In 1999 durin g the campaign of Obasanjo presidential campaigns, he promised plenty of light and water, food aplenty, you name it, it ours without asking.
Eight years later amid the promises of yet another group of politicians, if the meastro Fela were still alive, he would have crooned, "what about waterrr, lightee, foodee, house"

The PDP is making another of promises which will undoubtedly be unfulfiled! Hear the nation cry out in agony

AS POWER BLACKOUT CONTINUES: It’s very sad that lack of electricity is taking food from our mouths, artisans cry out
By Adekunle Adekoya, Deputy Editor & Fred Iwenjora
Posted to the Web: Saturday, March 24, 2007


IT is really difficult to pinpoint the time in the 47-year history of Nigeria as a nation that things have gone on just as they wished. In recent history, the experience of the average Nigerian can best be described with one word: hardship. Older Nigerians and those in their fifties and late forties can only recall the “carefree” 70s; it was the time there seemed to be no problem in Nigeria at all, so much that a former military ruler was put on record as saying that the nation’s problem was not money, but how to spend it.

When that military ruler was toppled, it would seem that the journey to hardship began, albeit unnoticeably. Towards the end of the military administration headed by General Olusegun Obasanjo, a programme meant to instil discipline in the people was launched; it was popularly called “low profile.”

Thus, one day Nigerians woke up to see that the Head of State had dropped his official Mercedes Benz limousine; it was replaced by a less costly Peugeot. Similarly, by appearing at public occasions in patterned “ankara” dresses, the Head of State was sending a message to the nation to shun ostentation.

The government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari which succeeded the Obasanjo administration followed suit with a programme of economic belt-tightening popularly referred to as “ austerity measures.”

If austerity measures were not enough, the Babangida admisnitration introduced the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), with National Rolling Plans, further meant to take the economy out of the blues, and General Abacha after him also had his own programme, all of which dovetailed into the economic policies of the out-going Obasanjo Administration.

But while Nigerians were called upon to further “tighten their belts” at inception of each economic programme, somehow there was not much problem with electric power supply, or if there was, the nation lived with it, the factories ran with what was available, and made do with generators whenever there was blackout. As the 90s rolled on, the power situation gradually worsened. At inception of the Obasanjo government in 1999, there was much rhetoric about addressing the problem.
Late Chief Bola Ige, then Power Minister said “we will turn stone to bread.” He was speaking about ending epileptic power supply.

Seven years, 10 months and five power ministers after, the situation not only has gone from bad to worst, there are no signs of imminent relief on the horizon. At press time, it is not known if there is any part of the nation, apart from strategic installations that get more than two or three hours of electricity per day. Those that get a ration daily are the lucky areas. For most others, it’s one long, interminable blackout.

Worst hit are those whose meagre but unquantifiable economic activities keep the parlous economy going on a daily basis — the barbers, welders, hairdressers, pepper grinders, iron benders, pure water makers, tailors, embroiderers, carpenters, beer parlour operators, etc. In short, the entire self-employed artisan class is threatened, with their livelihood largely depending on supply of public electricity.

Joshua, who lives in Ikotun-Egbe, a Lagos suburb is a self-employed launderer. When asked of his experience over the power situation he retorted with frustration:
“What do you expect me to say? I’m just tired of the whole situation. I can barely meet my obligations now because I can’t deliver dresses to my customers. That means no money. I beg, leave me. We have no government.”

Joshua’s elder brother, Mr. Ben Kolawole is a restaurant operator, also in the same area. His experience is pathetic.
“I had to get a diesel generator to power my joint. I spend a minimum of N32,000 on diesel alone in one month, and even then, I use the generator to light up the place and cool drinks in the evenings. During the day, I drive all over the place looking for ice blocks to cool my drinks with, because drinkers will not buy drinks that are not cold. And what is the margin at the end of the month? Do you know that these crazy people (PHCN) still bring bills?”
Ibrahim Sekoni is a tailor and embroiderer in Mushin. Since the power situation worsened, he abandoned the tailoring business.
“It was immediately after the New Year and Sallah that I last sewed. I used to have a generator, but it packed up and I’m yet to repair it. Now, I ride okada. That one doesn’t depend on NEPA,” he said.

