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Why we are taking over landfills, turning waste to energy in Nigeria — CEO, Sector Lead

Mr. Adedayo Mustapha is the CEO of Sector Lead, a company set to revolutionise the energy landscape in Nigeria through an innovative waste-to-power project which aims to transform Nigeria’s abundant waste resources into clean and renewable energy. He speaks in this interview with ROTIMI IGE on his plans on the project, among other issues.

You recently launched a new project that intends to turn waste to power. Kindly expatiate on this initiative

Waste-to-energy isn’t new to anyone in Nigeria. Many people have been talking about it for a long time. Some of us have seen other countries successfully set it off and other countries are even improving on what they have at the moment. But when we look around us and see the amount of waste being generated, one starts to wonder why we have not been doing this over the years. Nigeria ought to have started this more than a decade ago, but we are happy to be one of the front-runners with this. The main objective of this project is to build a system for waste management in Nigeria, to better our environment and create a value for the waste we generate. Power will become a byproduct of this waste management system we are creating and we are happy that it is clean power.

What prompted you to kickstart this project, especially at a time when African countries need urgent ideas on waste management and recycling?

Firstly, there is the opportunity, before anything else. Did the opportunity make business sense? When we looked at the numbers, it made some sense and so we decided to take a shot at it. Environmental degradation caused by indiscriminate refuse disposal was another motivation and we believe strongly that our project addresses this and we must address this nationally if we must break this trend. Nigeria is a leader in Africa and we believe that this sets the tone for what is to come in the coming years. Recycling will not be immediate; a few things need to be put in place first and our project is a first step of the process and we are looking to get it right.

The location for our pilot is Abuja and we are starting here because the FCT management has made the job a bit easier for us with the ideas around their waste management. Setting up in other states may not have been so easy though it isn’t impossible. Once we have set up in the FCT and other states see the success of the project, we believe it will be easier to get their cooperation if we approach them.

Many projects like this usually have to go through a lot of red tape. What have you done to ensure that the project is a success?

We’ve come a long way but one key to the success of this project is not to rush the process. Government needs to do its part but we have been a little lucky with the positive responses from government knowing the project addresses a major environmental issue. Technically, we have prepared ourselves well and this is the main part that concerns us, a lot of credit will go to the team members.

Are you collaborating on this project?

Yes, we have to collaborate, especially with people that have done this before in other countries. Our strategic partner on environment is Greenplinth Africa Limited and we are also partnering with Germans, Chinese and the government. Collaboration is important for this to work.

Any plans to expand to other states?

This has to be a national project; waste management is a national issue and it affects the environment in a way that impacts us all. We are definitely going to go to other states to get this done. It has to be done.

What should Nigerians look forward to from your team?

Innovative ideas in proffering solutions to issues affecting us generally. This is only the beginning. You will be hearing from us in other sectors so be on the lookout.

In your opinion, why do you think power generation is still a big problem in the country?

Power generation is not the problem for Nigeria, transmission has been the main issue and I believe this administration has done a lot to tackle that aspect. A foundation has been laid for higher transmission of up 25,000MW and once this upgrade is completed, the in-coming administration should immediately begin the process of increasing our transmission capacity to 35,000MW or 50,000MW. That way, we are adequately prepared for the type of industrialisation we want.