Starved Of Positive News Since The Boko Haram Insurgency, Maiduguri Is Now Beaming With Good News Concerning Home Made Electric Vehicles
The Oasis Reporters
October 27, 2025
When University drop out, Mustapha Gajibo decided to take the step of becoming an entrepreneur in early 2022 to start by converting petrol mini-buses into electric vehicles at his workshop, and finally going a step further to build solar battery-powered buses from scratch in a push to promote clean energy and curb pollution, little did he know the bush fire that he was lighting in Maiduguri to start a new light that would shine brightly in good news starved Bornu State, North East Nigeria. The light is about to shine all over Nigeria.
Africa’s top producer and exporter of crude oil had heavily-subsidised gasoline and a patchy supply of electricity — a combination that might discourage anyone from investing in electric vehicles by 2022. But Gajibo took the plunge anyway.
Nigeria may have solved its endemic petrol shortage crisis that lasted for decades until the Dangote Refinery came on stream, as it plans to double production right away.
With the federal government subsidy on petrol out of the way and the pump purchase price of petrol at over 1,000 naira per liter, Nigerians are feeling the pinch because not everyone can afford to purchase it. Thus, hundreds of petrol guzzling cars are locked up in car parks and garages of even the rich, gathering dust. Their owners can’t use them neither can they sell them because the outside world long since steered their driving to electric vehicles.
It would seem like Gajibo saw tomorrow, after opening his bedroom window to behold the abundant sunshine that Maiduguri has to offer.
The technology on his mind was in converting petrol powered cars to electric powered vehicles.
It’s a winner as owners of petrol cars seem willing to auction their cars at rock bottom prices and be free from the fast disappearing technology that must make way for the new.
Most buses and cars in Maiduguri are powered by electricity, saving huge costs on maintenance and running costs, and Gajibo is using home based technology, even as he seems to be unable to meet up with growing demand.
Talk about using the bountiful gifts of nature to advantage and growing rich by it.
Many car owners in Southern Nigeria are hawking their cars without getting serious buyers. If only they could find money for petrol and drive them to Maiduguri which is about two days on the road through fear infested roads with suspicions of bandits lurking in the bushes. They could convert them if they took the chance to move them to the north east.
Or have their own conversion workshops down South. That way, life on wheels would come back anew with burstling new energy.
Greg Abolo
