Blackouts drive more Nigerians off-grid as solar demand booms

When the lights went out for the third time in a week at his Lagos textile factory, Emeka Okafor did not wait for the utility company to restore power. He called a solar installer instead.

“Diesel was eating us alive. The grid gives us maybe five hours a day if we’re lucky,” said Okafor, whose factory now runs almost entirely on a rooftop solar array paired with battery storage. “We haven’t looked back.”

His story is being replicated across Nigeria at a scale that is fundamentally redrawing the country’s energy map. Nigeria installed 803 megawatts of new solar capacity in 2025, a year-on-year surge of 141 percent, making it Africa’s second-largest solar market.

The driving force is not government ambition or climate policy; it is the chronic, grinding failure of the national grid.

Over the past decade, Nigeria’s power grid has suffered nearly 140 recorded malfunctions, with some areas receiving reliable electricity for only five to six hours per day. In the first two months of 2026 alone, the national grid collapsed twice. For households and businesses running Africa’s largest economy, patience has finally run out.

Off-grid installations, private mini-grids, solar home systems, and commercial rooftop arrays, account for roughly 1.15 gigawatts, or about 96 percent of Nigeria’s total installed solar capacity.

The Nigeria renewable energy and solar off-grid market is now valued at approximately $2.5 billion, driven by persistent grid unreliability, declining costs of solar and storage technologies, and surging private sector investment.

Key urban centers are leading the charge. Lagos, as the country’s commercial hub, has seen a surge in distributed solar installations, while Abuja’s policy environment and government-backed programs have fostered investment in renewable energy.

Battery storage is scaling even faster than the panels themselves. Installed battery capacity increased from around 10 megawatt-hours to 40.6 megawatt-hours in a single year, a rise of about 305 percent. Analysts note that those figures are likely understated because most projects are behind the meter and go untracked in official data.
Economics Tipping Against Diesel

The financial calculus has shifted decisively. Commercial and industrial users who adopt on-site renewables are achieving savings of 20 to 30 percent compared to diesel self-generation. With diesel costs running above $0.30 per kilowatt-hour, manufacturers in Lagos, Kano, and Port Harcourt are locking in 20-year power purchase agreements at fixed tariffs well below that threshold.

Nigeria’s extensive solar resource, delivering 4.5 to 6.5 kilowatt-hours per square meter per day, produces capacity factors 40 to 60 percent higher than those of many European sites, amplifying the economic case. Global module price declines have further compressed costs, bringing grid-parity economics to Nigeria’s sun-rich northern states.

Pay-as-you-go financing models are extending solar access to smaller firms and households, with payback periods now as short as three to five years.

Legislation is beginning to align with market realities. The 2023 Electricity Act decentralises market oversight and allows states to define their own feed-in tariffs tailored to local conditions, while seven-year tax holidays tilt project economics further in favor of renewables.

Nigeria’s renewable energy market is projected to grow from 3.13 gigawatts in 2024 to 5.01 gigawatts by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 10 percent. More bullish forecasts place total installed capacity at 14.07 gigawatts by 2031, implying a compounded annual growth rate of more than 25 percent.

Nigeria already accounts for nearly 80 percent of West Africa’s solar additions. Under base-case projections, the wider region could add a cumulative 4.9 gigawatts between 2026 and 2029, cementing West Africa’s emergence as a major frontier solar market.

The rush off-grid carries a paradox. As wealthier households and businesses defect, the utility base that might fund grid repairs shrinks further, accelerating the very cycle of decline that drove them away in the first place.

The Nigerian government has announced an annual investment of $600 million in electricity subsidies between 2025 and 2027, aimed at bridging the gap between cost-reflective prices and regulated tariffs. Whether that is enough to reverse decades of underinvestment remains deeply uncertain.

By Oladehinde Oladipo, Business Day 

Related story: Gas-rich Nigeria faces blackouts amid five-year high flaring

Gas Leaks Trigger Health Emergency in Bille Nigeria

Thousands of residents in Bille, a fishing community in Rivers State in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, are facing a serious health emergency. Since October 2025, methane gas has been bubbling up in nearby rivers, swamps, and drinking wells. As a result, the contamination threatens both water sources and public health.

In December 2025, the Nigerian government stated that it had conducted an investigation. However, authorities have not shared the findings with the community and have not taken action to stop the leaks.

Nigerian authorities must urgently complete a transparent investigation, stop the gas leaks, and take immediate steps to protect residents from further harm.

Gas leaks spread across Bille community

Residents first reported the gas leaks in October 2025, when fishermen noticed bubbling water and a strong sulphurous smell in nearby swamps and rivers. Within a week, more residents reported similar leaks at multiple locations, including inside the town. The leaks continue to this day.

As a result, many people believe their drinking water has been contaminated. Several residents have reported illness. In addition, some children became sick and started vomiting, forcing a school to relocate them for safety.

Lack of action and transparency

In December 2025, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency carried out air quality tests at several sites. At one location, methane levels were recorded at 10,000 times higher than normal background levels. However, authorities have not published the full findings.

Despite the severity of the situation, the government has not taken effective steps to stop the leaks or protect public health. This lack of transparency and action continues to put residents at risk.

Environmental damage and government responsibility

Communities in the Niger Delta, including Bille, have long lived with pollution from oil operations. In many cases, oil companies have failed to properly clean up contaminated land. As a result, residents continue to face serious risks to their health and environment.

The Nigerian government has a duty to protect people from these harms, including those linked to private actors such as oil companies. Previous research has raised concerns about the condition of oil infrastructure and its impact on human rights, including the right to health and a safe environment.

Amnesty International has supported Bille and the nearby community of Ogale for more than a decade. Both communities have faced widespread environmental damage from oil spills, which destroyed livelihoods and left thousands without access to clean water. Their legal case against Shell is ongoing, with a trial expected in 2027.

