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Tag: Energy

  • Watch it…someone is sucking your energy! (1)

    I should have titled this section Always Drained of Energy. The subject comes from the question of a reader of this column who reported that, whereas all laboratory tests show that there is nothing wrong with his health, he always finds himself drained of energy. He wanted to know if this was a diabolical attack and if herbs can help him. The question reminded me immediately of two things…the wife of one of my bosses in the 1970s who was always ill whenever she was home with her husband, but always got well the same day she got back to the village to get her conditions treated. The second was JAMES REDFIELD’S book titled CELESTINE PROPHESY.

    The book is all about the search or hunt for knowledge in nine Manuscripts hidden inside now desolate Peruvian monasteries. Peru was a heartland of an empire of about ten million people which was overrun and sacked by one seventy Spanish fortune seekers. That Empire, founded by the Sons of the Incas, operated the wealthiest economy around, with no money (currency), business class, trading places or market. The Sons of the Incas preoccupied themselves with agriculture architecture and road construction. Every citizen work for the State. The State exchange the goods they produce with other countries for the goods that were needed in the empire. The monasteries were built with silver and gold. The Sons of the Incas planted peanuts, avocados, cocoa and potatoes, among other crops, using not our own methods, but energy from the Universe to make bumper harvest. The secret of energy from the Universe was believed to be hidden in one of the nine Manuscripts hidden in the desolate monasteries. The Sons of the Incas hid their knowledge and ornamental treasures when the Spaniards fell upon them, followed by an invasion of gold hunters and, later, knowledge hunters from Europe.

    One of the Manuscripts teaches that Life is Energy and that every human being is a bundle of Energy. Everyone has to maintain his or her energy at the appropriate voltage required for well-being and existence. Maintenance of energy is meant to be achieved through the expression of Love towards the Universe. But, unfortunately, a multitude of human beings have not come to a  recognition that, to safeguard themselves against existential insecurity, they do not need to steal energy from one another to raise their own energy levels. We are well and happy when our energy level is high. We feel sick and run down when it is low. Being spiritual beings, each one of us is nothing but a Spark of Energy which came out of the Radiation of God, Life. This spark can grow in leaps and bounds until it bursts into a flame, the condition in which it can return to paradise or the spiritual realm as a conscious, developed being, only if it attaches itself to the primordial Source of Energy in the Universe, that is God, Life.

    JAMES Redfield says the manner in which human beings steal energy from one another can be observed in four main methods called CONTROL DRAMAS. When you get involved in an argument with someone, and you lose out, you get deflated, rundown, whereas the winner of that argument gains energy from you, becomes more buoyant and happier, with a higher energy stock. That is why, as you may soon find, energy thieves try to win an argument against you at any cost, irrespective of the facts which support your own argument. Nations also do this against Nations. Currently, the United States and North Korea are at loggerheads. The various regions of Nigeria are also playing this Zero Sum Game. Husbands and Wives play this game. Siblings in a family play this game against one another, consciously or unconsciously. Even breast sucking babies play this game against their mothers. When they cry needlessly, seeking attention, what they are looking for is a relationship in which the energy of both parties are pooled. Whoever gives attention to the other loses energy. The attention gainer gains energy. Observe this babies. When, as an underdog in baby-mother relationship, the mother picks a crying baby up and places the breast in his or her mouth to quieten him or her, the baby hardly sucks. He or she may even bite the nipple and look at the mother’s face to see her expression and then smile if the mother expresses pain. It is the Zero Sum Game at work. Energy is lost, Energy is gained. As adults, we can be the “babies” biting other people, and other people can be the “babies” biting us. But need we bite to be happy? Everyone wishes to control everyone to gain more energy.

    The four CONTROL DRAMAS or methods of control group people into

    1. INTIMIDATORS
    2. INTERROGATORS
    3. ALOOF
    4. POOR ME’s.

    Intimidators extract energy from their victims by threat (active or passive). The victims yield ground from fear of losing what is precious to them, such as life or property or reputation. This is a most aggressive control drama. Watch the motor park touts at war, or Nigerian soldiers dealing with “bloody” civilians.

