When will Nigerians get it into their collective heads that manufacturing electric cars is the antidote to these incessant petrol price rises. Bola Tinubu is obliged to tell them that bitter truth

Ayo Akinfe

[1] When I hear Nigerians complain about petrol price rises, I feel like tearing my hair out of my head. Have they been oblivious to the whole clean energy debate? Where have they been when the rest of the human race has been screaming about the need to abandon the use of fossil fuels?

[2] Let me give them one example. Are we aware of the fact that in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in the global demand for used vehicles, especially full-size pickup trucks? In the US, some buyers are traveling hundreds of miles to get what they want, regardless of the price. Obviously, the car manufacturers are churning out electric trucks to fill this gap in the market

[3] Tesla is an American electric vehicle and clean energy company based in Palo Alto, California. Its current products include electric cars, battery energy storage from home to grid scale, solar panels and solar roof tiles, as well as other related products and services. Tesla is ranked as the world's best-selling plug-in and battery electric passenger car manufacturer, with a market share of 16%

[4] Can someone please explain to me why Tesla and Innoson have not formed a joint venture to manufacture electric pick-up trucks, saloon cars and SUVs in Nigeria?

[5] As we speak, Tesla is expanding its plants, as well as building new ones, which should increase the output up to around 800,000 units annually. As the company looks to cash in on the stimulus packages being offered, it needs manufacturing locations where production costs are cheap

[6] I wonder why someone like Governor Babajide Sanwoolu has not approached Tesla offering them a 50 year lease on land in the Lekki Industrial Park where they can manufacture trucks in conjunction with Innoson

[7] Whether we like it or not, Nigeria needs a transport policy involving us moving away from the private vehicle. Centre everything on trains, buses and pick-up trucks for farmers

[8] Personally, I would ask Tesla if they could come and manufacture all three in Nigeria, opening the world’s largest electric automobile manufacturing plant in Lekki

[9] When I look at how Aliko Dangote has just invested $15bn in an oil refinery in Lekki, I ask why investing in a car plant should be a problem for someone like him. As you can see, our problem is not just the government. I think every Nigerian should be ashamed of the fact that we do not have some of the basics that make you feel proud of yourselves as a sovereign nation such as our own national automobile manufacturer that can compete with the big boys, our own national airline, our own battlefield tank, an internationally recognised tourist attraction like Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, the Brandenburg Gate, the Sydney Opera House, etc and our own equivalent of Harvard, Yale, Oxford or Cambridge

[10] As the world's largest black nation, we need to set ourselves some basic minimum goals. At the moment, the biggest problem with electric cars is that it takes two hours to charge them. Now just imagine say Innoson Motors manufactures and patents a device that enables you to fill up your electric car within 10 minutes. If Nigeria sold this all around the world, it would end our lazy dependence on crude oil tomorrow