By Dr. Ope Banwo
Once again, the Tinubu-led Federal Government has decided to play Frankenstein with Nigeria’s already fragile economy—this time by banning the importation of solar panels. Yes, you read that right. In a nation where epileptic electricity is the norm, where darkness is more reliable than energy generation companies, the government thought it wise to slam the door on the one energy solution that has given millions of Nigerians a glimpse of self-reliance.
According to them, this is part of a grand ‘local content” strategy based on Executive Order 5. But before we all rush to clap for this sudden wave of economic patriotism, let’s ask the real questions:
Whose interest is being served? Who benefits? And why does this feel like a poorly recycled Buhari-era policy with a more expensive bow?
1. Hypocrisy on Steroids: N10 Billion for Aso Rock Solar While the Masses Get Sunburn
Let’s start with the elephant in the villa.
The same Federal Government that banned the importation of solar panels just budgeted ₦10 Billion Naira to install solar power in Aso Rock—yes, for the comfort of Mr. President and his elite circle. You can’t make this stuff up.
So while average Nigerians are being told to “suffer now so we can produce later,” the rulers are bathing in uninterrupted sunshine-powered AC, sipping cold juice, and watching Netflix on a system powered by imported solar panels.
Let me ask: Where are the locally manufactured solar panels that will power Aso Rock?
Oh, they don’t exist? So… we ban solar for the people but import solar for the elite? In order words, Solar is good for the “Ikoyi people”, while the regular “Fadeyi dwellers” are condemned to perpetual darkness. That’s not just bad governance. That’s economic apartheid.
2. The Cart-Before-The-Horse- Jaganomics: When Protectionism Becomes a Weapon For Self Punishment
In a healthy economy, protectionist policies like banning imports are used after local production is mature enough to compete. In Nigeria, however, we seem to enjoy doing things backward.
There is no viable solar panel manufacturing ecosystem in Nigeria. No large-scale assembly plants. No standardized local quality assurance boards. No mass production capacity. And even if we hypothetically started building the factories today, it would take three to five years minimum to get to the level where we can even assemble (not manufacture) reliable panels that won’t conk out in a month.
So banning solar imports now is like locking the water tank during a drought and asking people to go and be digging for water in their backyards or wait for the rain.
Here’s what will likely happen:
* Prices will skyrocket.
* Smuggling will thrive (hello, Seme border).
* The black market will explode.
* Quality will drop drastically.
* Foreign investors will withdraw.
* Nigerians will be forced to buy overpriced “Made in Nigeria” junk rebranded in Aba.
Sound familiar? That’s because we’ve seen this movie before—with rice, with cars, with textiles—and the ending was always the same: inflation, corruption, and policy U-turns.
3. The Rice-and-Repeat Mentality: A Nation Addicted to Bad Ideas
This is not the first time our leaders decided to ban their way into economic suicide.
Buhari’s rice ban was supposed to birth a food revolution. Instead, it gave birth to a rice inflation monster and turned smuggling into a multibillion-naira underground industry.
The ban on vehicle imports only ensured we all now drive 20-year-old rickety Tokunbo cars that eat fuel like it’s moi-moi.
The textile ban was aimed at revitalizing Aba. Yet, everyone from Lagos to Maiduguri still proudly wears Chinese Ankara.
And now, solar is the latest sacrificial lamb on the altar of economic illiteracy.
4. The Real Solar Industry: Thriving Despite Government, Not Because of It
What’s particularly tragic is that the solar industry in Nigeria has actually been one of the few bright spots in our economy. Companies like Arnergy, Daystar, and Lumos are attracting millions of dollars in investment from global markets and helping households and SMEs take back control from PHCN and diesel mafia.
These companies rely on imported panels to drive their businesses. By cutting them off, you don’t create a local industry. You suffocate an existing one.
And let’s be clear: this isn’t a case of “we’ll fix it in six months.” You cannot miracle an industry into existence with wishful thinking and executive orders. It takes strategic planning, massive capital investment, and policy consistency—not ego and press conferences.
5. Better Alternatives That Don’t Require Sabotaging Progress
If this government was truly serious about local solar development, it would:
1. Encourage joint ventures with global solar brands to set up assembly plants in Nigeria.
2. Lower tariffs on solar components like batteries and inverters while keeping finished products competitive.
3. Enforce real quality control, so fake solar products can no longer hide behind patriotic labels.
4. Introduce consumer subsidies or green loans to help Nigerians afford clean energy.
5. Create Solar Free Trade Zones where businesses can manufacture with tax holidays and power support.
Instead, they chose the laziest and most disruptive route: the BAN hammer.
My Verdict On The Hairbrained Idea Of Banning Solar in a country producing less than 10% of the power its people and industry really needs:
Banning solar panel imports in Nigeria is not patriotic. It’s not strategic.
It’s economic sabotage disguised as nationalism.
It’s the equivalent of banning raincoats during the rainy season because one tailor in Mushin is learning how to sew plastic.
A serious government would create good structures an enablingling environment to grow the industry before restricting supply, not the other way around. A progressive government would lead by example, not contradiction—not importing solar for Aso Rock while banning the same for the masses.
But then again, this is Nigeria. A place where the sun shines brightly, but the thinking remains perpetually dim.
Yes, My name is Ope Banwo and as the self-appointed Mayor of Fadeyi and Founder of Niaja Lives Matter, I say this selfish and backward thinking policy is unbecoming of a country and a government with so many smart people in it, and it should be reversed like many harebrained strategies we have suffered in the past.
*FYI* – Lest you make a wrong assumption. I do not hate the Tinubu government, and I do not want the government to fail. In fact i wish it well until next election.. but i just love NIgeria more that ANY govt or party or personality, and what is not good is bad. So, we must call it as we see it
Ope Banwo, an Attorney, Public Affairs Analyst, Founder Of Naija Lives Matter and self-styled Mayor of Fadeyi writes from Omaha, Nebraska.
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