Aisha Salisu: Women’s role in powering energy transition

Chief Executive Officer of March Energy, Aisha Salisu, was a speaker at Dotmount Communications’s Future Forward Forum on February 18, 2023. The speakers and attendees dialogued on the theme: “The Power of Networking in the Digital Era”, it was strictly curated for female business owners and CEO’s, and was graced by heavy weights in today’s industry.

Aisha Salisu discussed ‘Women’s Role in Powering the Energy Transition.’ She began her keynote with a history of women who inspired her to becoming the fierce woman that she is today, and how it took her sometime to find what she was passionate about.

She made a connection between “networking up and networking down”, and gave a story of how she “networked up, leveraging on her then organisation to be able to transition to another sector. Being a banker, she was diligent in service, which wasn’t particularly easy especially coming from a political science background. But because of her tenacity and willingness to learn she was able to succeed, saying “the easiest way to network is to be indispensable that will be the way to network without introducing yourself.”

Salisu, then spoke about leveraging her connections to start a business. She further spoke about the importance of research, and regaled the audience with a story where she had been convinced to haul petroleum products and hadn’t done sufficient research that led to her paying the price afterwards.

After, her introduction she delved into her topic on climate change and energy transition. Hajia Aisha Salisu began by imploring the women in the room to be open to the concept of climate change as it affects us.

She defined Energy transition according to (S&P Global, 2020). as “The worldwide shift away from fossil-based energy production and consumption systems, such as coal, natural gas, and oil, and toward renewable sources of energy, such as solar, wind, and lithium-ion batteries.”

Read also: Fewer women in elective positions despite efforts

She also emphasized the need for energy mix for the country as natural gas which Nigeria has in abundance is the cleanest fossil fuel and is widely regarded as a critical component in the world’s transition to a cleaner future.

The Nigerian government has also stated its position on the use of gas as a transitional fuel.
As Nigerians we value oil, but it is time to move away from it to other cleaner energy solutions such as gas, solar, wind, and other renewables. The reason is that oil emit greenhouse gasses alter temperature of the environment, and harms the climate”

Hajia Aisha Salisu then made a connection between climate change, food security and insecurity, stating that if our climate was in a good condition we would have more opportunities available for people suffering in the North East as result of insecurity. She also emphasized the need for curbing food wastage by utilizing renewable such as wind and solar

Additionally, Hajia gave a striking instance about how most casualties in the Turkey earthquake were women and children further emphasizing the need for women to take a stand on climate change.

Salisu concluded her keynote by saying women should start taking up more space to be able to effect the change needed in the environment. She also proffered some credible solutions such as: women participating in climate action and conversations, taking up corporate spaces, and educating our girl children.