From Port Harcourt to Pankshin, Sagamu to Sokoto, the story is the same; never have Nigerians suffered so much owing to lack of electric power.
In Abuja, a welder, Mr Chima Okechukwu, told newsmen that he no longer accepts job offers for fear of disappointing his clients.
“Some clients do not understand that it is not our fault. We cannot work without light. So I direct them to other workshops where they can afford the use of power generating plants,” Okechukwu said
According to him, he experiences electricity supply to his shop for two hours after three days of absence.
Okechukwu, whose workshop is located at the Lugbe Federal Housing Estate, said the residents were surcharged N2,500 by some PHCN staff to fix a broken down transformer.

He, however, said there had been no improvement in power supply to the area even after the repairs.
A trader, Mrs Ada Obikwelu, who sells frozen foods said she had been out of business as a result of the persistent power failure.
Obikwelu said she had to stop stocking her freezers after losing most of her capital.

“I cannot afford a generator so I depend on the public power supply to freeze my foods. Maybe I will continue when the power situation improves,” she said.
Obikwelu, who runs the shop in her home, said that PHCN bills were very regularly even when there were no power supply.
“In my house I cook every day because I cannot afford to pack food in the refrigerator as they will go bad,’’ she added.
To remain in business and to have some comfort at home, many Nigerians opted to buy generators. Those who use generators simply pass on the cost to the consumers of their goods and services.

An ice-block seller in Wuse Market who preferred anonymity said she depended on generator for her blocks. She said the situation had led to an increase in the cost of ice-blocks she sold, adding that a N40 block now sells for between N70 and N80.

Strangely, the miserable power situation has opened new business frontiers for some. Fish sellers say they now pay to preserve their wares.
A trader, Blessing Ogah, said “we freeze chicken in our neighbours’ cold rooms for N30 per carton, while fish is frozen for between N40 and N50 per cartoon,” Ogah said.

David Zukubuna, a cold room operator in Wuse said he spends an average of N20,000 on diesel monthly to be in business.
While many Nigerian continue to blame their government ( and rightly so), the Federal Government last week found scapegoats in the Nigerian Gas Company (a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) and two oil majors, Shell and Chevron for their roles in the power mess, which worsened greatly with the shutdown of the gas-fired plant at Egbin, near Ikorodu in Lagos State.

Tessy Okpomu (Hair dresser)
This no light situation has really killed business and no Nigerian is happy. We all keep suffering and smiling. I don’t even know what to do next. I have a family who depend on all we do in this salon for survival. Even though my husband works really hard but with this business I augment the family take home. NEPA or PHCN have killed business How long should one run a generator? Just tell me? Generators were to be stand-by but now they are full time while NEPA is stand-by. Customers are not enthusiastic any more when there is no power generator. Most people’s generators are now fatigued beyond repair. We are in a helpless dilemma.

Tony Nnaife (Cyber Café operator)
I set up this computer and cyber café several years ago but now I don’t have faith in running the company because of the no light syndrome. I mean how do you explain this to your customers when they come to patronize you and you do not have power? This is giving me the horrors. I am at a loss as to what to do next, whether to fold up or look for some thing else to do. A country without steady supply of power is in the dark ages. Business does not break even. I have now realised why Nigeria is not doing well industrially. I also have realised why the GSM providers all charge high tariffs. They all have two heavy duty generators serving the base stations and powering them perpetually. On our part, we are forced to increase cost of browsing and Nigerians do not have money to pay. What should I do? This is very frustrating.

Afolabi Ado (Welder)
I think this situation is worse for the welder who needs light to weld. Here are the gates which I was commissioned to produce since a month now but the power situation is making every thing very bad for me. Recently we realised that PHCN gives light at night but I was roundly disappointed because that night they proved how unpredictable they are with light in Nigeria. They did not give light so my night was horrible. One was not working and also could not sleep. This gate I have been working on is to be delivered long time ago but I thank God, the owner understands because this is not my camera. What is so sad about this is that the government seems not to be talking about it.

