Energy experts, stakeholders, traditional rulers among several other important personalities gathered yesterday at the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law, University of Ibadan to honour one of the founding fathers of the Centre, a renowned energy expert, Prof. Philips Akin Iwayemi on ocassion of his 78th birthday.
The distinguished personality lecture which was held in honour of the renowned Professor of Economics began at exactly 11am. The epoch-making event had several stakeholders and energy experts calling for a caution on the incessant call by western world to phase out fossil fuels amidst renewed agitation for a transition to renewable energy.
The experts averred that the call for an energy transition in Nigeria has been premised on the argument that non-renewable energy resources like fossil fuels, coal, oil, and gas produce a lot of harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Renewable energy, like solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, and bioenergy, is believed to create far lower emissions than burning fossil fuels and is key to addressing the climate crisis.
Notwithstanding the advantages of renewable energy, the stakeholders gathered at the University of Ibadan on Monday for the first distinguished personality lecture series in honour of Professor Akinbolaji Philips Iwayemi and posited that renewable energy sources are unsustainable and expensive.
Leading the call for caution, Chief Executive Officer, International Energy Services Limited, Dr. Diran Fawibe, held that oil remained the mainstay of the economy and the nation still had huge deposits of oil, contrary to arguments that oil would soon dry up.
Fawibe chided what he called the hypocrisy of the West, which wants Nigeria and other oil-producing countries to phase out fossil fuels while building fossil fuel deposits.
Presenting his own argument, Professor Olufemi Bamiro, a former vice-chancellor of the University of Ibadan and professor of mechanical engineering, called for an energy mix as opposed to a transition to alternative power.
Bamiro advocated the development of all energy resources in the country and the use of research to encourage the use of a mix of renewable and non-renewable energy resources.
Another scholar, Professor Isaac Bamigboye, stressed that for the nation to have energy sustainability, there must be a hybrid of the use of fossil fuels and renewable energy.
The chairman of the occasion, Professor Samuel Olofin, emphasised that the nation should better its fortunes by fully exploring the resources that it has.
The calls for caution followed the guest presentation by President, Nigerian Economics Society (NES) Professor Adeola Adenikinju, where he cautioned Nigeria against being stuck with oil because it believes it has abundant oil resources.
He argued that the nation must match technological progress and ensure that it reduces emission levels associated with the use of fossil fuels.
Adenikinju called for continued focus on technology and research in adopting renewable energy resources, warning that Nigeria risks waking up one day to announce that the world has moved away from the use of fossil fuels.
He said: “Most people believe that we need to use what we have and that because Nigeria has a lot of energy resources, carbon energy like oil, gas, and coal, as we talk about energy transition, it must not be at the expense of what we have, and that developed countries are being hypocritical in asking us not to use what we have. I don’t have any objection to that. The energy transition will not occur in a day. Therefore, we cannot pause our lives. I believe that we should use what we have.
“But, at the same time, we must continue to invest in research and development so that we position ourselves so that if tomorrow the world comes up with a new technology, we are prepared.
“Whether we like it or not, we account for less than one per cent of the global economy, so they can do whatever they like, and we will just be at the receiving end.
“So, it is important that, as a country, we are intentional and deliberate in what we want to do, and we put in place policies that will encourage the use of the entire array of our resources, renewable and non-renewable, for the development of this country. The government must ensure that they work in that direction.
“The world is moving, and we cannot pretend that we can ignore it. We must be strategic, prepared, and have a plan, and that plan should be to use both renewable and non-renewable energy and invest in research and development so that our universities can be there to compete when the world eventually transits.”
The event, with the theme “Challenges and Opportunities for an Equitable and Just Energy Economics Transition in Nigeria,” was organised under the headship of the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics, and Law, University of Ibadan, Professor Olugbenga Falode to honour Prof. George Iwayemi, one of founding fathers of the and leading Principal Investigator of the Centre.