Nigeria has more people without electricity than any other country
Fixing that will be fiendishly difficult
Before George Etomi went to university in 1972, his home in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, had near-constant power. When he returned from studying abroad a few years later, power cuts had become frequent. By 1984, Mr Etomi needed a fuel-powered generator to open his law firm. Today roaring generators provide the soundtrack to urban Nigerian life. They produce more than twice as much power as Nigerians get from the grid.
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “A nation in the dark”
From the May 10th 2025 edition
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Donald Trump and Israel’s generals are pressing Binyamin Netanyahu to make a deal
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Peace deals may be elusive, and Gulf states fear the war is far from over
Kenya’s president is bad news for Kenya and Africa
William Ruto’s tenure is a how-to guide for sowing cynicism about democracy
Iran’s “axis of resistance” was meant to be the Shias’ NATO
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Israel’s weird war clock: 12 days for Iran, 21 months in Gaza
Making peace with the Palestinians looks much harder than with Iran’s regime or Shias in Lebanon