Reforming Nigeria’s Power Sector in Conundrum by Chukwuemeka Oluka
If anyone still doubts that Nigeria’s power sector is in a conundrum, then, that person may need to be critically examined more than the crisis-driven sector itself.
power
Don’t be deceived by Buhari’s silence.
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others — playing people against one another, making them pursue you. ~ #20 in Robert Greene’s 48 Laws Of Power I am always entertained by the social media rants of my fellow country people. Ours is a country that is never in lack of news stories and trust us to milk, twist and turn every topic to suit our subjective narratives. And in an executive system of government, the buck always stops at the commander in chief’s desk. That’s why Nigerians demand solutions from the president even in matters that should otherwise be handled by a ward councillor. A common portrayal of President Buhari on social media and sometimes in the mainstream is that of an apathetic leader immutably aloof from our constant bickerings. That he is a stooge oblivious of the happenings around him let alone in the country. It has even been suggested somewhat preposterously that the ‘cabal’ led by Kyari has him caged and controlled at their whim. And these speculations have oftentimes been fortified by the periodic outbursts of an outspoken First Lady who doesn’t shy away from the mic whenever her interests are seemingly encumbered. But I am not fooled and you shouldn’t be too. How can I possibly believe that a man whose lifelong ambition was to become the president is unaware of the happenings around him? The President knows exactly what he is doing but perhaps like my village people will say he doesn’t know what is ‘doing’ him. Doubt me? Let me explain my position with this brief historical account of the life and times of Queen Elizabeth I. The 16th Century Queen of England popularly known as the “Virgin Queen” is reputed to have stringently utilised Robert Greene’s 20th law up till her death as a single virgin. For many years after her ascension to the throne, she was continuously pressurised to get married to the extent that it became a topic for debate in the British Parliament. But she remained calm in the midst of all the speculations and never argued against the Parliament while she manipulated two French Dukes with hopes of marriage in order to get a peace treaty endorsed by France and England. Her non-committal strategy was used to the Empire’s advantage which eventually underlined her reign as a period of incomparable peace and cultural fertility. Perhaps no current leader exemplifies this law better than Donald Trump. He is committed to none but himself and has fired more officials than any other American President. Through his campaign, he held the GOP by the jugular and even threatened to go it all alone with the people if the party refuses to back him. Now as the POTUS, when he does not get what he wants from the Republicans, he threatens to work with the Democrats just like he praises America’s adversaries when he wants to get more from her allies. It is this same tactic that President Buhari has ‘hybridized’ and continuously deployed to his advantage. In his running battle with the Saraki led Senate, in taking the anti-corruption war to the judiciary and against his political opponents in the run-up to the last general election. In order not to bore you with past stories we shall explore a few recent examples. Not long ago we were shocked with the news that the National Security Adviser accused the president’s chief of staff Abba Kyari of undue and dangerous interference on national security matters. In a leaked memo the Monguno disclosed that the insubordination and uncooperative attitude of the security chiefs precipitated a lack of central coordination of other security agencies in the country with the resultant deterioration of an already precarious security situation. Nigerians bayed for action, demanding Kyari’s sack while reiterating the call for an overhaul of the national security apparatus. Our lawmakers joined the chorus too and asked the president to consider replacing his service chiefs. Buhari did not budge. What came of that? Thereafter the squabble in the ruling APC which hitherto was limited to Oshiomhole’s brickbats with his political godson in Edo state burgeoned into a full-scale war for the party’s leadership. Clandestine meetings were held, alliances were forged and battle lines were drawn. The pro and anti-Oshiomhole groups filled the political space with noise and chest-thumping. Many called for Buhari’s intervention to quell a rising inferno with potentially cataclysmic consequences for his party and by extension the country. The man didn’t utter a word. Even when the matter became the subject of litigation in different courts he maintained his silence. How did that end? Currently, many Nigerians have suddenly turned into doctors and medical experts since the #COVID19 outbreak, dishing out ‘information’ via posts, essays and even videos on how to beat the virus with garlic, bitter kola and brine. The more politically charged citizens have been infuriated by Buhari’s stubborn unwillingness to address the nation notwithstanding that the NCDC ably led by Dr Chikwe and other health agency have been on top of the matter updating Nigerians almost on an hourly basis. Whatsmore the President has mandated the SGF Boss Mustapha to coordinate these efforts. But we are implacable, many want to see the president himself talking directly to the nation in a press conference. Ironically most of those demanding this are only interested in hearing the president goof rather than the measures taken by the government to combat the crisis. Nevertheless, you have to understand their collective peeve. I mean what could possibly be more exasperating than seeing the pictures of Lagos state governor Sanwo-Olu presenting the president with the visuals of last Sunday’s tragic explosion in Abule Ado? What manner of insensitivity is that? And coming just days after the same President was pictured live in Argungu beaming all 32 as he was welcomed by dignitaries for the fishing festival.
