Nigeria’s energy sector urged to embrace innovative leadership amid industry challenges

As Nigeria’s energy sector continues to grapple with oil theft, deteriorating infrastructure, regulatory uncertainty, and a perennially acute shortage of electricity, industry captains are demanding a different kind of leadership.

The leadership must be open to innovation and daring decision-making to retool the sector for long-term sustainable success.

Elliot Umole, a veteran oil and gas industry leader with over two decades of experience in upstream operations and strategic change, is convinced that innovative leadership is key to unleashing Nigeria’s full potential in oil, gas, and renewable energy resources.

“Too often, energy leadership is reactive, focused on short-term fixes or political cycles,” Umole said in an exclusive interview. “But in today’s rapidly evolving global energy environment, we need leaders who think ahead, invest in innovation, and see sustainability and profitability as friends, not foes.”

The Canadian-based oil and gas expert explained that innovation is not just technology. “It’s not just putting sensors in or flying drones around,” he said.

“It’s changing how decisions are made, creating systems that incentivize performance and integrity, and having a culture where people feel empowered to question inefficiencies”, he noted.

This kind of leadership is particularly critical when Nigeria struggles with underinvestment, old infrastructure, and policy uncertainties that deter investors.

Even though the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021 was supposed to resuscitate the sector’s trajectory, progress has been slow, Umole argues that the leadership quality of the individuals executing reforms like the PIA would decide its fate and not only the quality of the legislation.

“Policy is needed, but people make policy,” he said. “We require leaders in NNPC Limited, regulators, and private sector companies who can balance national goals with commercial imperatives, and are not afraid to take calculated risks that reap long-term dividends.”

One such sector where innovation is highly desirable is Nigeria’s gas industry. Though graded as a transition fuel in the PIA, much of Nigeria’s gas is still flared or underused.

Umole highlighted flare gas capture opportunities, decentralized gas distribution, and gas-to-power projects that can increase local supply while limiting environmental footprint.

“In one of the projects I worked on, we partnered with a third-party organization to flare gas capture and utilize it to produce electricity for host communities,” he recalled.

“It was not just environmental compliance, it created jobs, improved community relations, and proved that clean operations pay.”

Nigeria’s renewable energy sector also suffers from a lack of leadership. Entrepreneurs in the solar space and mini-grid operators have shown promise but are constrained by regulatory bottlenecks, financing problems, and an absence of synchronization with public utilities.

Umole thinks that this is an opportunity for radical change that is being wasted.

“Nigeria’s access to electricity issue will not be addressed by the grid alone,” he stated. “We require leadership focused on decentralized energy systems, empowering local innovators, and viewing energy access as an economic development driver”, he added.

Workforce development is also a key concern. Although Nigeria graduates thousands of engineering students every year, many are taught using outdated curricula that are not regularly updated to reflect the changing needs of the energy sector.

Umole said talent development needed to be reoriented. “We need to invest in skills such as data analytics, sustainability, and systems thinking,” he recommended.

“It is no longer sufficient to be an outstanding mechanical engineer. The future generation must be prepared to lead in a digital, low-carbon energy system”, he asserted.

Umole stressed that true innovation often involves listening to voices outside the boardroom.

According to him, “some of our best ideas originated from operators in the field or community members who live close to our facilities,” he said.

“Inclusive leadership establishes trust, and trust eliminates friction, whether in permitting land access, or community development”, he noted.

With the global energy balance tilting towards decarbonization, nations that do not respond are in danger of being left behind.

According to experts, Nigeria must now reposition itself as an oil exporter and a centre of clean and efficient energy solutions.

“There’s still the perception that innovation happens elsewhere. But Nigeria is full of talent. We require the vision, and the guts to lead differently”, he stated.

Amid mounting investor pressure, shifting market realities, and a burgeoning population crying out for stable electricity access, the stakes have never been more significant for Nigeria’s energy industry.

For Umole, it is evident: “Innovative leadership isn’t a luxury, it’s a national necessity. The time to lead differently is now.”