HOW NIGERIANS CAN REDUCE THE IMPACT OF FUEL SUBSIDY REMOVAL

Nigeria is a beautiful country blessed with so many resources, the chief of them is the crude oil that was discovered in Oloibiri in 1956, most countries understand that crude oil is a non-renewable resource and have started focusing on other means so the UAE adopted? National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031 during its meeting at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi. They hope to become the global leader in Artificial Intelligence in 2031.

They have inculcated this in their aviation, healthcare, and even education playing a major role in assisting AI start-ups.

Recently the Nigerian government removed the fuel subsidy and this has had huge impact on the citizens who depend on fuel to power their cars, homes, and offices, affecting the cost of transport, household goods, and food such that there has been an increase in inflation.

I honestly think one of the ways that we can help curb the effect of the fuel subsidy is through the sensitization of sustainable cities, but what is a sustainable city?

A sustainable city is one designed to address social, environmental, and economic impact through urban planning and city management.

Interestingly, sustainable city is one of the SDG goals, the United Nations formulated The Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals which are a collection of seventeen interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future

The eleventh goal of the SDG goals is focused on certain indicators and targets, one of them being that in 2030, countries should provide access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons

However, this isn't impossible to achieve in Africa as we have certain cities that are on their way to achieving this, such as Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cairo, and Capetown. There are already cities in Dubai and China achieving sustainable city where there are less waste, less depending on fuel for power, more urban farming, public transportation, renewable energy sources, etc

Please bear in mind that the sustainable city seeks to address environmental, social, and economic impact, one of them being the heat island effect; which is the warmth of the city caused by land use, design of built structures, reduced ventilation, heat emission from man and industrial activities and less water features.

African countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, and Rwanda have adopted monthly car-free days, an initiative launched by their governments to encourage non-motorized transportation and fight air pollution.

This is also done to reduce people's dependence on cars and have a day when there is reduced pollution and noise and encourage citizens to embrace cycling which is another route to combat pollution.

Sterling Bank Plc partners with Borno State-based all-electric bus maker, Mustapha Gajibo.

The partnership will see the introduction of EV bus shuttle services along Victoria Island Lagos.

Sterling Bank has introduced its suite of renewable energy-powered transportation solutions. Tagged Qore, it will offer the purchase and financing of electric vehicles, EVs, EV charging stations, conversion of fossil-fuel-powered engines to EV engines, battery swapping services for modular EVs, and more.

Speaking at the launch of Nigeria’s first publicly available EV charging station in Lagos, the CEO of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, said that the launch of Qore is a significant milestone in the bank’s journey towards powering Nigeria’s transportation sector with renewable energy.

Sterling has set itself apart as the first corporate organization on the African continent to fully power up its offices with a renewable energy source by installing over 3000 Building Integrated Photovoltaic, BIPV panels, generating one megawatt (1 MW) of electricity. This move will make the structure one of the largest on the continent, primarily powered by renewable energy, thereby demonstrating the bank’s commitment to the growth and development of renewable energy in Nigeria.

Furthermore, the bank recently launched Imperium, an alternative energy solution, to power Nigerian homes and businesses through solar and renewable energy services explicitly tailored to Nigeria’s peculiar energy needs.

What if the government decides to either invest in organizations taking giant strides like Sterling Bank or even subsidize organizations that are into building electric cars, solar panels, inverters etc..

The time has come for Nigerians to be strategic because what are the chances that the price of fuel won't keep increasing as our demand for it keeps increasing?

Think sustainability, Think Global