President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, inaugurated Africa’s first renewable energy college, the Barefoot Renewable Energy College, Osara (BARECKS), and the Green Hydrogen Research and Demonstration Pilot Plant in Kogi.

Mr Tinubu, represented by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, described the citadel of learning located at the Confluence University of Science and Technology as a world-class edifice of international standards.

According to him, government is measured by the industries it plants and by the households those industries feed.

Mr Tinubu noted that the difficulty confronting Nigeria had been “converting its endowment into megawatts, and megawatts into jobs.

The president, however, assured that the difficulty would now be addressed by the college.

He noted that the inauguration of the institution had answered the question about whose hands should build and maintain Africa’s future.

“This is the first institution of its kind on the African continent, modelled on the celebrated vocational colleges of India that turned unlettered grandmothers into solar engineers.

“If that method can light the villages of Rajasthan, it can light the settlements of Kogi, Ondo and Cross River. Nigeria assumes from today the position of pacesetter in renewable energy capacity development across Africa.

“Two years ago, we stood on this ground for the groundbreaking of this institution, with red earth underfoot and the ambition of a few determined Nigerians for company.

“Today, we stand before a world-class edifice, completed to international standards,” he said.

The president disclosed that the college was built as a vocational and technical institution to close the widest gap in Africa’s energy transition, which, according to him, is the shortage of competent technical manpower.

“Our continent has never suffered a deficit of intention. We have suffered the scarcity of hands trained to execute them,” he said.

He added that the college would produce technicians, installers, operators and maintenance professionals with practical competence in renewable energy technologies.

He said graduates from the college would earn internationally recognised certificates of proficiency qualifying them for employment.

According to him, a certificate issued in Osara must one day command respect in Nairobi and in Frankfurt.

He called on development partners, the private sector, international organisations and research institutions to join hands with the college to expand research, innovation and technical training, adding that Nigeria was prepared to host and lead such collaboration.

Mr Tinubu applauded the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, and the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria for the execution of the project.

He also commended Gov Ahmed Ododo for providing the environment that made the project possible.

Earlier, Mr Ododo said the inauguration of the college was a clear indication that Nigeria was on the path to sustainable development through investment in human capital.

He noted that the college would strengthen the country’s energy sector through capacity building, while attracting investment and creating opportunities for communities.

He commended the federal government for tackling the nation’s power challenges through strategic investments in the knowledge economy.

The governor described the initiative as one that justified continued support for the Tinubu administration.

Similarly, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Udeh, described the project as a major investment in human capital development and job creation.

Mr Udeh said that it reflected the federal government’s commitment to building a knowledge-driven economy.

He emphasised that Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a one-trillion-dollar economy depended on developing a skilled workforce in strategic sectors such as renewable energy.

The minister urged the pioneer trainees to uphold high technical and ethical standards and serve as worthy ambassadors of the institution.

In the same vein, the Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Dr Mustapha Abdullahi, said the institution was the first of its kind in Nigeria.

He said the facility was equipped with smart classrooms, battery energy laboratories, a mini-grid simulation centre, energy efficiency laboratories, and other modern training facilities.

Mr Abdullahi explained that the college would produce highly skilled professionals in renewable energy research and development in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Also speaking, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Dr Ahmed Anaje, said the project would provide young people with valuable technical skills and enable them to contribute meaningfully to national development.

The traditional ruler thanked the federal government for locating the institution in the state.

(NAN)