By Steve Oni, Ilorin
A gas and oil consultant, Engineer Yusuf Aliyu, has asked the federal government to invest massively in the power sector, especially in electricity generation.
This, he said, is the only way out of the perpetual power crisis facing the nation.
Yusuf, who spoke with journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, also advised the federal government to partner and encourage foreign investors to come to Nigeria and build more power plants in order to bring about improved power supply to Nigerians, noting that the nation currently has only about 4000 megawatts which is serving about 180 million people.
Yusuf, who retired recently from Shell Petroleum Development Company in Canada, said countries like Canada with a population of only 36 million people have about 135,000 megawatts of power generation while South Africa also with about 56 million population has a generating plant capacity of 45,000 megawatts, adding the generation capacity of a nation should grow with the population and the economy of that country. He added that the nucleus of any developed nation is its power generation.
He called on the government to look inwards in some of its policies particularly in the oil and power sectors so as to turn around the nation’s economy.
He urged the government to encourage indigenous engineers in the country, while condemning the idea whereby non-engineers were appointed to man portfolios that are engineering related.
Yusuf commended the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for fighting corruption and tackling insecurity in the country.
He, however, charged the government to adequately address the issue of unemployment particularly among the youth.
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