Approximately 200 million, that’s the number of people that are based in the ever-growing country Nigeria. Among other problems that the country faces there seems to be a major one which isn’t getting the amount of attention it needs, and that’s the Transportation sector.
Nigeria, although just 59 years into independence, is trying her best to compete with other elite states in terms of technology and infrastructure.
Talking about the technology and innovation trend, many inventions and discoveries are coming out at a fast pace as every country is trying to make life a tad easier for its inhabitants.
Now, the introduction of electrically-powered vehicles have sufficed and it’s moving at a pace faster than the speed of light.
An Electric Vehicle, known for short as EV, is basically a vehicle powered by electricity which could be from a battery, solar panel or generator. This innovation has been in existence for quite some time now but gained a huge resurgence in the 21st century due to a hit in the world’s technological development.
Quite a number of countries have been enjoying this innovation but now the question we ask is “Can this innovation work in a country like Nigeria?” Well, you might think a lot about that question but the answer is pretty much simple.
Firstly, the Nigerian government are in no way planning to launch this EV anytime soon as they have quite a number of other serious issues to tackle. This means the probable introduction of EV’s to the Nigerian transport sector would definitely be from a private sector.
Rightly so as private Nigerian bike-hailing company, MAX has announced that it will release its electric motorbikes in 2020. This is a good thing in that the company look really interested and passionate about taking this step and are aware of the basic problems they will most likely face, they are conscious of innovations they need to bring in for it to work and also are putting proper funding into it.
Starting with motorbikes will be a good step and it’s looking like this will work. However, let’s look at the major problem that will hit these companies planning on bringing EV’s to the country – Bad Roads. Yes, it’s an electrically-powered vehicle, a new innovation in the country but will these vehicles have the power and durability to fight off the terrible roads in the country?
Some electrical motorbikes have been found to not be as durable as traditional gas bikes, so bringing them to Nigeria with the current state of the roads could be a huge gamble. This would be something to consider before taking a bold step in that direction.
Also, the vehicle needs to be powered. The battery system will work really well, charging stations can also be constructed. Solar systems look really good too as Nigeria is blessed with this source.
The problem, however, remains the cost and maintenance, something Nigeria is poor at. How will the charging and power generation go well in proportion to the cost of maintenance? If done well, how cost-effective and cheap will usage be to the average Nigerian citizen? These are the major things that might produce a glitch in the introduction of this innovation to the country.
Conclusively, one could say it is very much possible for Electric Vehicles to succeed in Nigeria as the problems aren’t that difficult to fix. It would be a good step for the country as EV’s have huge advantages compared to their gas-powered counterparts.
Nigeria will keep on developing, and it would be interesting to see how MAX implements the deployment of its electric motorbikes in the country.