Abiola Bakare (Drink Seller)
My family and I moved into Gafaru street in Ikotun in 2004. Initially, I thought that the light problem there would be resolved over a period of time but I soon realised it is a permanent feature in the street that covered both Oropo and the environs. I realized that having light for the residents and businessmen on that street is an illusion. I’m supposed to be selling cold drinks but that was not to be. So I reverted to general provisions. But the most annoying thing is that every month, somebody actually sits down and write NEPA bills and distributes and I tell you, that is balderdash. The people living here are completely segmented from others. If you go up there, you will see hair dressers, welders, cobblers. All these need light to do their work but you will never see light in this environment either by day or by night"

Through all these misery and lack service, the annoing workers of PHCN never fail to bring bills for services unrendered. How could a people who are unable to meet their daily labor because of government incompetence be expected to pay any bills. Every day we hear stories of people carting away billions of dollars. The presindent and his vice are locked in a shameful tug of war, over who is the most corrupt. Amidst all these chaos, we have people like Kalu promising heaven and earth when we know they are nothing but rouges who belong in jail. How long can the people of Nigeria tolerate these selfish people who perpetrate unconscionable acts of cruelty and lack of humane feelings on their people?

Before I cry muself crazy, I have to stop here brothers and sisters

Is it pure coincidence that the entire country of Nigeria has been without electrical power for most of the past 6 months, or could it be that some powerful folks want to bring the country to its knees just prior to the 2007 elections ?

Maybe a diesel shortage is on the cards as well, in the next few weeks as the polls near.

And there is no excuse in the world to justify the state of power supply in Nigeria. This is one area the PDP led government failed completely.

So Jakumo, so Nigerians deserve less because "some poeple" want to bring the govt to its knees. These folks are stronger than govt. The govt has failed and there is no excuse for that.

ADC I agree with you entirely that Nigerians do NOT deserve to be held hostage by generator importers and political saboteurs, but how else can the current TOTAL blackout be explained ?

Some very powerful forces are quietly strangling Nigeria's electrical power supply at the source, but they have been in a position to do so for a number of years prior to the start of the current administration, so the Obasanjo government cannot shoulder[i] all [/i] the blame for the spreading darkness in Nigeria.

JAK it looks like you did not really understand my questions? So you think that Generator traders and importers are holding OBJ  back from generating enough power for Nigerians?  This is HYPOTHESIS of the century. Generators are improvisations to black out.    So these guys are stronger than government?   I liken your post to what Jerry Gana  said during 2003 elections when there was  fuel scarcity. " that some disgruntled elements are sabotaging PDP government that's why people dont resent us" without telling Nigerians that   they were addressing a rented crowd. When your were a kid, did you hold your dad's debtors  responsible for  your father's inability to provide food for his housesold? may be OBJ is your father.

generator dealer or not lets call a spade a spade nobody is sabotaging anything its just that OBJ failed simple and Afam I dont agree with you that that is the one its one of many security of lives and property extrajudicial killings, Niger delta, disregard for the judiciary this and many more are the faiure of this administration

After $4 billion!Again which reforms despite the hoopla has succeeded ?Civil service reform null,monetization~nought,deregulation~nill!This carcass of a government is nothing but a miserable attempt at governance!

Seems each succesive regime is worse than the previous!

Why dont we get rid of these unwanted leaders/looters?

Jakumo, if you are in Nigeria now you would agree that no regime has been this bad in terms of electricity generation. Assasination, Niger-Delta-Govt just imported more ammunition because of Niger-Delta

It is still the duty of the FG to checkmate the activities of the generator dealers who can only make money when power supply is very bad and we cannot dismiss the real threat posed by these powerful people.

On power supply, no excuse by the government can justify the current level of power supply.

Actually, I think inverter dealers are the problem. They are doing all they can to inhibit PHCN!!

Seun:

Actually, I think inverter dealers are the problem. They are doing all they can to inhibit PHCN!!

Seun, you are not serious at all. Let the FG deal with inverter dealers if they want to because it won't affect us since we build them locally with components you see everyday in the market. It is just like focusing on PC dealers when I can go into computer village and buy pc casing, power pack, hard disk, floppy, CD/DVD, RAM, motherboard and cpu then go home and put them together with a philips screw driver. I still have a functional computer at the end of the day and that is what is important.

Your components are imported, so it's the same thing. Who says generator components can't be imported too?
There's nothing evil about generators or the people importing them. Without them, things will be much worse. If we privatize PHCN properly tommorrow, the generator importer that will "sabotage" it has not been born.