Speaking Truth To Power by Emmanuel Oluka.
If this essay took five days to be written, the writer probably spent four days trying to decipher a befitting title or caption for it. This is not to mean that he experienced writer’s block, neither was he ill-prepared. It was simply because he understood the seriousness and sensitivities around the topic. Yet, like whirlwinds, the stories keep evolving by the day. Indeed, the writer had up to ten (10) captions justling to adorn the top central position of the essay; but in the end, “speaking truth to power” won the intense struggle. It’s anticipated that by the end of the essay, the reader will understand why the truth was spoken to power. In the meantime, the phrase, “speaking truth to power” means to confront those who hold higher positions of authority and power, and to demand response in the form of a solution to an existing problem. Speaking truth to power connotes bravery; it connotes risking one’s reputation and can trigger the wrath of the person being confronted. This is exactly the case between a cleric of the Catholic Church and Diocese of Enugu, Nigeria, Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka, and the Nigerian Presidency. Background The fearless Catholic priest and spiritual director of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Nigeria is reputed for speaking truth to power and attracting the wrath of those in political authorities by calling them out and exposing the injustices and bad governance under their watch; while demanding improvement. In a midweek homily delivered at the Adoration ground in Enugu on the 28th of April 2021, Fr. Mbaka demanded the impeachment of Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari over the ugly spate of insecurity in the country. He lamented that the President and chief security officer could remain quiet amid the killings and deaths in Nigeria, insisting that he (Buhari) has lost touch with realities. According to him, President Buhari would’ve resigned following the insecurity in the country, while maintaining that no civilized leader would choose to sit tight while people die anyhow. In the same homily, Mbaka specifically mandated the National Assembly to urgently impeach the president if he doesn’t want to resign. He warned the lawmakers about grave consequences awaiting them should they fail to impeach the president and instead attack him (Mbaka). In a swift reaction, however, the Presidency through its spokesperson, Garba Shehu, issued a statement decrying how Mbaka, who had supported Buhari twice to win the Presidency, could turn around and seek his resignation or impeachment because he (Mbaka) was denied federal government contracts. Garba Shehu’s verified Twitter handle also corroborated the same contract-seeking allegation leveled against Rev. Fr. Mbaka. Responding to the allegation, Fr. Mbaka admitted taking three security contractors to the president. Sunday Punch of 2nd May 2021 reported that, “he (Mbaka) did not know the contractors before meeting them, and that he only did after they told him they could help solve Nigeria’s security problems”. Corroborating the cleric’s position in his Sunday homily of 2nd May 2021 and made available to the public, he said, “Yes, I led three security experts to the Presidency; they offered to help salvage the security situation in Nigeria.” He said he never knew them, maintaining they came to Enugu and pleaded he took them to the Presidency following the spate of insecurity and how Nigeria has been moving oil outside the country. He said further, “These (the three security experts) are the three people they rejected their offer.” From the matters arising afterward, Mbaka even dared the ruling government and the All Progressive Congress (APC) party to report him to the Vatican if they wanted. He said this after he had presented his positions and cleared the air on the allegations leveled against him. Reactions and Opinions Following these developments and reading through reactions and public opinions in social and mainstream media, they reflect divergent views; and indeed, people are free to react the way they wanted. Particularly, reactions trailing this development are so, because of the erstwhile political alliance between the Presidency and Rev. Fr. Mbaka. This dates back to 2015 when Mbaka had supported and prophesied about Buhari’s emergence as president. Many couldn’t just understand how Fr. Mbaka could renege on this political alliance to demand Buhari’s resignation or impeachment, following the romance he once had with the Presidency. That prompts the question; Is Mbaka speaking out of both sides of his mouth or directly from God? The Holy Bible in 1st Samuel Chapter 15 captures the story of how God sent Samuel to anoint Saul as king but later withdrew the kingship from Saul when he (Saul) reneged on the mandate God gave him (1 Sam 15:10). In President Buhari’s case, his primary mandate remains the security of the lives and property of Nigerians. The people as well as Fr. Mbaka, gave this mandate to Buhari. But then, it is no longer news that this mandate appears untenable, as the nation’s