By Abdulsalam Mahmud

The world is swiftly shifting away from the tyranny of fossil fuels. Throughout continents, the wind of fresh vitality is gathering momentum, stirring up revolutions in coverage, business and the very structure of nationwide economies.

From the deserts of North Africa to the icy ideas of Scandinavia, international locations are reimagining the long run by the lens of renewables. Photo voltaic panels now glisten like diamonds atop rural properties. Wind generators hum steadily throughout dry plains as soon as recognized just for mud.

Hydropower stations murmur with the quiet confidence of rivers redirected to provide mild. The age of vitality independence has arrived, not on the again of oil barrels, however on the wings of daylight and the rhythm of wind.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economic system and its most populous nation, can’t afford to take a seat on the sidelines. But, this nation of good daylight and immense pure endowments stays unusually tethered to darkness.

The grid fails greater than it really works. Turbines growl endlessly in neighbourhoods the place goals should be louder than diesel fumes. Thousands and thousands are locked out of alternative, not for lack of ambition however for lack of electrical energy.

Hospitals stall in emergencies. Colleges depend on candlelight. Small companies shut earlier than nightfall. To name this a disaster is an understatement. To maintain ignoring it’s a betrayal. Renewable vitality, due to this fact, isn’t just a technical answer. It’s a ethical and financial crucial.

However the street to transformation is paved with greater than good intentions. In some ways, Nigeria’s borders stay unfriendly to the stream of fresh vitality applied sciences. Forms stifles innovation. Tariffs frustrate entry.

And the place readability is most wanted, confusion reigns. Traders and importers are sometimes caught in a fog of procedures and insurance policies that appear detached to the urgency of Nigeria’s vitality dilemma.

For a rustic looking for to realize net-zero emissions by 2060, it’s now not acceptable to deal with renewable vitality gear like miscellaneous cargo. A nation can’t declare to embrace a inexperienced future whereas its ports and insurance policies choke the passage of inexperienced expertise.

There may be, nonetheless, a glimmer of hope rising from inside the very establishment that guards our commerce gateways. In latest instances, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has begun to reimagine its function past income assortment.

It’s starting to see itself as a facilitator of growth, a crucial associate in Nigeria’s march towards sustainability. It’s now not nearly what enters and exits our borders. It’s about whether or not what enters can mild up lives, energy companies and protect the planet.

The latest gathering of stakeholders on the Nigeria Customs’ 2025 Commerce Facilitation Stakeholder Consultative Discussion board marked an important turning level in that reimagination. Held in Lagos and themed, “Commerce Facilitation Measures for Renewable Vitality and Vitality Effectivity Applied sciences”, the discussion board pulsed with urgency, hope and duty.

Right here was a nationwide establishment, historically related to responsibility assortment and enforcement, now pledging to open its arms to the chances of a cleaner vitality future. Within the room weren’t simply officers, but in addition growth companions, business leaders and coverage actors, all sure by the shared perception that Customs may grow to be a gateway to mild, not a roadblock.

Representing the Comptroller-Common of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, was Deputy Comptroller-Common Caroline Niagwan, who stood earlier than the discussion board not merely as a bureaucrat, however as a messenger of change. Her message was clear and refreshing: that Customs should transfer past gatekeeping into facilitation.

She spoke of the rising quantity of worldwide commerce, the crucial for seamless stream of authentic items and the pressing must place Nigeria’s small and medium-sized enterprises to learn from the worldwide vitality transition. It was greater than a coverage speech.

It was a daring assertion of institutional realignment—one which aligns Customs operations with Nigeria’s environmental ambitions and financial progress. DCG Niagwan additionally highlighted the techniques now reshaping the service’s inner structure.

From the Unified Customs Administration System—codenamed B’Odogwu—to the Advance Ruling System and the Authorised Financial Operator programme, Customs is planting the seeds of transparency, predictability and digital effectivity. These reforms are now not summary.

They’re designed to make sure that renewable vitality applied sciences, usually delicate and cost-sensitive, don’t perish on the altar of confusion and outdated clearance procedures. The NCS’ embrace of the Inexperienced Customs Initiative and alignment with world frameworks just like the Montreal Protocol and Paris Settlement additional anchors its newfound function as an enabler of local weather options.

To commemorate one yr because the Advance Ruling Programme was formally adopted, the Service launched a devoted “Handbook on Import and Export Procedures for Renewable Vitality and Vitality-Environment friendly Applied sciences”. This isn’t simply one other guide for cabinets and places of work. It’s a signpost for traders, entrepreneurs and innovators who want steering, not gridlock.

It displays a imaginative and prescient the place Customs transforms from a silent gate into an open bridge—the place guidelines are clear, procedures are pleasant and renewable vitality now not lingers at our ports, suffocated by ambiguity. The occasion additionally echoed with voices past Customs.

Duke Benjamin, who represented Markus Wagner, Nation Director for Nigeria and ECOWAS at GIZ, gave a message that resonated like a bell of affirmation. He acknowledged the strategic foresight of the Nigeria Customs and famous that the renewed consideration to renewable vitality commerce couldn’t have come at a greater time.

For a rustic grappling with unreliable energy provide and inflation pushed by fossil gas dependence, embracing clear vitality applied sciences is just not solely progressive—it’s redemptive. As he put it, each layer of reform inside the Service brings Nigeria nearer to changing into a fascinating vacation spot for climate-conscious traders and innovators.

Amid the coverage speeches and technical briefings, one voice that stood out with refreshing readability was that of Assistant Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, the Nationwide Public Relations Officer of the Service. In his presentation titled, “The Function of Communication Technique as a Veritable Device to Deepen Commerce Facilitation”, he reminded the viewers that behind each good coverage is a narrative that must be informed with conviction and readability.

He spoke of communication not as decoration, however as engine. In his phrases, it’s what enhances institutional credibility, drives commerce, helps sustainability and fortifies nationwide vitality safety. This understanding positions the NCS not solely as a facilitator of products, however as a facilitator of belief and fact.

Because the discussion board drew to a detailed, one factor turned unmissable. The dialog about renewable vitality had moved from the margins to the centre. The presence of stakeholders, the disclosing of technical handbooks, the emphasis on multilateral environmental obligations—all pointed to a Nigeria Customs that’s reimagining its function within the local weather age.

Removed from being the gatekeeper of crimson tape, the Nigeria Customs is studying to be the doorkeeper of alternative. And in a world the place coverage inertia can sabotage even the noblest of intentions, this shift in orientation is as priceless because the applied sciences it now seeks to welcome. However this isn’t the tip of the story.

It’s merely the opening of a long-needed chapter. One the place establishments, markets and visionaries come collectively to chart a path towards vitality justice. One the place photo voltaic panels are now not caught in transport containers, and wind generators aren’t stalled by confusion over tariff codes.

One the place Nigeria’s transition to a low-carbon economic system is just not an elusive dream whispered at worldwide summits, however a lived actuality, powered partly by the very company as soon as seen as a bottleneck. The gates are opening. The vitality is rising. Now could be the time to let it stream.

Mahmud, Deputy Editor of PRNigeria, might be reached at: [email protected].