The initiative is a fallout of a year-long collaboration between researchers from De Montfort University and the University of Lagos, which highlighted the important role of stakeholders’ engagement in policymaking, dialogue, design and implementation.
With no ministry currently focusing solely on renewable energy in Lagos, the creation of the forum ensures joint efforts by stakeholders to enable Lagos, and by extension Nigeria, to grant primacy to renewable energy as a viable alternative source of power supply.
The forum, comprising renewable energy practitioners, users, policymakers, top academics in the energy space and members of the public agreed that it is imperative to explore environment-friendly energy alternatives.
The Principal Investigator, Dr Eghosa Igudia, of the research work, which culminated in the creation of the forum revealed that in 2015, countries came together to sign a pact to limit global temperatures.
Igudia noted that as a signatory to the Paris Treaty, there are huge expectations for Nigeria to deliver on the climate commitments, but this is unsupported by the currently unregulated renewable energy space.
Further, he said the current reality of Nigeria’s high inflation, and the effects of the removal of petroleum subsidies have contributed to the rising cost of livelihood in the country. These, according to him were part of the findings of the surveys carried out in Lagos last year across five local councils.
Reflecting further on the findings from their work, Igudia reiterated the need to see the current Nigerian energy reality as an opportunity and not as ‘unfixable’ challenges. The forum, therefore, provides the platform for the co-creation of the much-needed solution to the challenges, regulations and conducive environment required to fully harness the potential of renewable energy in Nigeria.
He said the initiative will bridge communication gaps among stakeholders, enhance dialogue and adopt co-created strategies that would be of benefit to all Nigerians.
IN a related development, the research team also established a stakeholders’ forum for inclusive policy for the informal economy in Lagos.
This was the result of over a decade of deep-diving research and academic collaboration between De Montfort University and Nottingham Trent University in the UK, the University of Lagos, the Federation of Informal Workers Organisation of Nigeria (FIWON), and more recently, the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation.
The forum aims to bridge the communication gap between operators in the informal economy (street hawkers and okada riders) and the government emanated from a research work initially supported by the British Academy “Inclusive Poverty Reduction: In Search of a Policy Framework to Support Individuals Operating in the Informal Economy in Lagos, Nigeria”.
The project is set to co-create an inclusive policy, which works for all. The creation of the forum will improve policies and the policymaking processes that deliver the measures governing people’s daily lives in Lagos.