security, under Buhari’s watch continues to go south. This is why Mbaka called for the President’s resignation and impeachment. Now, is this what speaking out of both sides of the mouth entails? Should Mbaka have been quiet, politically loyal, and sycophantic, just the way other (Buhari) supporters would be? Think about it. Nonetheless, the writer wouldn’t want to dwell so much on Mbaka’s previous political allegiance with the President. Rather, the writer would prefer to face the real issue(s) currently raised by the Catholic cleric. To this end, what were the burning issue(s) Rev. Fr. Mbaka raised in his recent homily? He raised the issue of insecurity, killings, and death; and these are all glaring issues. Under Buhari’s watch, Nigeria has continued to rank poorly on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI). As of 2020, Nigeria became the third most impacted country on the terrorism index – a position it has retained since 2015. Yet, a few days ago, Nigerians witnessed the uproar involving a cabinet member of this administration allegedly being linked with terrorism. We also saw how the same Presidency
We cannot ‘unlook’ in darkness to the Next Level.
Here in Nigeria, people seem to accept the unacceptable revelations of how politicians share millions of Naira belonging to the nation. The newspapers report them and the television speaks about them, but people just laugh; they laugh because they have been shocked to the state of unshockability. The truth that all this brings home so sadly is that Nigerians, in the main regard themselves as passing sojourners on the geographical amalgam called Nigeria. ~Dele Giwa Last week, in a fit of righteous indignation Sam Amadi made startling revelations about how former President Jonathan and his co-travellers scammed Nigerians in the guise of power sector privatisation by selling the DISCOs to ‘straw men’. In a series of tweets to counter the allegations of complicity in our current predicament, the former NERC boss exhumed the massive corruption and gross incompetence in the sector which he explicitly said was designed to fail. Hear him: “The power sector was designed to fail. We failed to corporatise and commercialise before privatising; we privatise senselessly without paying attention to context and corporate governance and regulatory regime; we sold to investors who lacked capacity,” To put it in another perspective and perhaps even more bluntly, we have just been told to get ready for more years of darkness! Yet this story did not trend, at least not like it should considering the enormity of the details divulged and the gravity of its consequences. Rather government officials, media houses, content creators and our so-called ‘social media influencers’ have dwelt on the facile change of title by Aisha Buhari and other trifles. Of course, Jonathan is not the only beneficiary of that dubious exercise, members of the ruling elite including some influential figures in the ruling party benefited from the filthy lucre. We know them. If you don’t, then I suggest you peruse the ownership nomenclature of the DISCOs at the Corporate Affairs Commission to know that the apple truly doesn’t fall far from the tree. These folks who have filched our collective patrimony for ages probably gathered in a hotel room somewhere and appropriated the power sector and this is why they are livid with Buhari who has refused to toe the same line. They are the same group that Iyabo Obasanjo referred to in her coruscating letter of 2013 where she not only accused her father of having an egoistic craving for power to live as the king among men of low esteem and intellect but also described Nigeria as a country so pauperised by the ruling class that smart, capable people prostrate before simpletons for patronage. Unfortunately, just like every other nation, the masses will always bear the brunt of such depravity by her leaders. The only distinction with the Nigerian situation is the seeming willingness to carry on as if it is a norm. Why we are so docile? Why do we revel in frivolities? Why are we not infuriated by the abysmal performance of those we put in charge of our affairs? I have often pondered these questions and each time I struggle to avoid a conclusion similar to what a friend echoed two days ago as we argued about the NASS leadership elections. Just like the late Dele Giwa’s sentiments quoted above, my friend opined that a majority of Nigerians do not know what good governance means. In his words “we are largely a bunch of economic hustlers not yet ready for nation building”. Well as true as that may sound depending on one’s perception there is no doubt that most Nigerians want a stable power supply. I mean, who loves darkness except for that horned creature cast into the abyss since the beginning of time? Just last night another friend who was visiting Lusaka called to narrate how he was blown away by the infrastructure in Zambia especially the constant electricity. Are we not meant to be doing better than Zambia? Are we not exporting power to Niger, the Republic of Benin and Togo? We sell gas to the West African region for goodness sake. So why can’t we indulge ourselves? Frankly, the power dilemma troubles me a lot. In fact, I am yet to meet anyone I know that it bothers more. I believe the reason a large number of our youths waste productive man-hours in bars and hotels is largely due to the epileptic power supply. I clearly recollect when Obasanjo was elected the president in 1999 as our fourth republic commenced with enthusiastic optimism. In his usual bravado, he proclaimed ‘blackouts a thing of the past’. Buoyed by this promise I had advised my unscrupulous generator repairer to seek an alternative vocation. I will never forget the way he laughed so hard with his feet raised to the sky as he rhetorical asked me “in this Nigeria?”