    Interrogators obtain your energy through “judging and questioning”, to find fault in you and make you inferior to them enough to yield ground, however right your position may be. They are unrepentant fault finders. If you have one of such people as a boss, their is nothing you will ever do, even at the risk of your health or life, that will please him. For all he wants to do with you is find fault with you and deal with you. He will tell you he is a perfectionist. This power play goes on in offices everyday. A husband who wants to do away with a wife, or a wife who wants to do a way with her husband tries this. This is always manifest in divorce cases. Bosses who want to fire subordinate will play the interrogator game.

    Aloof people “attract attention to themselves by playing coy”. They speak of “silly things they have done, acting clueless and relying on others to make decisions”.

    Poor me’s make their victims “feel guilty and responsible for them. They complain and whinge about problems, offering no solutions”. In their presence, they “make you feel guilty even though you know there is no reason to feel that way. Everything they say and do puts you in a place where you have to defend against the idea that you are not doing enough for them”. I remember one case vividly. My father love education. On a meager salary, he sent the children of his siblings to school. I am his first child. When I was about to start secondary school, he told one of them he could not foot the bill of his child education hundred percent because his own son was now also going to school. All my father could afford was fifty percent of the school fees of his nephew. My father’s brother said it was either my father sent his son to school or he didn’t. That was the end of the story. He became a swan enemy of my father until they both departed the earth. A POOR ME energy thief steals your energy quietly without you knowing it. He lets you know X, Y and Z problems would not have befallen him or her if you had done A, B and C. The style is to make you feel guilty and make you do something in that quilt feeling. He or she may wish to rely on you completely for all the needs of his or her life. One successful man in the business of clearing and forwarding once told me one of his brothers would always come to his office to forcibly collect money from him, claiming that the lord bless his brother so he could take care of him. This man expresses Intimidator and Poor me syndromes at the same time.

    We are all born into one energy-stealing control drama or the other, and, to become spiritually more mature, are required to understand our ancestry, where it has deposited us and to work on ourselves so that we stop being energy thieves. We should look at our fathers and mothers or whoever brought us up to know the control dramas under which we were raised, to correct any inadequacies we may have acquired in our upbringing.

    If we are able to rise above our control drama weaknesses, we should become able to obtain our energy requirements not through stealing it from our neighbours but through obtaining it from the Universe through

    1. Contemplation and meditation
    2. Focusing on one’s basic life question
    3. Trusting and using your intuition
    4. Analysing dramas.

    James Redfield says he learned from one of the Peruvian manuscripts that when you stop stealing energy from your fellow human being and focus on giving love, you will be automatically connected to the Universal Energy in the Universe. And this will open up your Intuition. Intuition is the perceptive capacity of the spirit. In many people it is locked up but we human being are meant to be intuitive irrespective of our no longer remembering that we are. An intuitive person is a knowing person because intuition is like a receptive antenna which draws information from the Universe. Therefore there is nothing an intuitive person will wish to know about that he would not know. This is knowledge, and he is a knowledgeable person. He is different from the erudite person who has to read and read before he can come by information. In fact erudition is no more than the perceptive capacity of the human intellect derived from his brain to observe information, classify it, store it and retrieve it for use some other day. Thus, while the erudite intellectual man labours to find an answer to a question, the intuitive, knowing man receives it from the Universe without much Ado. The earth is upside down today because the erudite intellectual man is at the helm of affairs almost everywhere, and his intellect cannot raise above the material world. But what the Sons of Incas are telling us in their manuscripts is that the tide will soon change. They remain us that man kind’s Hunter/Fruit Gatherer age gave way to the agrarian age, that the agrarian age gave way to the industrial age while the industrial age has now given way to the information age. They say the information age, too, will give way…to the spiritual age. In the spiritual age, it is intuitive people or knowing people who would become leaders of humanity. At that time what we consider masterpieces of science today would be no more than stupid trifling in the dark.

    From this point on, the pursuit of enlightenment in this course of spiritual development brings help through teachers who appear when the student is ready.

    The book teaches that, ultimately, everyone would come to the recognition that the Universe is one bundle of infinite energy which has enough energy for everyone.

    Often in the office, it is not hard work which makes us tired. It is the energy that is been stolen from us by Intimidator or Interrogator bosses, or Aloof and Poor Me colleagues and subordinates.

