A lot of reasons, postulations and instances have been given for the almost half century epileptic power problem plaguing the nation. From the early days of poor capacity, to maintenance and spread.one would conclude that with the enormous and outrageous amounts, time and focus or so as it is called placed on the sector proficiency and efficiency should no be a motto and not an aspiration but alas that is not the case..
A lot of individuals have different ideas on the causes of the current woes now despite the visible improvement in capacity and slow progression to liberalized distribution. But one reason stands out and has been re echoed by many individuals offline and online. I know your first thought well am going to disappoint you. Corruption yes has always been an issue, mismanagement a mantra
Am talking about SABOTAGE.no matter how much we try to logicalize our issues or seek to blame a culprit or group of culprits the fact remains that we are the own architects off our own downfall. We claim to run a mixed economy tilted a little towards capitalism while maintaining hold n our socialist instincts this was for a reason to dissuade Monopolistic tendencies and corporate madeness.This unfortunately has failed..
Let me break it down in straight talk.For improvement in our electricity supply to happens we must face a deadly group of people who operate just like the petroleum cabal. Generator importers
Once we deal decicively with the generator importers cabal which unfortunately a good number of Former PHCN and power staff belong to (both top level and low level) the cases of broken pipelines supplying natural gas will be drastically reduced .For starters natural gas has no fractionated value except in most cases when it is broken down at extreme temperature to extract individual properties
Hence breaking a gas pipeline will fetch you no automatic value in the Nigerian market,but why does it get broken..my question was answered when I took a trip to Alaoji power station precisely on Tuesday last week,I had gone to deliver two PCS I had just concluded maintenance on to a departmental boss who asked me to deliver it to his place of work. For use pronto .Not used to power stations(visted mambila once) I was quite impressed at the changes alaoji had undergone from my last ever visit as a young school pupil on excursion. I delivered the PCS to the Boss via the safe area I took my time to take a look at the immediate surroundings and took in a but of details important to my inquisitiveness .Later that day back at my place of work the Dept Boss on his way back stopped over to pay his bills and in that time I struck up a discussion with him.i frst asked him why on two turbine where working at thi time and I got the reply NO GAS. On a very good day of supply almost all turbines will be on full capacity transmitting he said. I purposely asked him why there as no gas and his reply got me thinking.. saboteurs continue to pile misery on us every time knocking out pipes..always payed well by the generator ogas even some off our rogue staff help in slowing the improvements down.
HiS reply brought me to a story that happened in my area in 2013,,a man simply known as Oga joe moved into our area, From street side talks he seemed to be an angel of light cos those who felt they knew him took out time totell us what power he controlled at PHCN then.his coming brought almost steady light to our area for roughly 8 months.we felt like kings..then something happened oga joe resigned and the light stopped coming, he became elusive and was hardly seen in his official residence. Stories began to fly around and it wasn’t until months later we got to know the truth.Joe was a generator Don and a top PHCN staff. He brought darkness and sold light. a deal alongside an indian firm (imported Macro polo heavy Gens) in the circle or cabal went under. A group of boys they payed heavily more like a syndicate had knocked out a target pipe in an area and was in process of receiving pay when one of the boys in a drinking spree blurted out the whole deal in a bar to the hearing of two DMI officers in PH.. the DMI officers saw a chance for promotion and latched unto the story JTF were informed and nabbed the syndicate on the next break move barley 2 week after the pipes were repaired. Normally syndicates like this do not reveal their sponsors but a good amount of drilling was administered and they sang like birds. Joe implicated. The firm and three well know generator dons were implicated, sadly the story was kept under the wraps.enough money thrown around..joe resigned and had his ware house unknown to us sealed. Assets confiscated and where abouts unknown till today.
Now if a man entrusted to give us power could do this then whatever investment OBJ,GEJ,YAR made were just wastes,oga buhari will if he wants to deal with Nigerian problems on power decisively must confront the generator cabals by banning the sale and importation of generators killing of the process slowly.
For the petroleum sector,am sorry to say unionization has become abused in Nigeria. Unions in Nigeria are now cabals that control the disaffections of others to their own advantahe.in my own view for sanity to return to the downstream sector,PENGASON<NUPENG<IPMAN have to be de unionized or placed into flexible single body. We talk of cabals in the nergy sector we speak of the shadow men forgetting that they use fronts to arm twist the government these unions are the fronts.
I have a lot to say and did not want to put this write up this way but I had to bring up this experience..
(objective critical views are welcome and I am open to criticism) my typo errors regretted