Nigeria is facing a serious energy crisis. There has been no electricity in the country since Monday, March 14, 2022. The authorities refer to insufficient production.
Over 80% of the Nigerian national electricity grid is powered by natural gas. A resource whose prices have risen sharply since the Ukrainian crisis. At least a dozen power plants crashed or has produced a limited amount of power.
Since 2014 and the privatization of Nigeria’s energy system, the country has had a regular shortage of gas for power plants as it is more profitable for gas producers to export it. Some observers also mention vandalism at power plants inland.
In a letter published in the Nigerian media, President Muhammadu Buhari apologizes to his citizens and promises to resolve the crisis in the coming days. If 40% of the population already does not have access to electricity, the rest of the country now works with oil-powered generators.
Depending on world market prices Which will cause a second problem as the price of gasoline has also increased due to the crisis in Ukraine. Nigeria, however, produces huge amounts of oil, but as it does not have the technical resources to refine it, it is therefore obliged to import most of its fuel and submit to world market prices.
Several witnesses, especially traders contacted by RFI, say that this increase in fuel prices is noticeable in all areas of daily life. “It’s a domino effect,” says a hairdresser from Lagos. Some are wondering how to pass this increase on to sales prices and if this is even possible, as people are being financially strangled.