    In the church, the competition for energy is rife in the bid to gain control and influence over human souls. If you attend the monthly meeting of residents of your housing estate, you should see energy stealing at work. Even among siblings who think they love one another, energy stealing is inescapable especially where inheritance, matters are involved. Many of the gladiators do not know what is wrong with them or what is pushing them. When a lofty soul wishes to remove himself or herself from the morass, renouncing personal interest in the inheritance, the gladiators either play POOR ME drama or ALOOF drama and may even go as far as to begging him or her not to abandon the family. But so soon after he or she yields to their pleas, which is reinforced by people familiar with the family who are pleading against family break-up through such an action, these energy-stealing hawks return to status-quo ante.

    Observe a mother and her baby. When two persons interact, they pool their energy resources. One tries to dominate and steal energy from the other. Through being the underdog the baby gets all the attention. Overtime, the mother suffers from “maternal depletion”. Parents intimidate children in the growing-up years of these children. Once the children come of age and are off the hook, father and mother may impact on each other or other people, usually siblings they had almost long forgotten in the years they had other people, now free, to brutalise. And that is why siblings rivalry is hottest and can be most brutal in their twilight years on earth when they should be thinking more of the world beyond. James Redfield teaches us how to prevent our energy from being stolen in the raging existential insecurity battles going on all around us everyday, wherever we turn and whoever we are dealing with. Personally, I study people I encounter everyday to know where they belong and how to protect myself with my freewill. I am reminded always by the imagery of two women in a book of great spiritual worth which has been my unfailing companion since 1977. One image is that of a woman whose house maid broke an expensive chinaware soup dish between the kitchen and the dining-table. The Madam screamed, calling this girl all sorts of gutter names. The other madam was not concerned about the pot but about whether the girl injured herself or not. “Poor you, I hope you’re alright”, she asked, patted her on the back, asked her to be more careful next time and urged her to clean up the place. This girl was unbroken in spirit. Her story reminds me of the injunction that we all, irrespective of position or status, stand side by side, helping each other on and upwards in this great school of life that the earth is, not one standing on top of another.

    One other point I would have love to mention today from the Peruvian manuscripts is the knowledge of coincidences. The manuscript says there is no coincidence or chance happenings. Whoever we meet any day, we are meant to meet for a purpose. Wherever we are we are meant to be for a purpose. Whoever is our sibling in a family, we are meant to be with for a purpose but stupidly or foolishly, we hop around like drunkards or even blind people without seeking the purpose in any event. This is not a question for today.

    In the hope that everyone touched by this approach to understanding psychic fatigue and related issues will investigate it further, I like to acknowledge the fact that MRS. ELIZABETH OGEDEGBE, now a retired foreign correspondent of RADIO NIGERIA, gave me my first copy of James Redfield’s CELESTINE DESTINY about 15 years ago.

     

     

  • Watch your consumption of energy drinks

    Watch your consumption of energy drinks

    Some twenty years ago, energy drink was relatively unknown, especially in Nigeria and other less developed countries. Most people went about their business without using anything extra to boost their energy.

    Now, however, the story is different as many people have turned to energy drink as a means of extra fuel to get them through their daily responsibilities. But, how many of them are aware of the risks involved in consuming those drinks.

    “The first and only time I took energy drink,” said Mrs. Amarachi Eze “was in London on my way to work. I had slept poorly the previous night and had to be in the office by 7am.”

    Continuing, she said, “I bought a can of 250ml Red Bull energy drink and rushed into the train taking me to work. I did not think twice about drinking it as it was a very common drink amongst adults and teenagers.”

    “Anyway,” continued Eze, “while seated in the train, I started sipping my drink. But before I finished the drink, I started feeling light headed. It was as if my head was expanding. I felt generally uncomfortable but not energised.

    “I was surprised the way I reacted to the drink. I asked my colleagues most of whom take energy drinks and their experiences were far different from mine. For hours that day, I felt dreary and not myself. I never tried energy drink again,’’ she concluded.

    Nevertheless, Mr. Tobias Ejike’s story is quite different from Eze’s. “I was working as a Bouncer in a night club here in Lagos then. I was drinking energy drinks for extra energy in order to meet up with my work demands.

     Said Tobias Ejike: “Energy drink is very common amongst my colleagues. I started with 250ml of Red Bull and each time I take it I become so alert and energised that I will do 12 hours shift without getting tired.