Seun:

Your components are imported, so it's the same thing. Who says generator components can't be imported too?
There's nothing evil about generators or the people importing them. Without them, things will be much worse. If we privatize PHCN properly tommorrow, the generator importer that will "sabotage" it has not been born.

Components like transistors, transformers, mosfets, diodes etc are used for a whole lot of things so banning them will certainly not make sense nor will it ever happen.

It is just like banning water because you want to stop people producing alcoholic drinks.

Why is the government not utilising wind energy and solar to augument the hydro and gas turbines currently being used to generate electricity?

To begin with who are these generator dealers? You may be surprised to hear names you never imagined had anything to do with generators.

simple: OBJ has failed.

No power for 6 months omgawd!

When for the past 4 years, i've only witnessed power outage 6 times and each doesnt last for more than 10mins!

God save Nigeria

ANY COUNTRY THAT CAN NOT SOLVE IT'S POWER PROBLEM CAN NOT SOLVE ANY OTHER PROBLEM IT HAS. I rest my case.

The energy commision in the US last week had a convention of stake holders talk about ways to ween America from dependency on foreign ooil imports and rising cost of energy production, The answer they came up with brothers and sisters, lies in renewable energy. They are now working on ways to make the energy sources of wind and solar more affordable and wide spread. In California, new home developments now have solar panels install on every roof by the builders. Some are even entirely on their own, not tied to the grid. The Stae of Colorado gave subsidy to farmers and alternative fuel producers who use corn to produce ethanol. There are also gas stations springing up all over the State, who only sell these products and they are making a killing for it is cheaper than gasoline and easier to produce and more importantly, it does not contribute to the global warning.

Our dependence on fossil fuel will be our downfall, if amagedon has not already begun for Nigeria. We have interminable sources of energy in wind and solar power, but we are releuctant to tap into it. The developed world see the writing on the world and it is high time we utilise these energy source we have been so abundantly blessed with.

There is no sincerity of purpose on the part of the government otherwise they should have been looking at ways to subsidize renewable energy costs as other countries are doing.

Maybe its because we have oil but why not gurantee steady electricity with cheap or almost free alternative/renewable energy sources?

Well, for me, I hope that in the next 6 months I would have totally disconnected anything that has to do with Nepa in my house and/or office.

Incensed by constant power outages nationwide, which culminated in the explosion of one of the boilers at the 1320MW Egbin thermal power station situated on the outskirts of Lagos last Sunday, President Olu-segun Obasanjo has ordered that the station be concessioned to the Korean Electricity Power Corpor-ation (KEPCO) of South Korea .

Is Nigeria conceeding defeat and finaly telling the whole world we are unable to do anything for ourselves. We can't run a competent government, credible elections, working utility, hospitals, good infrastructure, schools, etc, etc?

Just a few days to elections and presto the president found out the people have been suffering lack of electricity all these years! Electioneering at work

All this trouble because we are afraid of privatization? We human beings can be quite irrational!

Is Nigeria conceeding defeat and finaly telling the whole world we are unable to do anything for ourselves. We can't run a competent government, credible elections, working utility, hospitals, good infrastructure, schools, etc, etc?

What have we been able to achieve successfully?Nothing,zip,nada!So called reforms my @#%$#

After 47 years of monumental Govt failure people still think that the Govt can effectively run industry

This is a triumph of faith over experience

Since we are contracting everything in Nigeria to foreigners for the sector to improve maybe we should have a foreign president

sleekdot:

Since we are contracting everything in Nigeria to foreigners for the sector to improve maybe we should have a foreign president

You are comparing apples and oranges

sleekdot:

Since we are contracting everything in Nigeria to foreigners for the sector to improve maybe we should have a foreign president

You said it man!!!! hmmmmm got to think about that for a minute

According to Peter Odili, people of Rivers state have uniterrupted power supply. He even stated that they will export electricity to other states and thereby earn more revenue for Rivers state.

According to Peter Odili, people of Rivers state have uniterrupted power supply. He even stated that they will export electricity to other states and thereby earn more revenue for Rivers state.

Excellent!That would raise the revenue of the state,provide more funds for education,healthcare,potable water,good roads,security and employment.You're right!

lewa:


Excellent!That would raise the revenue of the state,provide more funds for education,healthcare,potable water,good roads,security and employment.You're right!

He is right?

He is right?

Satirically!Odili is riight!Saying in Chitown!