A Review of Professor Ekundayo Peter Mesagan’s 26th Inaugural Lecture, Pan-Atlantic University
Professor Ekundayo Peter Mesagan’s inaugural lecture delivered at the big agora of the Lagos Business School at the Honeywell Auditorium, Lekki, on the 9th October 2026 titled “Making Lemonade from Lemons: The Fossil Energy and Sustainability Puzzle” was a momentous occasion, where he presents a compelling intervention in one of the defining challenges of our time: how resource-rich economies can continue to benefit from fossil fuels without sacrificing environmental sustainability. Rather than treating fossil fuels solely as a problem, Prof. Mesagan advances a more nuanced proposition. The task, he argues, is not simply to abandon fossil fuels, but to transform their economic benefits into sustainable development outcomes.
At the heart of the lecture is a memorable metaphor. Fossil fuels are portrayed as “lemons” – valuable and economically transformative, yet capable of leaving a sour environmental legacy through greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainability, in turn, is the “lemonade” created when innovation, governance and strategic investments convert environmental challenges into opportunities for long-term prosperity.
The Persistence of the Fossil Fuel Dilemma
Professor Mesagan begins with a sobering reality. Despite decades of climate negotiations and commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement, fossil fuels continue to dominate global energy systems. According to him, global fossil-fuel-related carbon emissions increased from approximately 22 gigatons in 1990 to nearly 39 gigatons by 2024. The relationship is straightforward: greater fossil energy use continues to generate higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
The regional evidence shows important contrasts. Asia-Pacific has experienced the most dramatic growth in both energy consumption and emissions, driven largely by industrialisation and manufacturing expansion.
Europe, by contrast, demonstrates that economic growth can coexist with declining emissions through renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency measures and carbon-pricing mechanisms.
Africa occupies a different position altogether. Although its emissions remain comparatively lower, growing energy demand and development aspirations imply that the continent faces difficult choices regarding its future energy pathway.
Beyond the Climate Debate
A major strength of the lecture is its rejection of simplistic narratives. Mesagan avoids framing fossil fuels as inherently evil or renewable energy as a silver bullet. Instead, he recognises the developmental realities facing countries such as Nigeria.
For emerging economies, fossil fuels remain significant sources of government revenue, industrialisation and energy security. Yet these same resources can produce environmental degradation, governance failures and economic vulnerability. This duality forms the core puzzle of the lecture.
The challenge is not whether fossil fuels have created wealth. They clearly have. The challenge is ensuring that today’s prosperity does not become tomorrow’s environmental burden.
This perspective is particularly relevant for Africa, where energy poverty remains widespread. The lecturer repeatedly emphasises that energy transition policies must balance climate objectives with developmental realities, poverty reduction and access to affordable energy.
The Evolution of a Research Agenda
The inaugural lecture also doubles as an intellectual autobiography.
Mesagan traces his academic evolution from macroeconomic growth studies to an extensive body of work examining the interconnections among natural resources, environmental sustainability, finance, technology and energy transition. Between 2014 and 2026, his research progressively shifted from growth economics to sustainability-focused analysis, reflecting the changing priorities of global development discourse.
Particularly noteworthy is his contribution to understanding how capital investment, technological advancement and financial development can reduce environmental pressures while supporting economic growth. He argues that sustainable outcomes depend less on resource abundance itself than on the quality of institutions, governance and policy choices that accompany resource exploitation.
From Theory to Policy
An inaugural lecture is at its strongest when it translates research into actionable recommendations; and this was pointedly and powerfully done by Professor Mesagan.
Influenced by the works of several national and global scholars such as Feridun, Ayadi, & Balouga (2006) on the influence of trade liberalisation on emerging nations’ environment and Eregha & Nwokoma (2014) on the nexus between environment and foreign investment flows in the West African
Monetary Zone, stimulated my early creativity. Others such as Andreoni & Levinson (2001) and Dasgupta et al. (2002), which focused on how to operationalise and theorise the interlinkages between pollution and economic productivity, plus that of David Stern on issues surrounding the rise and fall of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) (see Stern, 2003; 2004) provided the earliest theoretical and expository arguments for Professor Mesagan’s research and have helped shape his contributions to this field of scientific enquiry.
To drive home his policy perspective, he proposes five practical pathways through which oil-rich countries can transform “lemons” into “lemonade”:
1. Invest oil revenues in green infrastructure and renewable energy technologies.
2. Expand Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) projects to reduce industrial emissions and participate effectively in emerging carbon markets.
3. Use natural gas as a transition fuel to bridge the gap between oil dependence and renewable energy adoption.
4. Diversify national energy portfolios through systematic investment in solar, hydro and wind energy.
5. Strengthen governance and carbon-pricing frameworks to align economic incentives with sustainability objectives.
What distinguishes these recommendations is their pragmatism. Rather than advocating an abrupt departure from fossil fuels, Mesagan argues for a managed transition that recognises economic realities while steadily reducing environmental costs.
Future Research Direction:
To further reinforce his quest for academic advancement, he put forward the following as his subject of focus
1. Climate financing, green energy access and climate vulnerability issues.
2. The role of CCUS and carbon markets in shaping Africa’s quest for net-zero emissions.
3. The role of renewable energy integration in powering artificial intelligence (AI) for sustainability, given the growing environmental concerns of AI.
4. Energy storage and the socio-economic dimensions of energy transition.
Final Assessment
Professor Mesagan’s inaugural lecture succeeds in accomplishing what the best inaugural lectures often do: it combines personal academic reflection with a broader societal agenda. The “lemons-to-lemonade” metaphor provides an accessible framework through which complex energy and environmental debates can be understood without sacrificing analytical depth.
The central message is clear. Fossil fuels may remain indispensable in the short to medium term, particularly in developing economies. However, their long-term legitimacy depends on whether governments, businesses and societies can convert fossil-fuel wealth into cleaner technologies, stronger institutions and more sustainable development pathways. In this sense, the lecture offers not only a review of a distinguished scholarly career but also a practical roadmap for navigating Africa’s energy future.
Muhammad A. Akanji is a Senior Research Fellow and Data analyst at BusinessDay Media with over a decade of experience and a keen focus on Nigeria’s macroeconomy, public finance, and development reform analytics. His writing examines the intersection of data, governance, and inclusive growth, with published analyses spanning monetary policy, fiscal transparency, and social-sector resilience. His articles provide a thought-provoking angle to socio-economic issues for private-sector executives, development practitioners, and civic organisations on navigating Nigeria’s rapidly evolving economic landscape. A keen observer of geopolitical trends and domestic policy shifts, Akanji brings a data-driven, evidence-rich approach to storytelling; bridging complex economic realities with clear, accessible insight for decision-makers and the informed public.