    “But after a period of six months, I realised that a can of 250ml was no longer enough for me so I increased to about three cans every night. But before long, I became immune to Red Bull, so I changed to drinking 355ml ‘Emerge’ or ‘Relentless’ energy drinks. Meanwhile, most of my colleagues were already taking energy-giving tablets in addition to the energy drinks.

    “When I changed my job to a less demanding work, I stopped drinking energy drinks but I realised I was steadily having mild headaches. To my surprise, one day in the midst of my former colleagues who were drinking energy drink, though I was having headache, they coaxed me into drinking with them and I took some drinks and noticed after a while that the headache vanished.”

    Narrating further, Ejike said that “from that day, each time I had the headache, I would drink a little bit of energy drink and the headache will always clear. This went on for some months and after a while the headache stopped completely and since then, I have not gone back to energy drinks.

    Engineer Abimbola Kayode narrated his own experience thus: “I started taking energy drinks while working in the United States about ten years ago, and since then I am still taking it and some other strong energy-giving tablets like ‘Pro-plus’ as I can’t seem to stop taking it.”

    He warned that “One thing is that one starts by taking one can and before long you increase your intake and it just goes on, and before long one graduates to other harder substances.”

    A lot is being said about energy drinks. Most consumers just take the energy drinks for that burst of extra energy without knowing the side effects. Recently, a study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence warned that adolescents and young adults who consume many energy drinks are much more likely to use cocaine and amphetamines later in life.

    According to the study, people who drank large volumes of the highly caffeinated beverages were also much more likely to develop alcoholism than their peers.

    Researchers from the University of Maryland stated in the journal that “just over half of the 1,099 participants were deemed to be on a ‘persistent trajectory’ indicating they persistently used energy drinks over a four-year period. This significantly increased their risk of developing alcoholism by the age of 25.”

    Participants on the mid to high end of the spectrum studied had a significantly higher risk of moving on to drugs like cocaine and other stimulates.

    Consumers should also take note of some of the common ingredients that are added to these drinks for that quick energy boost.

    • Caffeine: The gold star in energy boosts, caffeine is commonly found in coffee and soft drinks to keep you alert and awake. It has been suggested that a combination of caffeine and taurine provides the mental and physical boost one would hope to obtain after consuming an energy drink.
    • Taurine: This is a type of amino acid commonly found in energy drinks, and enhances neurological function.
    • Vitamin B group. Various vitamin b groups are commonly found on labels of energy drinks, as most of them enhance muscular, metabolic, nervous, and other bodily functions.

     Here are some reasons why you should stay away from energy drinks:

    • Weight gain: Since pre-packaged energy drinks are often filled with high levels of sugar, they can be calorie bombs. Excessive sugar intake, when left unchecked, can lead to obesity, which opens the gateway for many other chronic medical problems. Be sure to treat energy drinks as rare, last-resort, energy boosting options rather than part of your regular daily diet.
    • Cardiovascular problems: Those who overdose on energy drinks are at a higher risk for developing cardiovascular problems, such as irregular, rapid heartbeat, and increased blood pressure. The worst case scenario would be heart failure.
    • Psychological hindrances: While that occasional energy drink can help enhance alertness, too much may actually decrease your ability to function. Nervousness, irritability and anxiety can increase overtime, as well as the uncomfortable and distracting “jitters” common in that of an over-caffeinated person. Insomnia or disruptive sleep cycles can also develop, which can lead to a lower quality of life over all.
    • Potential metabolic issues: When you drink an energy drink, you are encumbering your body to metabolise and process the overwhelming amount of vitamins, additives and sugars. Your body goes into overdrive and produces stress hormones to help cope with the task at hand. Over time, this inward and outward stress on your body can be more detrimental than helpful as metabolic issues may arise and lead to medical complications.
    • Dependence: Energy drinks can be highly addictive if used excessively on a daily basis. Withdrawal symptoms may be present if someone tries to stop, including headaches and mood swings.