. Indeed that uneducated artisan turned out to be Nostradamus. He certainly had a better understanding of our country than I did back then. And as Obasanjo’s eight-year tenure ended, the power situation appeared to have gotten worse. Not long after him, Jonathan came with hope. We were promised a fresh breath once again. It did look good at the start and by 2012 despite being a Jonathan critic I publicly declared that I will support his re-election if the kind of stable electricity supply I witnessed in Enugu then was sustained. But somehow after the sack of Barth Nnaji, it was back to square one. In 2017, I spent Easter in Amawbia, much of Awka South LGA was in darkness for two months. It required a threat to picket EEDC by Awka youths before the damaged equipment was replaced. I visited Nigeria about four times last year and it was pretty much the same each time. In February of that year, I didn’t see a flicker for about two weeks before I left. Again I was in Nigeria for six weeks recently, I did not have power for up to seventy-two hours in aggregate. That is roughly a thousand hours without
Buhari in Aba: The crux of the matter
‘‘As a government, we issued a presidential mandate to the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and the Rural Electrification Agency to energise the market. In June 2018, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission granted an electricity generation licence as well as a distribution licence for the market. This will enable the generation and distribution of 9.5 Megawatts of electricity within the market. The project is moving smoothly and I have been assured the market will be fully electrified soon. We are working closely with the State Government, Local Government, Traditional Rulers, Market Associations and the community on this project to ensure this goal is actualised by the end of the year,’’ ~ President Muhammadu Buhari President Buhari made the above statement while reassuring his good friend Eze Ikonne of his resolve to fulfil his 2015 campaign promise to Abia people during the royal father’s visit to the seat of power on September 2018. I grew up in Aba. I can tell you for certain that Enyimba is a great city populated by fearless men and women. You don’t need to delve too far into history to read about some of our exploits including the momentous Aba women riot of 1929. The people of Enyimba city make no pretences. They take life and business seriously and thus over time have come to symbolise both the Igbo entrepreneurial prowess and their cohesive spirit in resistance during times of oppression. Aba has one of the largest markets in West Africa. As a teenager growing in the city I was conversant with many other markets in the South East region. If I wanted a pair of Giorgio Brutini shoes I will go to Onitsha Main Market but if I needed a good made in Nigeria leather sandals then Ariaria was the perfect place to get that. So again I can tell you for free that in terms of trading Ariaria could match other markets in the country but none could rival it when it comes to production. And production is largely dependent on energy supply. So it wasn’t surprising that Aba suffered during the locust years when our infrastructure was left to rot away. The once bubbling manufacturing sector became torpid just like many other production hubs across the land. Years of neglect left a town which once boasted of major industries and multinationals like PZ, Lever Brothers, UAC and UTC on its knees. Aba became a shadow of its old self. Enyimba could no longer march on. Rather it became notorious for crime. Kidnappings happened by the hour and many relocated, leaving the economy of the city in tatters. President Buhari is in Aba as I write. The visit is part of his campaign trail for another election but he also commissioned that Independent Powe Plant in Ariaria. Eze Ikonne will be on hand to receive him. The royal father will be over the moon. Its a promise fulfiled. I can imagine his smirky look at the sight of those who labelled him a traitor when he conferred the title of ‘Ogbuagu’ on candidate Buhari back in 2015. I’m sure many of them will struggle to get a handshake today. Ikonne has laughed last. But that is by the way. Many of Eze Ikonne’s subjects would begin to understand why their King had been romancing this ‘Igbo hating leader’ as they had been taught to believe. They will realise that Buhari