Barely two years after its commissioning, the N5.6 billion solar hybrid power plant at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), has collapsed, throwing students and staff into erratic electricity supply and rising energy costs.
The 3.5-megawatt facility, inaugurated in September 2019 by then Vice President Yaptor Yemi Osinbajo, was hailed as Africa’s largest off-grid solar plant.
Executed by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) under the Energising Education Programme and handled by Greek firm METKA, the project powered lecture halls, offices, hostels and staff quarters during the day, cutting the university’s energy costs by over 60 percent.
By 2021, however, the plant developed faults and was shut down, forcing the institution back to diesel generators and the national grid. Staff and students said the collapse ended a period of uninterrupted daytime power that improved learning, security and productivity across the campus.
University workers attributed the failure to overuse, lack of storage facilities, rising maintenance costs and the absence of adequate technical involvement from BUK during implementation.
Inflation and prolonged inactivity reportedly worsened the d+mage, while electricity materials depreciated over time.
The REA has now announced plans to revive and expand the plant to 6MW under a N100 billion federal solarisation programme.
Speaking at the launch of the upgrade on November 20, 2025, REA Managing Director, Dr Abba Aliyu Abubakar, said the project would undergo a complete overhaul to deliver 24-hour power supply.
BUK Vice-Chancellor, Professor Haruna Musa, said the new phase would fully involve the university’s experts to ensure sustainability, noting that the school currently spends over N130 million monthly on electricity alone.
Staff and students welcomed the intervention but urged strict accountability to prevent a repeat of the failure.