    If you feel like an energy drink is still for you, be sure to utilise these tips when choosing a drink:

    • Try to limit energy drink intake to about 16 ounces, or 500 millilitres per day.
    • Drink plenty of water with an energy drink, as they are not meant to replenish your fluids but to give you a jolt of energy instead.
    • Stay away from energy drinks if you have underlying health conditions, such as pregnancy or cardiovascular problems.
    • Energy drinks are not recommended for young children.
    • Never mix energy drinks with alcohol. Although it is often a popular cocktail concoction, it can place a lot of stress on your body and heart, as you are mixing a stimulant (energy drink) with a depressant (alcohol). Your body will basically be fighting itself to act one way or the other.

    Energy drinks are fine when consumed in moderation. Habitual energy drink users may be better off with one to two cups of good old fashioned coffee as a more natural alternative without the additives and sugar. Seek a doctor’s opinion if you are constantly feeling fatigued or feel you’ve grown a dependency for energy drinks. Medical conditions, such as anaemia, can make a person more tired than usual.

    Additional Information from Mayo Clinic, US.

  • Lafarge Africa to bridge skills gap, embrace clean energy

    Lafarge Africa to bridge skills gap, embrace clean energy

    Cement manufacturing and building solutions firm, Lafarge Africa Plc, has said that its investment in the Cement Professionals Training Programme (CPTP) is aimed at training youths toward bridging skills gap in the cement  industry and increasing local content of her operations in the country. It is also aimed at forging strong ties with its host communities as well as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.

    Lafarge’s Communication and States Relations Manager, Mrs Titilope Oguntuga, disclosed this at the weekend while receiving reporters at the firm’s 3. 5 million metric tonnes capacity Ewekoro plant in Ogun State.

    She explained that about 27 students drawn from the company’s area of operations are on a three- year training with the cement manufacturer. On completion, some of the successful trainees will be absolved into the company’s workforce, while the others will form a pool of skilled personnel needed in critical areas in the industry.

    One area the company says it is emphasising on in its production process is to ensure a viable socioeconomic and environmental development of the country. This, the Environment Manager, Ewekoro Plant, Mrs Olufunke Madojutimi, said, accounts for its commitment to using renewable energy to enhance sustainable development of the construction industry and protection of the environment.

    Explaining the company’s operations, the Plant Manager, Ewekoro Plants I and II, Mr Olusegun Soyoye, said the firm’s strategic plan was to conduct business with zero harm to people and the environment through developing solutions that optimised natural resources for power generation.

    This, he said, made the company to look into substituting its usage of fossil fuel with the use of renewable energy to generate electricity; it also helps its production process to mitigate disruptions arising from unstable power supply and gas shortage to the industrial sector.

    “We are using palm kernel shells to produce biomass that fuels our plant and 134 hectares of trees have been planted for this purpose,” he said.

    According to Soyoye, Lafarge  produces 90 megawatts (MW) of electricity to power its operations, with plans to increase this to 220 MW in future. When this is achieved, the country will benefit from a 30 MW to be injected into the national grid by the firm. This represents the excess from its requirement. It will however come at a cost to consumers.

    The planned injection to the national grid is in fulfilment of Lafarge’s Country Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michel Puchercows’ promise to support the country in solving her energy problem.

    “We realised last year that dollars was scarce and energy was scarce in Nigeria. So, the company reacted very strongly. Ogun State, being an agriculture hub as well, made it possible for us to produce 50 per cent power from biomass in 2016, which we can grow up to 70 or 80 per cent. We aim to roll out the scheme in other plants; in Cross River State, and in Ashaka, Gombe State,” he explained.

  • ‘Waste to be converted to energy’

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has expressed willingness to turn the heaps of waste in the territory into energy that could be utilised by governments, corporate bodies and individuals in Abuja.

    This position was made known at the presentation of a feasibility study by by a renewable power generation firm to the management team of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB).

    Addressing the meeting, CEO of Galacom, Mr. Caputo Maurizion disclosed that the presentation was in conformity with the Minister’s directive that a feasibility study be conducted to determine its workability in the FCT.

    The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello welcomed the proposal, saying, “The Administration will kill two birds with one stone”.  He said he hoped that the initiative would ensure stable power supply in addition to solving the issue of waste which blocks drainages in the territory, leading to flooding.

    He said, “Nigeria’s renewable energy potential was huge”, the CEO added that there was already more than enough waste in the Federal Capital City alone that could be transformed into “green and clean energy devoid of environmental devastation” that could serve the whole city and environs.