is a man who values loyalty. A man who keeps his own end of the bargain. We saw them troop out en masse to welcome him. They were excited. Elated at the prospect of an improved power supply, increased productivity and prosperity. IPOB had attempted to put their usual spanner in the works with a proclamation of ‘sit at home’. But that didn’t stop them. Shouts of ‘Sai Buhari’ rented the air. Many on social media held their breath. In Aba, they wondered? Aba of all places. Agents of the lousy opposition and enemies of progress also sought to diminish the feat by proffering various claims. Some said it was a state government initiative. Who granted the license? Others said its a private initiative. Who cares? So long as Ariaria people will benefit. Now, do you still believe Abia will give Buhari 13,000 votes like in 2015? You may now begin to understand why he repeatedly says that he is satisfied with the response of the real voters. They are the ones that understand that he is not the problem but rather the painful solution. They are the poor who have been and will always be among us just like Christ said in the Bible. They are the ones that wake up by 5 am. Attend the morning mass, get the family ready for the day and hop on a bus or keke to work. It is a daily grind, their grocery shopping is done at dusk and not weekly. If that family of four, five or six will feed on the day then there is no room for dulling whenever the cock crows. They couldn’t care less about a jurist with millions of dollars in his foreign accounts. All they want is the provision of basic amenities that will facilitate their daily hustle. It may also interest my people to note that on Eze Ikonne’s visit to the Villa, President Buhari had also intimated him that during his trip to China he had wooed the executives of one of the largest cotton and garment companies in the world to establish operations in Aba. This he said he was doing in conjunction with the state government. I have many Abia friends, some are aides to Governor Ikpeazu. Most are united and vocal in their opposition to the president. They just hate the man. Ask why and you are likely to get “I just don’t like him” as a response. No reason whatsoever to loathe a man who is bringing back the kind of infrastructure last seen during the days of the
Why Saraki Is Scheming For 2023.
When General Muhammadu Buhari made a pact with politicians from diverse backgrounds with little similarity in ideology – if they had any – to emerge the APC flag bearer and subsequently the president, he cannot possibly claim that he didn’t anticipate a bumpy ride. Likewise, when Bukola Saraki and his henchmen sabotaged their party and successfully carried out a ‘coup’ to assume the Senate leadership in cahoots with the opposition they surely would have expected many battles in the fore. I had posited then in my thesis that for Saraki, winning a battle does not in any way translate to winning the war as it was clear to the discerning that tougher battles lay ahead. That it was an action that also resulted in the emergence of the PDP’s Senator Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President made it more humiliating for the APC and left the intrigues ahead to one’s imagination. Saraki can rightly be described as well ‘connected’ and battle-tested; his rise in politics started with his appointment as Obasanjo’s aide on budget matters. From thereon he only looked forward and propitiously employed a combination of sagacity and ruthlessness to rise rapidly. However, many of his political battles were fought when he had immunity as a governor. As the Senate president, a higher position in the larger picture so to say, that privilege is no longer available and his fate unlike before is not entirely in his hands. All the same, credit must go to the medical doctor turned politician for surviving like the proverbial cat with nine lives. Basking in the support of colleagues that cut across party lines, he has managed a vice-hold grip on the Senate whilst surviving the onslaught of a protracted CCT trial and more recently some police investigations. It is even more impressive when you consider that while many have come to regard our NASS as the bulwark of the corrupt, populated by ex-governors and ministers with questionable records, Saraki still commands huge followership in his home state. He will likely be re-elected to the red chamber even in a free and fair contest. But the Senate President has been in the political scene long enough to know that a Nigerian President is an all-powerful demi-god. Having watched Obasanjo remove Senate Presidents and Governors, he knows the arsenal at the disposal of any occupant of Aso Rock. Even men like Anyim, Na’Abba, Nnamani, and Orji Uzor Kalu who successfully contained Obasanjo’s often fractious belligerence are yet to fully recover from the overwhelming political trauma that executive pressure can bring to bear on a perceived foe. That President Buhari, a stubborn soldier, is not disposed to the do or die tactics of his fellow jackboot, Obasanjo, is obviously a political strategy ingeniously conceived. I believe the