Bartholomew Nnaji

[[w:Bartholomew Nnaji] is a Nigerian engineer, innovator and one of the inventors of the E-Design concept. Quotes I believe that such opportunities are still open to young people. My opinion is that when people work hard and achieve in their field, they should have the opportunity to serve the country. The first time I became a minister, people in government were interested in solving the problems of the country; they were not just doing things with political motives. They looked for the best in various fields and invited them to government. The major takeaway for us was that we, as Nigerians, could actually engage in power generation. At the time we did it, there was no power company in the country, so we were the first and that gave us some confidence to be able to see the project to its conclusion. We didn’t initially set out to do it the way we did but our partners opted out along the way because they saw a lot of difficulties and they said they would only supply us with the equipment we needed. However, we kept on and delivered. The second takeaway was that we were able to supply power to a central area of Abuja which was disconnected from the national grid. And that power was supplied because there was a power line being built from the Shiroro Hydro Power Plant to Abuja, and that provided a model for the Aba Integrated Power Project. I think when people talk about cabals, the people in question are essentially known in Nigeria. Some of them don’t actually set out by themselves to form a clique but by their actions, they impede the progress of the power sector. You have diesel distributors, generator suppliers (Nigeria is the largest market for generators in the world), unions and those who get contracts in the sector. rofessor Bartholomew Nnaji, speaks to TOFARATI IGE, on the reforms he instituted in the power sector and other issues