Despite currently raking in 140 million greenback dollars daily from the export of 2 million barrels of crude oil at 70 US dollars per barrel, Nigeria is still unable to generate enough electricity to provide any more than occasional random bursts of unregulated electrical power to some areas while most of the country remains in darkness for weeks and sometimes months on end.  As a consequence, industries fold daily and then rent out giant factory buildings to churches whose screaming pastors fleece the poor in the only growth industry to which Nigeria can truly lay claim.

About a year ago the terminally inept Nigerian electrical grid operator NEPA (Never Expect Power Anytime ) changed its name to PHCN (Power Hollow Claim Nutcases) amid much fanfare and breathless promises of uninterrupted electricity supplies which, predictably never materialized.   Days ago on June 30 2006, the announcement came that PHCN has also been consigned to the sewage pit of history in order to make way for yet another metamorphosis into a "privatized" entity for whom a catchy acronym has yet to be invented.

My question concerns whether repeatedly changing the name and public/private designation of Nigerias most derelict organization will make any difference outside of the routine fund diversion into private bank accounts held by yet another horde of career embezzlers.  Will privatization of the electrical grid present Nigeria with the unicorn of regular power supplies, or is the country just witnessing another game of musical chairs among the fat-cat looting class who all run private generators at home and couldn't care less that industry, hospitals and the rest of the country die slowly of electrical power starvation even as they eagerly divert all the cash they can grab before the next name change ?

Deep Soul I can imagine the bafflement those future generations of Nigerian-resident grand-children would experience decades from now when nostalgic old timers regale them with tales of how electricity in other lands flows silently from wall sockets rather than from a loud smoky floor-shaking diesel generator outside the living room window.

A few years on and same old story. . . .

Jakumo, I fervently believe that total deregulation of the power sector is the answer. Regardless of what detractors of deregulations presents as "salient" arguements againt deregulation , it is instructive to note that the best performing Governor in Nigeria (Fashola) never stops talking about the "urgent need for deregulation" as a panacea to our perennial power problem.

I will not claim to be a power generation technocrat but I have better than layman knowledge from years of Proffessional and personal research. I can state with a fair degree of certainty that , challenging environment nonetheless , many highly experienced and diligent international power generation companies would jump at the chance to become involved in Nigeria if they are assured of the continous goodwill and support of the Nigerian FG since , sadly , our leaders have built a reputation for treachery ,unproffessionalism and self-destructiveness .

The prospects of massive profits for these companies , given Nigeria's population and potentially voracious consumption need , are fairly easy to calculate. Many of these Companies will work out that , under a 20-30 years BOM arrangement (Build, operate and manage) , they will make a fortune from a Country that has a self-stifled potentials for vast industrialisation !!!

Alas the Nigerian Federal Government , for very selfish reasons and an anti-development agenda , will not hear of it !!! For the sake of inhuman greed they refuse to hands-off something they do not have the expertise or competence to execute properly !!!! All this to the detriment of Nigeria's development !!! Fashola , like most of us , must be tearing his hair out in frustration !!!!

In a system , such as ours , where so much power is inordinately concentrated in the Presidency , it is an understatement for Nigerians to posit that we need a progressive and dynamic President who will work for Nigerians and not the various cabals that continue to profit from national problems that underdevelop Nigeria such as lack of constant power supply.