Kemi Badenoch blames Nigeria's electricity woes on stupid public policy
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, said Nigeria has failed to turn its vast oil reserves into reliable electricity, blaming decades of poor public policy. Speaking to The Spectator, she recalled growing up in Nigeria and noted, "My belief that we need to drill our oil and gas comes from growing up in a country… Nigeria is an oil-producing country that has never had electricity." She added, "It is very easy to have resources under the ground, but stupid public policy means that you can’t use them." Nigeria’s grid currently generates between 3,500 and 5,000 megawatts for over 250 million people, leaving most homes and businesses dependent on generators. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his Democracy Day address, pledged to fix the power sector’s challenges. The comment highlights a long‑running infrastructure gap that raises production costs, discourages investment, and affects daily life for millions of Nigerians who rely on expensive, polluting backup power. With the government’s promise under scrutiny, citizens may want to monitor budget allocations for transmission upgrades, demand clearer timelines for renewable projects, and consider how energy costs influence their household budgets and business plans.