By: Pius Dukor, Port Harcourt
The Executive Director of Society for Women and Youths Affairs (SWAYA), Dr. Amanie Stella, has said African leaders should provide electricity supply for communities so as to ensure transformation and social development.
She made the remark at an event to celebrate Africa , known as Afrịka Vuka 2025, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Dr. Amanie explained that the programme tagged REpower Africa, REpower Nigeria, Repower Communities, funded by 350.Org and Afrika Vuka Network is aimed at celebrating the 1963 formation of African Union.
She maintained that Afrịka Vuka 2025 is to celebrate Africa in energy transition where the region can be free from pollution and embark on renewable energy to power Africa.
She further said that Afrika Vuka “means to ‘Awake Africa’ and is a campaign and movement aimed at ending fossil fuel era and transition to clean, renewable energy in Africa.
“It encourages actions that build a future free from the destructive impacts of climate change. The movement calls on global leaders to embrace just energy solutions and a transition away from fossil fuels,” she said.
Explaining further, she told participants that the day is set aside to amplify the campaign to end the destructive age of fossil fuels which generate pollution and accelerate the transition to 100% renewable energy for all rooted inequity, energy justice, gender, food sovereignty, tax and debt justice.
In a keynote address, Dr. Terungwu said that over 6 million people still live without light in Africa. Dr. Terungwu who is the Executive Director of Global Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), said the day is set aside to reflect the achievements made by African continent but regreted that , the dangers of oil exploitation and exploration is still facing the region and called for monetary compensation that will benefit the poor.
“There should be a monetary compensation and apology and restitution to Africa to address the systemic inequality in the our environment, ” he stated.
He called on African countries to wake up and re-power Africa through solar energy saying that the continent’s energy was designed not to benefit the people but the companies own by colonialist and the collaborators.
Dr. Terungwu maintained that it is only through renewable energy that Africa can come out of her energy crisis, adding that the government in Africa, including Nigeria must invest in renewable energy to power her schools, hospitals, houses and even cooking.
” We are fighting against new oil and gas companies because the old ones did not benefit us, what we have is corporate brain washing that is why we are against colonial development model in Africa.
“We are calling for funding for renewable energy in Africa including Nigeria, tasking our leaders to break away from colonial energy system, saying that energy is our fundamental human right but is privatized to big companies and we don’t even have the light,” he said .
Also speaking, the Coordinator of African Just Transition Network, Marina Agortimevor stated that energy access is a big challenge in Africa and in Nigeria. She said the access to energy must not be detrimental to people but must be low and affordable which is the way out of the current bad situation.
She urged Africans to develop a home grown technology for just energy transition since the environment have been polluted thereby destroying farming and fishing lives.
In his presentation on ‘Overview of Nigerian Energy Transition Plan,’ Dr. Kelechi Amaechi asked what opportunities are there for clean energy in Nigeria, saying that Nigeria don’t have the technology to propose the clean energy transition.
He listed some factors that still contributes to climate change including local transportation, cutting down of trees without planting and the ongoing oil and gas extraction in Nigeria.
The theme of this year’s Afrika Vuka 2025 celebration is “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparation,” and focuses on correcting historical injustice and promoting unity and pride among Afrians.
