Nigeria bets on solar to power its Covid recovery

Nigeria’s largest investment in solar power, Solar Power Naija, is part of the country’s Covid economic recovery plan and also a step toward solving one of its biggest problems: a lack of reliable electricity. —AP Photo

Suleiman Babamanu’s path to the heart of Nigeria’s biggest solar power programme started in disappointment.

After university he worked as a trainee geoscientist for a unit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. A job in the industry-Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer-would have been a traditional route, and a lucrative one. But he couldn’t find employment.