THINKING ALOUD…………….

Late Afro Beat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti coined the phrase “suffering and smiling” to describe Nigerians. Some school of thought take it to mean Nigerians are thick skinned, do not throw up in the towel etc the thought that gave birth to this piece take it to mean “Cowardice” and cowards they say, die many times before their death.

I am greatly disturbed that Nigerians put up with many anomalies and absurdities from government agencies and service companies. I call it citizen’s acclimatization to abuse. A case in mind is the outrageous electricity bills many Nigerians pay monthly for electricity units they do not consume, this has been the norm for over 10 years.

How long shall we put up with the excesses, ineptitudes of electricity service providers? How can we put an end to this protracted injustice whose pain is borne by the ordinary Nigerian?
It’s in the news that electricity tariff will go up by 40% mid November 2015. I call upon all Nigerians to join hands, heads and everything “joinable” to say NO to increased electricity tariff until all, 90% of Nigerians have the prepaid meter installed for free or at reasonable fee.

I have a lot of respect for the present government and great expectations too. Our leaders must ensure that the citizens are at the heart of policies or decisions reached by them. In this case President Muhammadu Buhari and his men should intervene by ensuring that Nigerians get the prepaid meters installed before the implementation of the new electricity tariff.

Nigerians, we must stop being slaves to government and private service providers. We must employ dialogue, information technology and other viable means to engage the leadership of government institutions and private companies who treat Nigerians unjustly.

What is your take on the proposed 40% increase in electricity tariff and how can we reach the leadership of electricity distribution companies to make our grievance known?

40% is no joke oo! The main issue is we don't get value for our payments