    Explaining that the plant was a modular plant new technology, which uses ecogasgenerator to generate energy, he revealed that it would cost the Administration 4.7 million Euros for the one of 7.2MW, while that of 72MW costs 40 million Euros, adding they are pre-assembled in Italy. These figures, he said is for transportation and installation of the plants

    He also hinted that it was not good investment to buy generator sets to power street lights in the city because of the escalating cost of diesel which they rely on , as well as their health hazards.

    The Italian-Nigerian also suggested reliable means of funding the project to the Minister, saying that the FCTA could to take advantage of special intervention fund laying phalough at the CBN, and a similar facility with the EU, with only the condition that it would be offered green bond. He promised to help introduce the FCTA to the EU to access the funds and prosecute this laudable project for the benefit of all Nigerians.

    Representative of the Director, AEPB and Head, Environmental Health and Safety, Mrs. Kate Ogbonna who expressed gratitude for the presentation, added that the FCT Minister would be properly briefed after which, he would take a final decision on next line of action.

     

  • Renewable energy employs 15,000 in Nigeria, others, says agency

    The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has said no fewer than 15,000 people were employed in the renewable energy sub-sector of the power industry in Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and other countries in West Africa and Southern Africa (excluding South Africa) in 2016.

    The Agency, a renewable energy research group, in an online report on the rate of employment in renewable energy sub-sector in countries across the world, said 9.8million employment was recorded globally in 2016.

    The Agency further stated that considering the enormity of renewable energy potentials in West and Southern Africa countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Namibia, among others, the sub-sector supposed to create much more employment than the 15,000.

    According to IRENA, the employment figure in the renewable sub-sector is expected to increase to 30million in 2030 from the current 9.8million as more countries are taking steps to combat climate change while investing in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, bio-mass and others, in order to improve electricity supply.

    In an online report on the rate of employment in renewable energy across the world, the firm said 9.8million employment was recorded in last year. Out of this, West and Southern Africa countries employed 15,000 workers; North Africa 16,000; South Africa 30,000; Germany 334,000; France 162,000; rest of European Union (EU) 667,000; United States (US) 777,000; Brazil 876,000; India 385,000; Japan 333,000; China 3.6million; Bangladesh 162,000 and others.

    The Agency said last year’s employed 9.8million marked an increase of 1.1 per cent from that of 2015. It further said global renewables employment has been increasing since 2012, adding that jobs creation in the sub-sector would increase in the years to come.

    The firm’s Director-General, Abu Dhabi, said employment in renewables excluding large hydro power, increased by 2.8 per cent to 8.3million people, with China, Brazil, US, India, Japan and Germany leading the job markets. Global renewables employment, he said,  has been increasing since 2012.

    Nigeria’s renewable energy subsector is also growing as organisations from Germany, France and others have indicated interest in providing technical assistance, among rendering other services. One of such institutions is Green Elec, which is helping to generate solar energy in the country. Green Elec has offices in France and Lagos and plans to build mini-solar grids in five states in the country.

  • Landmark varsity shines in energy research

    The American Chemical Society (ACS), has published a paper titled: “Bioconversion of Tithonia diversifolia (Mexican sunflower) and poultry droppings for energy generation: Optimisation, mass, energy and economic balances” in its journal-Energy and Fuel.

    The paper, authored by Mr Dahunsi Samuel of the Biological Sciences, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, already has an impact factor of 2.835.

    This publication was singled out as a novel finding because it explores the production of biogas and biofertiliser from the combination of poultry waste and Mexican sunflower which has not been reported anywhere prior to this time.

    American Chemical Society on Wednesday, May 3, released a statement on its website: www.acs.org. ACS also included same publication in the ACS’ Office of Public Affairs Weekly Presspac, a package of announcements that ACS sends to thousands of journalists around the world. This release has since attracted several calls and messages from different countries that are interested in the new findings and seeking collaborations with the researchers.

    Reacting to the achievement, Dahunsi attributed the feat to collaborative effort by the institution Environment and Technology Research, one of the research clusters established by LMU, as well as two other researchers from Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State-Prof Oranusi Solomon and Dr Efeovbokhan Vincent.

