Nigerian Entrepreneur Builds Electric Mini-Buses in Clean Energy Push

Motorist queue to buy fuel in short supply resulting in traffic gridlock following the discovery of contaminated fuel in supply in filling stations across the country, especially in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub on February 9, 2022. (AFP)
Motorist queue to buy fuel in short supply resulting in traffic gridlock following the discovery of contaminated fuel in supply in filling stations across the country, especially in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub on February 9, 2022. (AFP)
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Nigerian Entrepreneur Builds Electric Mini-Buses in Clean Energy Push

Motorist queue to buy fuel in short supply resulting in traffic gridlock following the discovery of contaminated fuel in supply in filling stations across the country, especially in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub on February 9, 2022. (AFP)
Motorist queue to buy fuel in short supply resulting in traffic gridlock following the discovery of contaminated fuel in supply in filling stations across the country, especially in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub on February 9, 2022. (AFP)

Nigerian entrepreneur Mustapha Gajibo has been converting petrol mini-buses into electric vehicles at his workshop, but he is now going a step further to build solar battery-powered buses from scratch in a push to promote clean energy and curb pollution.

Africa's top producer and exporter of crude oil has heavily-subsidized gasoline and a patchy supply of electricity -- a combination that might discourage anyone from investing in electric vehicles.

But Gajibo, a 30-year-old university drop-out and resident of Maiduguri city in Nigeria's northeast, is undaunted. He says rising global oil prices and pollution make electric vehicles a worthwhile alternative in Nigeria.

At his workshop, he has already stripped combustion engines from 10 mini-buses, powering them with solar batteries. The buses, which have been operating for just over a month, cover a distance of 100 km on a single charge, he said.

His most ambitious project is building the buses from scratch. They will be equipped with solar panels and batteries.

"As I am speaking to you now at our workshop, we are building a 12-seater bus which can cover up to 200 kilometers on one charge," Gajibo said.

"Before the end of this month we are going to unveil that bus, which will be the first of its kind in the whole of Nigeria," he said, adding that his workshop had capacity to produce 15 buses a month.

In Nigeria, like most of Africa, electric vehicles have not yet gained traction because they are more expensive and there is little electricity and no infrastructure to charge vehicles.

For now, Gajibo has one charging station powered by solar.

There are other hurdles like foreign currency shortages that make it difficult to import parts. So, he is looking to source them in Nigeria.

"We have been substituting some materials with local materials to bring our costs down and maximize profit," said Gajibo.



Google Tests Verified Check Marks in Search Results

A logo of Google is seen on the wall during the groundbreaking ceremony for Malaysia's first Google data center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 01 October 2024. (EPA)
A logo of Google is seen on the wall during the groundbreaking ceremony for Malaysia's first Google data center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 01 October 2024. (EPA)
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Google Tests Verified Check Marks in Search Results

A logo of Google is seen on the wall during the groundbreaking ceremony for Malaysia's first Google data center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 01 October 2024. (EPA)
A logo of Google is seen on the wall during the groundbreaking ceremony for Malaysia's first Google data center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 01 October 2024. (EPA)

Alphabet's Google is testing showing check marks next to certain companies on its search results, a company spokesperson said on Friday, in a move aimed at helping users identify verified sources and steer clear of fake websites.

Fraudulent websites impersonating official businesses or services could creep up in online search results, leading users to view false information about the business, deceiving users and potentially harming the brand.

"We regularly experiment with features that help shoppers identify trustworthy businesses online, and we are currently running a small experiment showing checkmarks next to certain businesses on Google," the spokesperson said.

Google already uses automated systems to identify pages with "scammy" or fraudulent content and prevent them from showing up in the search results.

The Verge reported the development earlier on Friday, adding that it spotted blue verified checkmarks next to official site links for companies including Microsoft, Meta and Apple on search results.

Only some users were able to see the feature, the Verge said, indicating Google has not rolled out the test widely yet.