Nigeria, Feb. 18 -- In rural Nigeria, where nights are silent and dark, over 20,000 communities, as declared by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), remain without the glow of electricity. This stark reality shines a harsh light on a significant issue: the whereabouts of the loans intended for rural electrification.

The World Bank and the African Development Bank have been pivotal in funding Nigeria's quest to light up its rural areas. The World Bank, for instance, has committed over $350 million through the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), aiming to electrify over 1 million households, 250,000 businesses, and 37 universities. Additionally, an extra $200 million has been pledged by the African Development Bank to support this in...