. Reiterates gas as transition fuel for Africa
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has urged effective use of digital technology for mass education and for healthcare.
Noting that Nigeria has experienced significant growth in the use of digital technology and a number of technology companies, he insisted that there is still much room for much improvement.
Osinbajo spoke on Friday at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group Chairman’s Forum for 2022, held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
He said: “Beyond all of the successes that we are seeing, we need to educate a large number of people, and train teachers; that’s going to be a major issue in all of this, especially in states where we have a large number of out-of-school children.”
He argued that providing more access to education and healthcare services to a larger number of the population has to be technology driven to ensure maximum impact.
Energy transition
Stressing the critical role technology plays, Prof. Osinbajo also reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2060.
He stressed the importance of transition fuels for Africa, noting that gas, which Nigeria has in huge reserves, is an important transition fuel for the country, as well as other African countries.
Speaking on the topic, Digitization, COP26 and African Development, he said digitization and climate change will determine to a large extent Africa’s growth trajectory in the next few decades, especially as digital technology offers the most effective way for the continent to fast-track development.
On the growth of digital technology in Nigeria and Africa, Osibajo said: “Africa’s total inbound international internet bandwidth capacity increased by more than 50 times. The operational fibre-optic network extended by almost four times; mobile telephony, mobile cellular subscriptions more than doubled; and about 58% of the population now live in areas covered by 4G networks.
“Africa has over 480 million mobile money accounts, more than all other developing regions taken together.
“Over 640 tech hubs are active across the continent. Here in Nigeria, we have six unicorns, most of them fintech companies that are valued at over a billion dollars. We are also leveraging digital technology in various ways, especially to deliver public goods and social services.”
Yes, we want net-zero emissions by 2050, but how are we going to transit from where we are and at the same time be able to provide power for our people? Our country, for example, has huge gas reserves. We know that the transition fuel for us is gas.
Climate change
On the issue of climate change and detailing how it affects Africa, Prof. Osinbajo said: “The question for us in Africa is slightly different from those of wealthier countries. It is not just about climate change… for us, it is climate change as well as extreme poverty. And this is important, as that is tied to access to energy.
“So, for an African country, Nigeria, for example, it is important for us to take into account the fact that, yes, we want net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, in our case, by 2060. But in transitioning to net-zero emissions, we have to take into account that, even today, we don’t have enough energy. Most of our population do not have access to power.
“But for most of the wealthier countries of the world, they would rather see a situation where at least public investments in fossil fuels are no longer made available; so African countries have a dilemma.
“Yes, we want net-zero emissions by 2050, but how are we going to transit from where we are and at the same time be able to provide power for our people? Our country, for example, has huge gas reserves. We know that the transition fuel for us is gas. The only way by which you can power industries is to use gas for power.”
Besides, he noted that gas is the best domestic energy if Africans must transit from the use of firewood and attendant pollutants in cooking.
“If we are going to transit from firewood and others, then we need LPG -gas – to be able to do so. For us, it is not just gas for industrialisation, it is also gas for clean cooking,” he concluded.
