Nigerians who witnessed the 1950s,’60s and ’70s hold
fond memories of their country. “In those days’’, they often reminisce,
“Nigeria used to be a very good country to live in.”
Darkness welcomes Buhari
Then they would reel off reasons why their time was
better off: a better standard of education, availability of jobs for qualified
Nigerians, security, very low level of corruption in the public service as well
as the private sector, government provision of low-income quarters for the
working class and low-income earners, non-existent shortage of petroleum
products, good and regular water supply among others. But a major reason why
they would wish they could roll back the clock is electric power supply.
“In the sixties”, reminisces Pa Rufus Olamide, a
retired school principal and landlord at Yaba, Lagos, “we used to have regular
and uninterrupted electric supply.
Not these ineffectual Power Holding and DISCOs they
talk about these days. It used to be ECN (Electric Corporation of Nigeria),
till it was changed to NEPA (National Electric Power Authority) sometime in the
70s. Even under NEPA, we used to enjoy light.”
The old man recalls when he built his house in 1978,
revealing that he had only one consumption-reading metre for the whole
building. “At the end of each month, I received NEPA bill and shared it among
myself and all my tenants according to units. No crazy bills then. NEPA
officials came to read the metre and billed you accordingly.”
Corruption creeps in
According to Pa Olamide, “The problems of electric
supply started in the early 90s. That was when NEPA officials started demanding
for bribe not to cut your light if you owed. With the fall of regular supply,
consumers then started having more than one phase and illegal connections
became rampant.” He blames it all on corruption.
“I wish this generation witnessed our time”, he says.
“They would have known what is called enjoyment. Now, there’s pretense of
generator being evidence of enjoyment. It’s suffering.”
The old man could not be far off from the truth. The
old times were definitely better off. It is the same old and better times that
every government since 1999 wished they could take Nigeria to: better living
conditions for the people, good and affordable housing, good standard of
education, employment, security, very low level of corruption, good and regular
water supply, availability of petroleum products, and especially regular and
uninterrupted power supply!
Regular supply of electricity is one of the most
important commodities for national development, but it is a major problem which
has defied every government since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999,
as the country currently has one of the lowest net electricity generation per
capita rates in the world. With electrical energy, the people are empowered to
work from the domestic level and the cottage industries, through the
small-scale and medium industries to employment in the large-scale
manufacturing complexes. Depriving people of electric power is therefore
tantamount to castration.
The power supply system in Nigeria is run with a
shortfall where demand exceeds supply. As controversial as the epileptic supply
of electricity in Nigeria is, so also are the various attempts by different
governments to find a lasting solution to the problem.
Failed attempts
Since 1999, power management in Nigeria has gone
through various phases to ensure adequate, safe, reliable and affordable power
supply. All clearly to no avail as Nigerians still groan under irregular or in
most cases, no-power supply, but consistent billing.
On its take over of the mantle of leadership on May
29, 1999, the government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was reported to have met
the power generation level left by his predecessor, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar,
at between 2,000 to 2,500 megawatts per day, at a time Nigeria was required to
generate 100,000 megawatts as the country’s requirement for both industrial and
domestic needs.
Nigerians were, therefore, filled with high
expectations on the coming of Obasanjo, especially on power; expectations which
were heightened by the promise by then newly appointed Minister for Power, late
Chief Bola Ige, who assured Nigerians of uninterrupted power supply in 6
months, by December of that year.
Not only did Chief Ige not meet his promise, Obasanjo
himself did abracadabra with power for whole eight years. He initiated the
Independent Power Projects (IPPs), allegedly wasting $15, and the best most
Nigerians got was blinking of light, which they also paid exorbitantly for. A
few years after leaving office, the ex-president attempted to rationalize his
failure on power supply by alleging that “then, we had no money. People have
forgotten that in 1999/2000, the price of crude oil was $9 per barrel”, but
that “when we started having money, we started the National Integrated Power
Plant.” Certainly Nigerians have since come to realize the source of the $15
billion allegedly wasted on non-available power, which has continued to leave
Nigerians groaning under darkness.
Though the short-lived government of former President
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is not reputed for achieving much on power supply, that
government is known to have increased the megawatts from the about 2,000 it met
it in 2007 to between 3,500 to 4,000 when Yar’Adua passed on. But as far as
power is concerned, the best memories Nigerians have of him is that his
government instigated the House of Representatives’ probe of Obasanjo’s power
projects, which revealed the controversial wasted $15 billion.
With the passing on of Yar’Adua, and the emergence of
outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan as eventual President, Nigerians were
again filled with exciting expectations over the possibilities of remarkable
changes in their socio-economic lives, not excluding improvement on power
supply. He was the first doctorate degree holder to lead Nigeria, the people
were rightly informed, so changes should be expected.