Senate President knows too well that but for this disposition of the president, he would have been long gone. His supporters may disagree but he knows this and his traducers know too. Now let us briefly examine why Buhari has accommodated the Senate President. After the national assembly leadership elections, the division among the various parties that made up the APC became evident. President Buhari’s CPC took charge of the executive and Bola Tinubu’s ACN maintained a similar grip on the party leadership while Saraki and his nPDP group pocketed the legislature. In most organizations, it is often beneficial for the man at the helm not to take sides in any battle of attrition between his subordinates and in his bestselling “48 Laws Of Power”, American author Robert Greene put it thus: Do not commit to anyone. It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others-playing people against one another, making them pursue you. ~ Law 20 When Buhari refused to meddle in that tussle for the NASS leadership, many including yours truly didn’t fully comprehend that the taciturn general was only employing this golden rule. If he had intervened then, perhaps Bola Tinubu and his men would have become too powerful for him by having control of the party and the legislature. He maintained mature neutrality while not losing sight of the need to have both groups sucking up to him. A sort of balance -if you like- that ensured he remained the lord and master. However, as the battle for 2019 intensified the need to pander to the whims of the party power brokers became more critical for the President’s re-election bid because it is only on the party platform that his loyalists can deliver. Obasanjo successfully deployed this tactic against Atiku when he replaced Audu Ogbeh with Ahmadu Ali to take control of the party and checkmate the Vice President’s influence with the lawmakers. Moreover, given our politicians’ penchant for cross-carpeting to contest elections, it would be futile trying to stop those who had already lost out in the local congresses. President Buhari still enjoys cult followership, especially in his Northern base. A cursory look at his record haul of votes even when the PDP was still writing election results in Ota farms clearly accentuates his popularity in the region. That is not likely to change now he is in power despite the challenges facing the country, at least not significantly. His appointments into INEC and the security agencies equally indicate that the man will not gamble away a hard-fought presidency. So as the political fireworks escalate towards February 2019, the fallback option to the PDP may offer some hope for the political lightweights to have a shot at retaining their positions in 2019 but the gladiators are actually battling for relevance in readiness for a post-Buhari Nigeria in 2023.
Introducing nepawahala.ng
An online platform has been created to educate power consumers of their rights under the reformed power sector in Nigeria. Not only that, if you have suffered from any breach of your rights, you can get *free help* on that platform to enforce your rights. JUST SO YOU KNOW: “Do you know that, by law, you are entitled to at least 14 days between the date you receive your Electricity bill and the date when you are to pay that bill? Do you know that, by law, your Electricity Distribution Company must give you a written notice of disconnection before it can disconnect you for non-payment of your bill? If you answered yes to the last question, then do you know that, by law, your Electricity Distribution Company must wait for at least 90 days from the date of giving you notice of disconnection, before it can legally disconnect you? Do you know that if you are unlawfully disconnected, you can compel your distribution company to reconnect you without paying a reconnection fee and that you can get this done without going to court? Do you know that, if you are illegally disconnected, you are entitled to damages at a minimum of #1,000 per day to be paid by your Electricity Distribution Company for each day of disconnection till your power is restored? Do you know that there is an administrative body that meets in your city, or a city close to you, that monitors the activities of Electricity Distribution Companies and will compel them to respect your rights if they breach same? If you answered NO to any of these questions, then you, like so many others, are the victim of a conspiracy of silence by the Electricity distribution companies, who have been statutorily mandated to carry out regular public awareness campaigns on these and other consumer rights within their franchise area. There is a solution at hand. Go to www.nepawahala.ng Register. Ask any question that bothers you. Ask for help. It’s all free. One candle loses nothing by lighting another. It only spreads light and pushes back this present darkness. If you have suffered from a breach of your rights as a power consumer, chances are someone you know has been, or is, a victim too. Light a candle. Push back the darkness by sharing this message widely.
Fashola, Nigeria cannot be great in darkness.
