RECENTLY, the news was agog with the tweet from the Governor of Lagos State, BabajideSanwo-olu, informing Nigerians about the delivery of the first set of electric buses in the country. For those of us who have campaigned for electric mobility in Nigeria, this is a welcome development, and is cheering news coming from Nigeria. Lagos is the only city among the 41 organisations in Nigeria, and one of 732 cities in the world, that are part of the UN Race to Zero campaign, a campaign to work towards the realization of net zero emission by 2050. This singular action has put the ‘Centre of Excellence’ on the map, especially exactly one year after signing an MOU with Oando Clean Energy for the provision of electric buses, charging infrastructure and a service center. People may wonder what the significance of this is. In the United States, the school bus system is the largest public transportation network in the country; some 26 million school children ride 480,000 school buses every day, generating 7 billion trips and 5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases yearly. Sixty percent of low-income income take the bus every day. Internally combustion engines have been known to cause asthma, cancer and other respiratory illnesses. School absences and cognitive learning disabilities have also been documented to stem from inhalation of pollutants from such vehicles. To curb this, the U.S. Government has made available funding to increase electric buses from the 1,398 in December 2022 to 10,000 in the next 5 years. It is still a drop in the ocean, but a step in the right direction.
The Lagos State government will do well to use this opportunity to accelerate the vehicle electrification process in Nigeria. The success of this project portends great things for Nigeria, as Lagos is a microcosm of Nigeria. Lagos has 25 million residents and is expected to grow to 100 million by 2100. The number of vehicles in Lagos has grown by 400% in the last 10 years alone. Lagos is proactive to jump on the bandwagon now, partnering with the private sector to reduce air pollution and vehicle miles travelled, thereby reducing impacts on transportation infrastructure and creating a demand for new skill sets in the process. Some years ago, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce was promoting the adoption of electric cars. He was very passionate about it and even sponsored a bill on it in 2019, which unfortunately did not pass. It was a golden opportunity lost. However, I hope this can be looked at again. As you can see, the EV industry is already upon us. Teslas are being driven in Nigeria.
Note that there are already people in the EV industry in Nigeria. Stallion Group is assembling Hyundai Kona cars in Nigeria. Their cars run for 482 km per full charge. There is Adoja (car) and Igwe (tricycle) brand of EVs being manufactured in Nigeria. I know Maxe makes electric bikes and there is an enterpreneur in Borno, Mustapha Gajibo who converts internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric and solar vehicles. There’s another company called Savenheart Investment Limited that sells EV motorcycles. The Government has also built EV charging stations in Lagos, Sokoto and Nsukka. It is interesting to note that though the cost of purchase may seem high, it pays itself over time. GSM services were once high in Nigeria but are now affordable. That is common with a lot of technology-related advancements. President Tinubu promised to strengthen the credit system in Nigeria. If he succeeds with that, it will become easier to purchase EVs on credit, as it is in advanced economies. It would be nice if State Governments created the enabling environment to allow EV manufacturing companies to come to their states. In the United States, there are several city mayors who attracted EV manufacturing companies from Asia to their cities.
The maintenance costs of EVs are next to nil as there is no need for an oil change and the batteries last for a long time. An EV needs a domestic charging outlet, just as is found in residences. However, fast charging outlets with higher voltages are also available and can be fitted specially. In the United States, residences are fitted with charging capabilities. Generators can also recharge an EV. A person can go to work and can recharge his or her car while at work, by plugging it into an outlet powered by a large generator. Taking the Hyundai Kona EV built by Stallion Group for instance, it travels 482 km on a single charge. The distance from Ikorodu to VI is only about 40 km, either way. That means at 40 km per day, you can afford to go to work and back from Monday through Friday and a party at the Civic Center on Saturday. Or to put it, into context, a full charge will take you from Ibadan to Ilorin and back (176km each away) with more than enough charge for local running within the city.
In order to encourage its use, the government needs to enact appropriate legislation to both provide the institutional framework and financial backing to make the electric bus system work. These will impact on things such as right of way, charging station infrastructure, battery and vehicle assembly plants, etc. There are presently 130,000 charging stations in the United States, and the Biden administration is committed to bringing that figure to 500,000 by 2030. The administration has appropriated some $5 Billion to making this work. The Government can lead by example by the gradually phasing of all government vehicles to electric. In addition, government agencies are following suit. They can take a cue from the United States Government. The U.S Government has the largest vehicle fleet in the world with 650,000 vehicles while the U.S. Postal Service has the largest vehicle fleet in the U.S., with 220,000 vehicles. USPS is committed to replacing 106,000 of these vehicles, 66,000 of them to be electric, by 2028. The government is not doing all this alone, as the private sector is also committed to either increasing power supply (power companies) or making EVs easier to purchase (car manufacturers). The U.S. government has even provided tax incentives to encourage the purchase of electric cars. State Governments should take a cue from this, as Lagos Stateshas done with Oando, to get more private sector investments into this sector, which is a goldmine.
The recent deregulation of the power sector and the opportunity for states to invest is another goldmine waiting to be discovered.The removal of subsidy and the attendant high cost of petrol is another incentive to make the switch to EVs, especially for mass transit. That would be the proper reallocation of resources previously allocated to subsidy that will have the most impact on the common man. Once public transit is cheap and available, it discourages the need for private cars on the road. This in turn will reduce traffic congestion, vehicle crashes, air pollution, vehicle miles travelled as well as wear and tear on transportation infrastructure like roads and bridges. It is hoped that the Federal, State and Local Government as well as the private sector take advantage of the opportunities inherent in electrification.
- Olaleye, a registered town planner and a transportation Planner at the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, Waterbury, CT 06702, USA, writes in via [email protected].
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