At the same time, methane leaks contribute significantly to global warming. Therefore, the Nigerian government should also take steps to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and meet its international climate obligations.

Amnesty International

Northern Nigeria on edge following series of attacks

A renewed wave of attacks in northern Nigeria, including suspected suicide bombings targeting crowded public places, has heightened tensions. At least 20 people have been killed and more than 100 others injured by militia in Borno State. The violence has also raised fresh security concerns ahead of Nigeria’s next general elections, with analysts warning it could depress voter turnout in the northeast, where displacement and fear remain widespread.

CGTN Africa

Galatasaray's Osimhen to buy Istanbulspor and build Nigeria-Türkiye talent pipeline

 

Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen is reportedly planning to purchase Istanbulspor, one of Türkiye's historically established football clubs, in a move that signals the Nigerian forward's ambitions well beyond the pitch.

According to a report by Afrik-Foot, Osimhen's goal is not simply club ownership. The 26-year-old wants to establish what has been described as a "football bridge" between Nigeria and Türkiye, creating a structured pathway for young African talent to develop and eventually reach European football.


A pipeline from Lagos to Istanbul

Under the reported plan, Osimhen intends to open a football academy branch in Nigeria dedicated to scouting and developing young players from grassroots levels. Those players would then be funneled through Istanbulspor, using the Turkish club as a launchpad for eventual transfers into the broader European market.

The system Osimhen envisions would see young Nigerian footballers develop and gain experience before moving to Europe through Istanbulspor, effectively turning the club into a development hub with direct ties to West African talent.


Why Istanbulspor

Istanbulspor, founded in 1926, is one of Istanbul's oldest football institutions. The club has experienced significant fluctuations in its fortunes over the decades, competing at various levels of Turkish football. Its status as a historic but lower-profile club could make it an attractive acquisition for an investor looking to reshape a team's identity and sporting model without the financial burden associated with Türkiye's top-tier clubs.

The concept of active players investing in club ownership, while still uncommon, has gained traction in recent years across global football, as high-earning athletes increasingly look to leverage their wealth and industry knowledge into long-term business ventures within the sport.


Osimhen's prolific season continues

The reported acquisition plan comes during one of the most productive stretches of Osimhen's career. The Nigerian international has appeared in 29 matches across all competitions for Galatasaray in the 2025-26 season, scoring 19 goals and providing 7 assists.

Osimhen originally rose to prominence in European football through spells in Belgium, Germany, France, and most notably Italy, where he became one of Serie A's most feared strikers during his time at Napoli. His move to Türkiye has done nothing to diminish his output, and his off-pitch ventures suggest he is already thinking about life after playing.

Türkiye Today

US drones deployed to Nigeria alongside troops for intelligence, training

The U.S. military has multiple MQ-9 drones operating in Nigeria alongside 200 troops to provide training and intelligence support to the military, which is fighting Islamist militants across the north, U.S. and Nigerian officials told Reuters.

The troops are not integrated within Nigerian units on the frontline and the drones are collecting intelligence and not carrying out airstrikes, officials from the two countries said.

However, the U.S. deployment, which follows U.S. airstrikes targeting militants in northwest Nigeria in late 2025, shows the U.S. getting back involved in tackling Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked insurgencies that are spreading across West Africa.

The U.S. military previously had a $100 million drone base in neighbouring Niger with about 1,000 troops monitoring militants across the Sahel region, but that was closed in 2024 after the Niger junta requested their departure, part of a broader rejection of western military support by countries in the Sahel region.

An assault by suicide bombers on a northeastern Nigerian garrison town this week showed how a 17-year insurgency there can still strike urban centres.

Meanwhile, militants have stepped up their attacks in the northwest, near the border with Benin and Niger, where a long-running banditry crisis risks mutating into another operating zone for Islamists.

A U.S. defence official said the drones had been deployed alongside troops at the request of the Nigerians to collect intelligence. “We see this as a shared security threat,” the official said.

Major General Samaila Uba, director of defence information at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, confirmed that the U.S. was operating assets from Bauchi airfield in the northeast.

“This support builds on the newly established U.S.-Nigeria intelligence fusion cell, which continues to deliver actionable intelligence to our field commanders,” he told Reuters. “Our U.S. partners remain in a strictly non-combat role, enabling operations led by Nigerian authorities.”


‘IDENTIFY, TRACK AND RESPOND’

Uba said the timeline for the U.S. deployment in Nigeria would be determined in agreement by both sides.

MQ-9 drones, which are sometimes known as Reaper drones and can loiter at high altitude for more than 27 hours, can be used for both intelligence gathering and airstrikes.

Neither Uba nor the U.S. official would comment on specific cases where U.S. intelligence had led to the Nigerians targeting militants, but Uba said that U.S. forces were helping Nigeria “identify, track and respond to terrorist threats”.

Late last year, Reuters reported that aircraft based in Ghana had been conducting intelligence gathering flights for the U.S. military over Nigeria.

MILITANTS REMAIN A PERSISTENT THREAT

The United States – which has had a long partnership with Nigeria’s military, providing training and selling weapons – said it carried out airstrikes in the northwest on Christmas Day to stop the targeting of Christians in the region.

Nigeria’s government and experts on the conflict have rejected claims of a concerted anti-Christian campaign, saying it oversimplifies a complex crisis.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the March 16 attack on the garrison town.

Uba said it was still being investigated, adding that both Boko Haram militants and ISWAP, an Islamic State-allied faction, remain a persistent threat, adapting their tactics over time.

“We continue to assess that these organisations will seek opportunistic targets and may attempt to demonstrate relevance through high-visibility attacks,” he said.

By David Lewis, Reuters