. “When people say Germany is exporting power, your country is exporting power too. To Niger, to the Republic of Benin, to Togo and we are selling gas to the West African region. Stop putting yourself down, we are a great country. We have challenges let us go and deal with them,” ~ Babatunde Fashola The Minister of Power, Works and Housing reportedly made this statement while answering questions at a workshop on the power sector recovery programme (PSRP). I don’t know about you but I’m certain that if you replace Fashola’s name on the above quote with that of Basket Mouth or Ali Baba the words will make better meaning for what they should be..comedy! For over two weeks before I left Nigeria much of Awka South LGA was in total darkness, we didn’t see a flicker of light. Today the story is very much the same my mum tells me. That is about one full month without electricity. The same was the case last Easter, for over a month Awka metropolis had no power supply, and it only serves to infuriate us the more that Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) often has a lousy explanation for these failures. In March 2016 it was widely reported that Fashola had resolved the protracted dispute between Geometric Power Limited and EEDC over power supply to Aba. We all rejoiced and hoped for an improved supply that will resuscitate the industrial city which was once labelled Taiwan of Africa for its giant strides in manufacturing. Last September, following a short clip by Professor Barth Nnaji, yours truly enthusiastically published here that Geometric energy will more than quadruple Aba power supply in five months. Well, I still soak my chaplet in water praying daily for that promise to come to fruition because the GREAT Enyimba city is close to my heart (and yes I said GREAT because Aba is a city of people with the kind of unity that is lacking in Nigeria). Fashola is a performer whom I still hold in very high regard and I believe many Nigerians do too. Some are beginning to doubt his capacity, however. In the run-up to the last general elections, he was sensationally reported in the media to have claimed that Lagosians can have stable power supply in six months! Those of us who read beyond the caption know it was what Trump now famously call fake news. He did make the claim but with a caveat. His words: “Let the EKO DISCOs sign a contract with me, giving part of their concessions to the state government. In about six to eight months, there will be power in all homes in Lagos State” But whether or not our DISCOs are willing to give part of their concessions to the government is not what Nigerians want to hear. We just need light! We all agree that Nigeria is facing a myriad of problems and we should come together to tackle them but we shouldn’t be deceived into believing that greatness bollocks. The situation is so bad that the average Nigerian is now familiar with technical words such as megawatts, metric tonnes etc. Terminologies that will sound strange to many in civilised climes. So those who have the Honourable Minister’s ears should tell him to quit acting comedy with what is perhaps the most troubling issue in the country today. He needs to appreciate the fact that the average Nigerian is becoming more and more exasperated with the increasing darkness even as billions of dollars have been spent on the energy sector in recent years. Last December I bought a new generator and MTN Lumos to reduce the amount of money I spend on fueling the generator all because I couldn’t trust EEDC to provide regular supply during the festivities. Where is the greatness in that? 2nd base jare!
Nigeria great? Not yet sir!
So Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola believes that Nigeria is a great country? I don’t agree with him. Nigeria is not great, at least not yet..not until we have stable power supply.
Geometric will quadruple Aba power supply in 5 months- Barth Nnaji
Former Minister of Power Professor Barth Nnaji has disclosed that Aba will begin to enjoy improved power supply in about 5 months. He made this known in a short video released by Sam Hart Senior Special Assistant to Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu on Public Communications. Professor Nnaji said that Geometric Power is arranging the finance to settle the whole arrangement with Enugu DISCO and that once that is done the process of reconnecting the power plant at the various sub-stations will commence. And after that Aba will begin to receive unprecedented power supply. Professor Nnaji stated that the Geometric power plant has 4 units of about 47MW each, totalling to 188MW. He also revealed that just one unit will deliver more than the power currently received in Aba. He concluded by saying that in the next 5 months Aba will start enjoying the long-awaited improvement in power supply. Recall that last year, the Federal Government has settled the power tussle between Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) and Geometric Power Limited over which of the two companies would supply power to Aba and its environs. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said then that the companies signed an agreement in Abuja after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo instructed him to intervene in the matter. The settlement of the dispute was a historic achievement in the power sector. When all the bureaucratic bottlenecks have been dusted the Enyimba city will begin to enjoy steady power supply and hopefully reclaim its old glory as the industrial hub of the South East. Watch the video below. In the light of the rumoured ‘Nationwide’ blackout, everyone is asking me about Prof. Bart Nnaji & Geometrics. I found him to answer himself pic.twitter.com/AF7dyIVH7g — Sam Hart (@hartng) September 29, 2017 Source: @hartng twitter
