One Woman’s Journey To Harness Wind For Energy In Nigeria

Ms Ighobemre Obakponovwe is a British Nigerian architectural designer based in London. Running a successful architectural office in London for nearly 24 years, she narrates her frustrations harnessing wind for energy in Nigeria.

“I’m a female British Nigerian architect, I have one child, one car and one house. I’m blessed to live in a beautiful environment in the UK. I don’t believe in living an ostentatious lifestyle. I am very happy and content with the quality of my life. I’m comfortable and not interested in siphoning money meant for the growth and development of Nigeria,” she said.

“As a British Nigerian architect residing in the UK for over 30 years, my recent reunion with my Queen’s College Lagos classmates made me acutely aware of Nigeria’s persistent electricity challenges.

“The knowledge that many communities in Nigeria have been living without electricity for years led me to conclude that electricity shortage in Nigeria is indeed a humanitarian crisis. The next question I asked myself was what can I as an architect do about this problem?

“At my first Power and Energy conference, I had the opportunity to meet with wind energy experts and receive a valuable introduction into Wind Energy.

“Further research including liaising with a Danish Wind Consultant led to the discovery that there were indeed 5-6 premium locations in Nigeria with wind speeds powerful enough to provide commercial grade electricity in Nigeria. These potential locations for the wind farms were ideal because they were near existing transmission lines that would make electricity distribution cheaper. Two of these sites where high wind speeds can be found are located in Plateau State.

“I had created a small team to assist me. But I found myself standing alone when it came to bringing funds to finance any part of the Wind Farm research. Sadly, this is not the type of project that is motivated by how much money will I make? It’s the type of project motivated by the simple question, what I can do to alleviate the suffering of my fellow man.

“Based on prior conversations with contacts in Abuja, I learned that Plateau State, due to its ongoing fighting and insecurity, was deemed a “no go” area. It’s worth pointing out that I am a proud Deltan, I had never been to Plateau State. I don’t know anyone in Plateau State.

“People might be wondering why I was willing to take such a big risk, well, I’ve been extremely shocked to see the slow state of progress in Nigeria. However, I believe that if any part of Nigeria has some kind of progress, it will slowly spread to other parts and lift the whole country up.

“It took two trips from Abuja to Plateau State to discover the exact location. The first trip was hit and miss. The second was more targeted and hence more successful. I’m not ashamed to say that I prayed throughout the whole journey for God’s protection and guidance.

“During one of our food stops in Plateau State, the lady that we were buying from casually said “our village was attacked 3 days ago”. The experience mentioned above happened nearly two years ago. For clarity, I discovered the site of the first potential Nigerian Wind Farm in Plateau State in the summer of 2022. Since then, I have been unable to make any headway with the Plateau State government. I’ve been hitting brick wall after brick wall. I also cannot stand it when anyone is trying to make out that they are doing me a favor, when I am literally doing government’s job.

“Nobody should ask me to work for free, especially when Nigerian news is full of tales of unconscionable wastage of resources by government officials. I’m mindful that it doesn’t really make sense to blame the government because at the end of the day, we are our government.

“It made more sense what an Irish colleague who had worked in a London renewable energy office for many years, told me at the Power and Energy conference. He said many bulletins came from Nigeria about renewable energy and not one Nigerian Renewable Energy project materialized. Let that sink in. Not one Nigerian renewable energy project materialized.

“Despite this he was very gracious and provided me with all the help and support that he could provide. He scheduled a zoom meeting to discuss my plans and pointed me in the right direction. So far, he has been correct in his assertions that nobody will listen, assist or activate any renewable energy projects in Nigeria.

“I now know that in Nigeria, No money to share automatically means no project. I am baffled by the fact that we Nigerians have chosen to continue to suffer from an epileptic electricity supply for so many years when God has given us the technology and capability to make our lives easier.

“The next 2024 Power and Energy conference in Ireland is happening soon. I will be attending and for the 3rd year running, I will be thoroughly embarrassed to tell my Irish colleagues that despite discovering and having a bankable idea, I have not made any progress with the implementation of my Wind Energy Project in Nigeria as he rightly predicted.”