in poor and rural areas where generators are unaffordable.
A 2022 study by the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA) found that students without regular access to electricity were 30 percent less likely to pass national exams, and 50 percent less likely to pursue tertiary education in STEM fields.
The consequences are not abstract. Nigeria’s lack of technical manpower is already evident in health care, engineering, and digital services—sectors that drive human capital development in emerging economies.
Policy paralysis and investment gaps
Nigeria’s installed capacity sits above 12,000 megawatts (MW), but transmission losses, decaying infrastructure, and gas supply issues shrink actual output by two-thirds. Years of subsidy regimes, regulatory uncertainty, and underinvestment have left the sector in disrepair.
“The real cost of electricity is not being paid, and the sector can’t attract capital,” says Damilola Adebowale, a senior energy analyst at a Tier-1 Nigerian bank. “Without reforms, this is a vicious cycle.”
The government has attempted fixes—from privatisation in 2013 to intervention programmes like the Siemens-backed Presidential Power Initiative—but results remain limited. In 2024 alone, the grid collapsed 12 times. Two blackouts were recorded within the first quarter.
Experts say resolving this crisis will require more than tariff hikes. It means enforcing contracts, expanding off-grid solutions, encouraging gas-to-power investments, and depoliticising the regulatory landscape.
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Human capital at risk
The World Bank has long warned that Nigeria’s fragile electricity sector is undermining its demographic dividend. The nation’s youthful population, expected to hit 400 million by 2050, cannot compete in a digital economy without electricity to power learning, commerce, and innovation.
“Energy is foundational,” says Ayodele Oni, energy lawyer and partner at Bloomfield Law Practice. “No matter how smart your workforce is, without electricity, they are in the dark—literally and figuratively.”
Until Nigeria lights up its classrooms, laboratories, and workplaces, its ambition to transform into a knowledge economy will remain just that: an ambition.