But six years after, as President Jonathan was
vacating Aso Rock Presidential Villa, the indelible impression Nigerians have
of him is that he left the power situation worse than he met it. The most
notable power policy of that government was to unbundle the Power Holding
Company of Nigeria (PHCN), breaking it into five power generation companies
(GENCOs) and 10 distribution companies (DISCOs). The purpose of which was to
privatize PHCN, for which there have been several accusations that he sold PHCN
to his cronies.
But unfortunately, not much differences have been felt
by the people. While the DISCOs and GENCOs are grappling with their numerous
challenges, electricity consumers have continued to accuse them of
insensitivity to their plights. For example, consumers nationwide allege that
they are being extorted monthly through estimated bills, exorbitant tariff and
non-supply of metres, while electricity supply is yet to improve.
This means that the long wait for uninterrupted power
supply continued till President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in May 29, as the
GENCOs and DISCOs were still grappling with the numerous challenges, while the
immediate past government was yet to solve the problems inherent in the
transmission network, the backbone of the electricity sector. They failed
totally.
The Jonathan government, however, regularly claimed
that it increased the megawatts from the about 3,500 it met it in 2010, to
4,000; a position that has continued to be frequently disputed by experts in
the know, alleging that it left it hovering between 2,500 and 3,000 which
further dropped below 2,000 in his last month in office, worse than Nigerians
had ever known in more than two decades.
State of power supply nationwide
As at mid this week, President Buhari’s first week in
office, persistent consumers’ complaints of operational ineptitude and
fraudulent dealings by electricity distribution companies across Nigeria stand
to prove that the improvement in electricity supply expected from the
privatisation of the country’s electricity assets by the past government did not
meet the expectations of Nigerians. This is even no longer news.
There had been and there still are nationwide cries by
electricity consumers against the DISCOs, of exorbitant tariff, non-supply of
metres, non-supply of electricity, extortion through estimated bills among
other accusations. The lamentation is a nationwide thing, indicative of how
every Nigerian is negatively affected. And it was kudos to the court that
restrained them from further hiking the tariff last week.
In Lagos, where Eko and Ikeja DISCOs hold the fort,
consumers’ complaints are prevalent. Many residents are frustrated by the poor
electricity supply and its adverse impacts on their businesses.
Some of the areas most affected, and whose residents
lament poor power supply in Lagos include Magodo, Isheri, Ajegunle, Ebute Meta,
Cele, Oluti, Navy Town, Isolo, Amuwo-Odofin, Surulere, Ojodu Berger, Isashi,
Badagry etc. the story is same in other parts of the country.
Mrs. Ellen Adakwu, a resident of Ijegun-Satellite axis
of Oriade Development Area, who deals in frozen foods, laments, “My business
has been shut down for the past two months due to total power outage at Ijegun.
The other option of using generator has been disrupted by obvious scarcity of
fuel.”
“Power failure is agonizing”, quips Madam Christie
Mba, a fashion designer at Iwaya, Yaba. “But more horrific is forcing us to pay
for what we don’t consume.”
“For billing us for electricity they don’t supply,
we’re just paying for what we don’t use”, laments Mr. Joe Amun, a businessman
at Olodi Apapa. “At times we are without light for two months, and they will
come with high bills.” Street protests by Lagos residents against power outage
and exorbitant bills is a common occurrence.
Like it is in Lagos, so also it is in other
South-Western States. In Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara and part of Ekiti, which all
fall under Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), the stories are the
same.
Only recently, some aggrieved consumers protested in
Omu-Aran, Kwara State, over sudden high increase in electricity tariff effected
in the January bills in the area by IBEDC. “What do these people take us for?”
one of the protesters asked rhetorically. “Why must they increase tariff when
they don’t even provide light?”
The story is not different in the South-South, where
Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) is in charge of Edo, Delta, Ondo
and part of Ekiti States; and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company
(PHED), under which falls Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom States.
There was protest a few weeks ago in Warri, the
commercial hub of Delta State, over what was termed “outrageous and strange
billing” by officials of BEDC; while a few days to the governorship election on
April 11, some residents of Diobu area of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State
capital, staged a peaceful protest to register their anger over poor power
supply. The Diobu residents accused PHED of deliberately leaving them in
darkness over the previous three months even after distributing outrageous
monthly bills to the area, and threatened not to vote, unless the state
government and relevant authorities addressed their plight.
“Power supply has been very epileptic”, lamented Mr.
