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Nigeria Bets on Solar to Power Its Covid Recovery

Suleiman Babamanu is helping the Rural Electrification Agency of Nigeria implement the country’s largest investment in solar energy.

Suleiman Babamanu at a solar power installation site in Abuja, Nigeria.

Suleiman Babamanu at a solar power installation site in Abuja, Nigeria.

Photographer: KC Nwakalor/Bloomberg
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Suleiman Babamanu’s path to the heart of Nigeria’s biggest solar power program started in disappointment.

After university he worked as a trainee geoscientist for a unit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. A job in the industry—Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer—would have been a traditional route, and a lucrative one. But he couldn’t find employment.