Africa’s energy crisis cannot be solved with technology or money alone, it requires a bold shift in priorities. That was the central message from Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO), who urged African leaders to place ordinary people at the heart of energy reforms.
Dr. Ibrahim argued that access to electricity should not be treated as a luxury or a political tool but as a basic necessity for homes, businesses, and national development. He believes that once citizens are empowered with reliable energy, broader progress, economic, industrial, and social, will naturally follow. “If we commit to making energy accessible to our people, for homes, for industries, everything else will follow,” he said.
This message set the tone for the 2024 Africa Sustainable Energy Dialogue, which took place virtually on Friday, May 16. Organized by the Africa Sustainable Energy Center (ASEC), the event brought together experts and policymakers under the theme, “Bridging Africa’s Energy Access Gap: Challenges, Innovations and Path Forward.”
Dr. Ibrahim challenged the commonly held view that poverty is the root cause of Africa’s energy access crisis. Instead, he pointed to a deeper, more uncomfortable truth: many of the continent’s energy shortcomings are due to poor leadership and a lack of long-term vision. “I don’t believe poverty is responsible for our not having access to energy,” he said. “Africa’s biggest challenge is really visionary leadership. We lack political will.”
He lamented that while Africa produces vast amounts of oil and gas, the majority is exported to serve elite interests and foreign economies, rather than meeting the basic energy needs of African citizens. “Today, 75% of the oil we produce and 45% of our gas is exported out of Africa. The real beneficiaries are not the masses but the elite,” he said.
The discussion moved beyond statistics to examine the underlying systems that perpetuate energy poverty. Panelists warned against allowing figures like “600 million Africans without electricity” to become mere slogans. They called for a deeper analysis of the historical, political, and economic structures that have left vast populations without power.
Dr. Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, former Executive Secretary of Ghana’s Energy Commission, echoed Dr. Ibrahim’s views, stating that expanding access to electricity is not a technical issue, it’s a leadership issue. Citing Ghana’s journey from just 19% access in 1989 to over 87% today, he credited decades of government-led planning and political commitment. “Access to energy is a matter of leadership. No individual electrifies a country. Government must lead the charge,” he said.
Other speakers expanded on the theme by examining how colonial legacies and inherited systems have shaped Africa’s energy infrastructure. Monique Motty of the African Development Bank argued that many of these systems were not built to serve Africans in the first place. “We’re navigating systems that weren’t designed for us,” she said.
Professor Abubakar Sambo, a former energy adviser to the Nigerian presidency, called the situation a “complex web” of underfunding, aging infrastructure, poor policy execution, and corruption. He pointed out that while governments face multiple demands, from healthcare to education, energy is often deprioritized. Even subsidies, he said, are frequently mismanaged, discouraging private investment.
Kweku Andoh Awotwi, Board Chairman of United Bank for Africa-Ghana, added that for too long, electricity has been seen as a social good without a sustainable financing model. This mindset, he noted, has led to underinvestment and weak infrastructure, even in countries that have pursued reforms like privatisation. “We’re not deploying grid-parity solar solutions because our power systems are financially unsustainable,” he said.
Throughout the dialogue, one truth was repeated: technical solutions already exist, but the political and moral courage to act in the interest of citizens remains missing.
The event concluded with a unified call to action, urging African governments to embrace energy policies that serve the people first, invest in decentralized renewables, and reframe electricity access as a fundamental development goal, not just an economic one.