Nkem Charles, a resident of Port Harcourt. “We could plan with the light in the
past but the story is different now since this year. The privatization is a
huge failure. I pray General Buhari will focus on this area.” In the
South-East, where Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) is the
distributor in charge of Enugu, Abia, Imo, Anambra and Ebonyi States, there
have been general complaints by consumers. A consumer in Enugu laments: “We’re
buffeted with astronomical bills for non-supplied power. Where you see power,
they engage in load shedding. We will continue to cry out until the issue of
power supply is addressed because it is at the heart of socio-economic
empowerment of the people.”
The story is not different in the North-East, where
Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) is in charge of Adamawa, Borno,
Taraba and Yobe States. From Yola, it is reported that as at last week, the
services of YEDC has continued to degenerate so low that most parts of the
state capital stay for days without electricity supply.
And from Damaturu is the report that the epileptic
power supply in the state capital has degenerated into total blackout to the
extent that the suffering masses presently doubt the existence of a DISCO in
the state. “I can’t tell the difference between PHCN and YEDC”, laments a
resident, Mr. Alfred Levi.
The power supply situation in the North-Central is not
different. Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) covers Plateau, Bauchi,
Benue and Gombe States; while Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC)
covers Abuja FCT, Niger, Kogi and Nassarawa States. From Jos, the Plateau State
capital comes the report that electricity distribution has been having hitches
in the past two months with consumers who do not have the pre-paid metres
complaining about exorbitant estimated bills.
“We’re suffering unnecessarily”, a Jos consumer complains.
“There’s is over-billing, lack of adequate power supply, non-reflection of part
payment of arrears on current bills issued as well as delay by officials in
looking into complaints made to PHCN offices.” However, the Assistant Head,
Public Relations of JEDC, Hajia Lubabatu Rabiu says lack of effective power
supply is a national problem but that they “are working effectively to meet
customers’ demand.”
In Abuja FCT, the Abuja Electricity Distribution
Company (AEDC) recently called on electricity consumers in the Federal Capital
Territory to be patient over the present state of power in its service area.
Consumers regularly file various complaints ranging
from metre recharge hitches to protracted power outage in parts of the Federal
Capital and Nasarawa State.
From Gombe is the report of consumers’ complaints of
frequent outages and longer periods of blackout, which has left much to be
desired. Mr. Sunday Uzoh, a Gombe-resident businessman believes there are
people sabotaging the system.
From the North-West, where Kaduna Electricity
Distribution Company (KEDC) is in charge of Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara
States, and Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) is in charge of Kano,
Jigawa and Katsina States, complaints by consumers are the same.
Residents of Kaduna recently complained of frequent
outages in the town, saying that they have experienced severe power cuts since
December last year.
A resident says power supply has drastically dropped
since the takeover by the private investors. “We used to enjoy up to 12 hours
of power supply, unfortunately, the trend has changed.”
In Kano State, like other states of the federation,
residents have been grappling with unstable and erratic power supply, which no
doubt has virtually crippled industrial establishments, as these businesses
solely depend on electricity in order to sustain production capacity.
There is no doubt that the government of Dr. Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan did not live up to the expectations of Nigerians, be it better
living conditions, good and affordable housing, good standard of education,
employment, security, very low level of corruption, good and regular water
supply, availability of petroleum products, and especially regular and
uninterrupted power supply! The symbolism of the failure of the immediate past
government to adequately provide electricity for the country is that this
failure rubbed off on every other single sector of the needs of the people,
leaving darkness in its wake. From unemployment, insecurity, crisis in health
and education sectors to infrastructure, the darkness that hovered over Nigeria
at the beginning of Dr. Jonathan’s administration deepened by the time he
handed over last week.
He left the country in crisis with fuel shortage
crippling the economy in spite of the huge sum of money his administration
doled out as subsidies, another scam that his government is believed to have
perpetuated, enriching a few individuals and impoverishing millions of
Nigerians. The Jonathan administration weakened Nigerian institutions and
empowered individuals and the result was the emergence of billionaires from
subsidy scams, inflation of contracts, various oil businesses, etc while more
Nigerians wallowed in poverty.
What next?
It is the norm worldwide that when a new government
takes over the mantle of leadership, citizens’ expectations are naturally high.
The expectations of Nigerians from President Muhammadu Buhari are therefore
high. The Nigerian people clearly expect him to lift the veil of darkness
beclouding the country, bringing light and brightness, especially starting with
the provision of electric power.
He promised change; and Nigerians need change, in
every facet of national life. It is now up to the new president to prove to old
generation Nigerians like Pa Rufus Olamide that the people do not necessarily
need to return to the past to enjoy the best life can offer, that the future
can be made better with the country’s God-endowed resources. The future
definitely can be made better and light may begin to outshine the darkness of
the Jonathan days. The journey could have begun last Saturday with the change
of government.
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