    “With this research breakthrough, poultry meat which is a favourite and inexpensive meat across the globe, has the popularity to produce lot of wastes that can pollute soil and water. Dahunsi believes that one strategy for dealing with poultry waste is to turn it into biofuel, and now he has developed a way of doing this by mixing the waste with another environmental scourge, an invasive weed that is affecting agricultural farm lands in Africa,”Dahunsi noted in his research recommendations as published by ACS.

    He continued: “The application of this research from Nigeria, a country that turns out millions of tonnes of solid wastes annually without appropriate measures to manage them, would see reason to explore opportunities in biogas and biofertiliser production.

    “The lack of effective management of waste has led to the surge of environmental pollution evident in most major cities with its attendant outbreak and spread of disease and other environmental hazards. Nigeria’s environmental pollution dilemma is further complicated by the nation’s overdependence on fossil fuels which are not environmentally sustainable, since they are not renewable.

    “Findings from this research could help government at all levels, alongside private sector to invest in the generation of renewable energies such as biogas and production of organic fertilisers as a sure way to curb environmental pollution and increase yield of crops,” Dahunsi concluded.

  • ‘10,000Gw needed to achieve energy sufficiency’

    ‘10,000Gw needed to achieve energy sufficiency’

    Nigeria requires over 10,000 gigawatts (Gw) of electricity to achieve energy sufficiency and improve its economy, experts have said.

    The experts included the former Executive Director, National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), Dr Albert Okorogu and the Chairman, Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Council, Dr. Saka Matemilola.

    They said the 10,000Gw of electricity was achievable if thev Federal Government could provide infrastructure, adding that developed economies such as Japan, United States, China, and others put adequate infrastructure in place before they could deliver huge quantum of electricity.

    Okorogu said infrastructure was the major problem of the electricity sector, adding that efforts made to solve the problem have yielded little or no results. He said pipeline needed for the evacuation of gas from producers to turbines should be adequate and counter-proof to forestall attacks.

    He said inability of the power firms to access gas for operation has resulted in poor generation and supply of electricity. He noted that the Federal Government established NIPP to enable power plants access gas in the Niger Delta, adding that yet shortage of gas still remained.

    Okorogu decried the losses suffered by power generation companies (GenCos) and gas firms from  blowing of pipelines and other oil and gas facilities by militants.

    The issue, he said, is having cost implications on the two operators as well as the entire sector.

    According to him, a pragmatic approach must be adopted by the Federal Government and stakeholders to solve the problem of infrastructure in the sector. “There is need for the government to provide a strong template that would be used to provide solution to infrastructure problem in the energy sector. Once the template is enduring and guided by rules and regulations, whoever breaks the rules would face the consequence,” he added.

    Also, Matemilola said Nigeria can generate 10,000Gw of electricity if it is ready to do it. He said the country must provide a conducive environment for operators in order to galvanise investments in the sector.

    He said once the right environment is in place in the sector, investors would be able to invest in key infrastructural facilities such as pipelines, turbines and others. “Nigeria can achieve 10,000Gw of electricity if it wants to do it. It’s a modest target and it is achievable considering the vast human and material resources in the country. What we need to do is to put in place all the things that we need to do to achieve the goal. Private investors have the capacity to create investments and the government must not hesitate to invite them in order to grow the sector,” he added.

    He said companies that have left Nigeria for neighbouring countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast and others, to seek  comparative advantage would come back home when electricity improves, noting that a lot of companies have folded up due to irregular supply of power. He stressed that such companies can be revived when generation picks up. The multiplier effects are many because many people would get jobs to do, he added.

  • NNPC to transform into integrated energy company

    NNPC to transform into integrated energy company

    • Raises alarm over fake recruitment

    The  Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said its ongoing reform is geared towards transforming the state-run oil firm into an integrated energy outfit with interest in power generation and transmission.

    Its Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr Maikanti Baru, who spoke at the 53rd International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS) in Abuja, said the oilf firm has identified opportunities in the power sector.

    In a paper titled: Challenges and Prospects for the Diversification of the Upstream, Downstream and Frontier Basin Exploration in the Oil and Gas Sector, Dr Baru said NNPC  was ready to take advantage of the power sector opportuniies. He said the firm will transform from being a gas supplier to the power sector into a major player.

