Ahmad: Lauding An Uncommon Trailblazer at REA

By Philip Agbese

The country of Nigeria is currently undergoing a period of reawakening. The country’s younger population has been very vocal about their desire for a generational leadership change. The agitation is real, and the majority of political parties have methodically responded to it by capitalizing on its reawakening. The slogan is extremely prevalent. The preparation of the people is complete, and the manifestation is currently taking place.

On the other hand, an unsung hero has been toiling away in the shadows, doing everything in their power to effect change in the governance system. This young prodigy is reserved and avoids the spotlight whenever possible. The majority of the time, he chooses to remain unnoticed because the thing that is most important to him is completing the task in a way that demonstrates creativity and an approach that is outside of the norm.

Experience life as Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), with all its ups and downs. In 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari made the decision to appoint Ahmad Salihijo to the position of director of the Rural Electrification Agency so that he could contribute his vast experience working in the private sector.

Through the development of off-grid electrification strategies, the REA was established with the goal of expanding access to electricity in rural and underserved clusters across the country. And Ahamd Salihijo came in handy as an invaluable resource thanks to his expertise in renewable energy and his two master’s degrees in development studies and project planning.

Since I joined the REA in 2019, there has been a string of remarkable achievements at the organization. He demonstrated that age was just a number, and he got right to work developing policies and programs that would contribute to the agency’s success in meeting its strategic objectives. This much was supported by industry stakeholders who lauded his management approach and unwavering dedication to the agency’s goals, which was a corroboration of the previous statement.

For instance, one of the ways he has been able to address the numerous difficulties in rural electrification across the nation is by firmly establishing transparency and accountability in the operations of the agency. This has been one of the ways he has been able to do this. Given the circumstances that led to the previous administration of the agency being removed from their positions, this was an extremely important step to take.

After Ahmad was sworn into office, he immediately instituted a code of conduct that placed a strong emphasis on commitment and dedication while also maintaining an environment of transparency and accountability. This strategy was successful as it eliminated all possible opportunities for taking shortcuts or saving time.

For instance, over the course of the past few years, the agency has strengthened its engagements with private sector developers and other key stakeholders in order to deploy off-grid technologies for the purpose of electrification, particularly for the purpose of productive use and socio-economic impact in communities that are not serviced by the grid.

The young CEO stated that agriculture is one of the primary focuses of the company’s attention right now. He says, “We understand that once you provide power in agriculture, you naturally empower people to go into farming, thereby improving their livelihoods.” This is something that we have come to realize. Because of this, in addition to supplying power to communities that are not connected to a grid, we also devote equal amounts of time and resources to the productive use of energy (PUE).”

This strategy was successful, as evidenced by the African Development Bank’s decision to contribute twenty million dollars toward the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), which will be used to fund investments in productive-use equipment and models in off-grid communities.

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The Energizing Agriculture Programme (EAP), which is designed to increase GDP, accelerate the use of renewable energy, and unlock agricultural productivity in Nigeria, is currently being put into action by the REA agency, which is overseen by him. The Electricity Access Program (EAP) is a three-year initiative that will be activated in 2022 with support from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the Global Energy Alliance on People and Planet (GEAPP), and the Rockefeller Foundation. Its purpose is to enable market-led solutions while breaking down the silos that separate electrification and agricultural development.

A 100 kWp solar hybrid mini-grid was installed in the Olooji community in Ogun State as part of this initiative. This community serves as an excellent example of the successes that have been recorded as a result of this initiative. Olooji is a community that has been around for approximately 200 years, but thanks to REA’s intervention, it only received energy infrastructure for the very first time in the year 2021.

REA has successfully finished projects in seven different universities as part of their Energizing Education Programme (EEP). Both the World Bank and the African Development Bank have confirmed that they will contribute funding to the EEP, specifically for phases II and III, respectively. These things did not appear out of nowhere. We are obligated to concede that it was a result of the REA, under the direction of Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, exhibiting a high level of leadership during the process.

To address the country’s socioeconomic challenges, leadership is required, and Ahmed has provided us with an excellent model of the kind of leadership that those who hold public office should strive to emulate.

Those who have had interactions with him are likely to attest to the fact that he is a very passionate person who has demonstrated capacity and competence in the performance of his responsibilities. He has successfully disproved the widespread belief that today’s young people are unfit to hold positions of authority.

It should come as no surprise that the REA was responsible for more than 95% of the NEP’s impact between 2020 and 2022. The NEP-SHS component is one of the components being implemented by the agency that is growing at one of the fastest rates. These projects have also sparked socioeconomic activity throughout the communities that are receiving benefits from them. The NEP program, which is now recognized as a leading example of off-grid models in sub-Saharan Africa, has successfully established approximately 6.7 million connections, which has had an effect on nearly 10 million Nigerians living in rural communities across the country.

The commendations have been forthcoming in sufficient quantity. Stakeholders in the industry have referred to him as a messiah because of his tireless efforts, which have resulted in increased access to electricity in rural areas. He was successful in removing the barriers that were preventing the electrification of rural areas across the nation. Some people who are familiar with the inner workings of the REA have hinted that the Managing Director has consistently placed an emphasis on accountability and transparency ever since he joined the team.

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From the many leadership steps that this trailblazer has taken, there are many valuable lessons to be learned. The first is that today’s young people are prepared to take on leadership roles, and the second is that if there is a will, there is always a way to get something done. Ahmad Salihijo has provided young people in the country with a reason to have renewed hope. He is a visionary and a model for leadership in every sense of the word. This is something that the young people should applaud. I applaud his bravery as well as his consistency.

This article was written by Agbese, who will soon be serving in the Federal House of Representatives. He did so from Abuja.