At a Senate appearance weeks ago, Honorable Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said in a response to a question on the dwindling power supply in the country, that the nation would require the sum of 10 million dollars annually to have uninterrupted electricity.
If this is not a slap on the face, I wonder what would. For many years, ineffective and clueless ministers of Power in the country have been telling tales to Nigerians on erratic power supply despite humongous amounts spent in the sector from budgetary and extra- budgetary allocations.
Where, for goodness’ sake, did Adelabu get the figure he mentioned and from what parameters was the amount arrived at? The people of Nigeria have always been taken for granted due to their naivety and I-don’t-care attitude. Just how can a revelation like this be ignored without the cries and condemnation or exasperation from citizens? What a country! That is how we are. We only complain at drinking places or under tree shades and that is all, as everyone resigned to his fate. So unfortunate for Naija.
To my mind, this habit of Power ministers cannot be divorced from what former President Obasanjo said at his inauguration on May 29, 1999 when he bragged to fix the then National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) in six months. Everyone knew that was an impossibility but the ovation was loud. In the bid to actualize that rhetoric, a foreign loan of 16 million dollars was secured to refurbish machinery and achieve 5,000 megawatts of electricity. As it is well known, nothing of such materialized as the money and the then minister of Power, Chief Bola Ige, were lost, and mum was the word. That was why former President Buhari threw a dart at Obasanjo when he was criticizing his government for non performance. He told Obasanjo, 16 million dollars for light, where is the light? There has been no reply since then. The Republic of South Africa on the other hand took a loan of less than 6 million dollars to improve its power supply to meet up the requirement of FIFA for the year 2010 world cup holding there. One would argue that Nigeria is more populous than South Africa but the latter’s infrastructure such as electric train, underground stations, working street lights and so on had quadrupled the former’s.
It is indeed a big shame for Nigeria to remember that the colonial masters left for us a power company named Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) that was functioning with a hydroelectric dam, the Kainji Dam for our developmental purposes. In spite of the money budgeted for its maintenance, it was left to rot, perhaps the money was swallowed by crocodiles, a la the JAMB official who claimed that snakes swallowed examination fees entrusted in her care. Since then it has been good money after more money being siphoned by government officials while citizens groan under darkness.
A nation that cannot provide constant supply of electricity after 64 years of independence has really lost it. That nation will never achieve industrial development, Dangote Refinery regardless. We will continue to be retailer nation with shops everywhere to sell other peoples goods. An iron and metal moulding company, popularly called “Gidan Rodi” in Kano was forced to relocate to Ota, Ogun state due do erratic supply of electricity and the shameless concession given to southern industries in terms of power bill. That was how over 15,000 workers lost employment in Kano as well as the downturn of socio-economic activities. The Obasanjo administration was sectional in his power projects as the Northern zones were excluded completely from the Independent Power initiatives. We only heard about Niger Delta Power Company, the Lagos Independent Power Project, Egbin Power Plant in Lagos and that of Ogun state. The North was, unashamedly, left out in line with the “Agenda”. And nobody from Arewa cared as they partake in looting the nation with their comrades-in-arms from the South.
It is everybody’s knowledge that the proposed Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station in Taraba state, with a potential of adding 5,000 megawatts of electricity to grid was totally ignored by Obasanjo during his administration and subsequently abandoned by Fashola, a former two-term Governor of Lagos state, who lied to President Buhari that work was at advanced stage, when even the site had not been approved by Taraba state Government. This is another example of how Arewa was short-changed through premeditated sabotage. And we sheepishly kept mute in our usual ‘malum’ way.
While all this was going on, states like Lagos, Ogun and areas in the South-South were agog with industrial activities and other economic activities. Even as I was writing this, a post on social media showed a train in a Lagos station with a caption, ’this is Lagos, not Dubai’. It was also reported that the GDP of Lagos surpasses some African countries. Agreed, but with whose resources… When the ‘pay as you earn’ of most bank workers and other southern companies are being paid into the coffers of Lagos state government treasury instead of the states they are working in, what do you expect? It is outright robbery. I know my state, Kano had tried to secure those taxes from Lagos state to no avail.
The Power Ministry is a conduit pipe through which public officials and their associates siphon funds meant for the resuscitation of the nation’s power supply. We know that some of the Discos are doing with payments collected from electricity users. A former managing director of a certain Disco was known to have had a lavish marriage with a chartered plane flying guests from one point to the other. How can we have steady supply of electricity when funds meant for repairs, upgrading and workers’ welfare are squandered. Even the un-initiated knows that houses or customers who pay cash for electricity consumed get constant supply while those with meters look on. The reason is obvious! In where I live, those that do not have meters were arbitrarily charged a huge amount across and failure to settle will tantamount to disconnection with alacrity. So pensioners like me are in a distressed situation. The wickedness of some Nigerians against their fellow men is unimaginable. Perhaps that explains why the President of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Mr Joe Ajaero could not stomach the belligerence of the power sector to increase electricity bills in the face of the excruciating pain brought on the citizens with the withdrawal of petroleum subsidy. Infact, the labour body barricaded the entrances to some Discos in Abuja to force a reverse of the draconian electricity bills in bands. While Comrade Ajaero said that Nigerians were wallowing in power poverty, the Kogi state Chairman opined that electricity tariff hike was a daylight robbery. What can be more illustrative of the nations power malaise?
So, Mr Minister stop frightening us with unrealistic budget to ensure steady and improved electricity supply in Nigeria. To me, you are only buying time to further deny the North adequate electricity supply to revive the moribund industries that dotted its landscape. The 10 million dollars you are asking will definitely go into private pockets, a la Bola Ige.
May God save Nigeria.
Mr Musa, a retired permanent secretary, resides in Kano