    He said the Corporation was already working on a project to generate four Megawatts (4Mw) of electricity while also exploring the possibility of investing in the transmission segment of the  sector.

    In a statement yesterday, the GMD explained that the Corporation’s decision to diversify into the power sector was hinged on the need to bridge the huge energy gap in the market.

    He said contrary to the impression that the poor power situation was caused by inadequate gas supply, the real problem was inadequate transmission capacity. He added that there was enough gas to generate eight gigawatts (8Gw) of electricity but the transmission grid cannot support such volume of power without complications.

    Baru also defended the Federal Government’s plan to transform illegal refineries in the Niger Delta into legal entities for proper integration of the youth in the region.

    He argued that getting the youth to form consortia to set up 1000 barrels per day (bpd) modular refineries would get them off criminality and create jobs.

    In the upstream, he said his goal was to accelerate frontier exploration and grow crude oil reserve to 40 billion barrels from the current 37 billion.

    He also challenged the geoscientists on the need to deploy more sophisticated technology and drill deeper than the current 13,000 to 15,000 feet in the Niger Delta to produce more oil.

    “We have to look deeper with intensive 3D and 4D seismic surveys over the so-called matured Niger Delta. The older, the better”, he declared.

    The NNPC also raised the alarm on the existence of some dubious syndicates with specialty in extorting money from unsuspecting members of the public under the pretext of a purported recruitment exercise and promise of phantom job placements in the Corporation.

  • Green bonds: nine varsities to get clean energy

    The Federal Government is to power nine universities with solar energy,  the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, has said.

    He said thisis in line with government’s efforts to ensure a clean and healthy environment through the issuance of sovereign green bonds. He made the submission last week when he paid a working visit to the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) Solar Energy Limited (NSEL) Plant, located in Karshi, Abuja.

    Jibril described the decision to power the tertiary institutions with solar energy as a laudable development, which according to him, is in line with the nation’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) that aims at reducing carbon emissions in line with global best practices.

    The Minister said his visit to the solar energy plant was to identify with as well as offer the ministry’s support to the local manufacturing company in the production of solar panel. He ýstressed that renewable energy is a critical focus of the soon-to-be-launched green bond project.

    He further maintained that solar energy would encourage the use of local content which will in turn help the country to save foreign exchange as well as create employment for the teeming youths.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI Solar Energy Limited, Prof. Mohammed Haruna, noted that the plant was the first Solar PV Module/Solar Panel manufacturing company in Nigeria. He also disclosed that the plant has a 7.5 megawatts (MW) capacity and can produce all sizes and capacities of Solar PV module.

  • ‘Why energy mix is vital’

    The Federal Government should use  energy mix, such as solar, biomass, and coal, to generate electricity to meet the  people’s energy needs, a former Special Assistant on Renewable Energy to the former Minister of Power, Dr Albert Okorogu, has said.

    In an interview, he said the government was relying on gas and hydro power, the two major on-grid means of generating electricity, to the detriment of solar, biomass, coal, and others, which could be wheeled on or off-grid.

    He said energy mix is what the country needs to provide sufficient and sustainable electricity for its people.

    Okorogu said: “While stakeholders, including the Federal Government, are providing on-grid  electricity for the people that are living in the urban areas, they should endeavour to make off-grid electricity available to the  rural areas, since they consume less power. Globally, industrial areas consume more energy than those in the rural areas. This is the reason  stakeholders are advocating for increased investment in solar and other renewable energies in the hinterlands.

    “There exists abundant resources for provision of on-grid and off-grid  electricity. Are we to talk of natural gas for domestic consumption and export? Are we to talk of water, solar, biomass, coal, which are natural endowments? They are too many to mention.”

    He said the country has enough gas for power generation and domestic purposes apart from the huge earnings, derived from exporting gas. According to him, countries, such as China and South Africa, generate huge volume of electricity because they combine various sources of providing power together.

    He said South Africa produces 40,000 megawatts (Mw) for its less than 50million population, while power generation is higher than that of China’s. The development, Okorogu said, had resulted in stable electricity in the two countries, urging Nigeria to toe similar path.

    He said the country’s generation has hovered between 3,000Mw and 5,000Mw for more than two decades, stressing that the country would have produced more megawatts if it had adopted energy mix to generate electricity early enough.