₦airaland Forum

SAVE for an elderly man and a little boy, no older than 10 years old sheltering from the smothering sun, the open-air trampoline roofed shack was almost empty.

Four months ago, Olayemi Oluwafemi, 35, a welder, would has been seen at the shack, cutting and soldering together iron rods for burglar-proof doors and gates, which were a popular order from his clientele.

The ear-splitting noise from his rickety 3.5kVA petrol-powered generator indicates that residents of Kwamba in Suleja, Niger State, were without electrical power supply, again.

Oluwafemi, a father of four, was running his welding business in Suleja at a loss. He was spending N1,000, One thousand nairas ($2.60) daily to purchase petrol to power his welding machine because electricity from the national grid comes up only for two hours daily.

He barely makes a weekly profit of N10,000 ($26.04). A hard pill for him to swallow, considering he pays N10,000 monthly for electricity consumed from the national grid.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, his flow of customers from Suleja slowed down to a trickle. This prompted him to tag along with some of his friends to look for welding job opportunities in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city– 30 kilometres from home.

The interstate lockdown at the time led to a price hike in the transport fare, which made it financially difficult for him to commute from Suleja to Abuja weekly in his quest for new opportunities.

After shuttling between both cities, while working for some clients in Abuja he packed up shop in Suleja, permanently relocating his workshop to Abuja while his family stayed back in Niger State.

“If I was going to train my children with this work, staying in Abuja permanently was the sensible option. Besides in Kwamba here, I was spending over N1,000 daily on fuel, and that doesn’t stop the electricity company from charging me N10,000 for the estimated electricity bill every month,” he said.

Since he relocated to Abuja, the welder only sees his kids on the weekends when he visits home.

The city of dams, darkness, and dirty alternatives

Niger state is home to three of Nigeria’s largest hydroelectric generation dams—Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro constructed in 1968, 1985, 1990 respectively. A fourth dam is currently under construction.

The ride from Suleja to Abuja takes barely an hour and 30 minutes. Because of its proximity to the Federal Capital Territory, it is easy to erroneously assume Suleja enjoys constant power supply, just as the FCT.

However, the rural city is often plunged into days of darkness with no electrical power. On such days, small enterprises such as a beauty salon run by Ogbuanohs that rely solely on electricity to run their businesses are left to grope in the dark.

Ogbuanoh, 18, had a piece of paper on her hands with which she fanned herself and her sister Blessing Ogbuanoh, 38, at intervals.

The Ogbuanoh sisters run a beauty hair salon on Old Nepa Road, Suleja. For the next 10 hours, this section of the town will be in a blackout.

The electricity distribution companies (Discos) are rationing electricity supply and the shops on this lane will have to wait their turn.

The electricity power supply had been interrupted since 11 am that morning, barely two hours after it was restored and the stylists had no option but to generate their electricity for business.

And the two sisters are not the kind to let a walk-in customer leave without a hair wash and a dry. In a few minutes, the loud hum of their genset will contribute more noise to the already uproarious plaza.

To make up for the N15,000 ($39.06) monthly petrol expenses, customers are charged more for the extra service.

Over the two decades since Blessing Ogbuanoh, a mother of two has been a stylist, generating energy for her hair salon has never been as financially burdensome as the past few years.

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/how-electricity-failure-is-gradually-killing-small-businesses-in-nigerias-power-state/

Shehuyinka:
SAVE for an elderly man and a little boy, no older than 10 years old sheltering from the smothering sun, the open-air trampoline roofed shack was almost empty.

Four months ago, Olayemi Oluwafemi, 35, a welder, would has been seen at the shack, cutting and soldering together iron rods for burglar-proof doors and gates, which were a popular order from his clientele.

The ear-splitting noise from his rickety 3.5kVA petrol-powered generator indicates that residents of Kwamba in Suleja, Niger State, were without electrical power supply, again.

Oluwafemi, a father of four, was running his welding business in Suleja at a loss. He was spending N1,000, One thousand nairas ($2.60) daily to purchase petrol to power his welding machine because electricity from the national grid comes up only for two hours daily.

He barely makes a weekly profit of N10,000 ($26.04). A hard pill for him to swallow, considering he pays N10,000 monthly for electricity consumed from the national grid.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, his flow of customers from Suleja slowed down to a trickle. This prompted him to tag along with some of his friends to look for welding job opportunities in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city– 30 kilometres from home.

The interstate lockdown at the time led to a price hike in the transport fare, which made it financially difficult for him to commute from Suleja to Abuja weekly in his quest for new opportunities.

After shuttling between both cities, while working for some clients in Abuja he packed up shop in Suleja, permanently relocating his workshop to Abuja while his family stayed back in Niger State.

“If I was going to train my children with this work, staying in Abuja permanently was the sensible option. Besides in Kwamba here, I was spending over N1,000 daily on fuel, and that doesn’t stop the electricity company from charging me N10,000 for the estimated electricity bill every month,” he said.

Since he relocated to Abuja, the welder only sees his kids on the weekends when he visits home.

The city of dams, darkness, and dirty alternatives

Niger state is home to three of Nigeria’s largest hydroelectric generation dams—Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro constructed in 1968, 1985, 1990 respectively. A fourth dam is currently under construction.

The ride from Suleja to Abuja takes barely an hour and 30 minutes. Because of its proximity to the Federal Capital Territory, it is easy to erroneously assume Suleja enjoys constant power supply, just as the FCT.

However, the rural city is often plunged into days of darkness with no electrical power. On such days, small enterprises such as a beauty salon run by Ogbuanohs that rely solely on electricity to run their businesses are left to grope in the dark.

Ogbuanoh, 18, had a piece of paper on her hands with which she fanned herself and her sister Blessing Ogbuanoh, 38, at intervals.

The Ogbuanoh sisters run a beauty hair salon on Old Nepa Road, Suleja. For the next 10 hours, this section of the town will be in a blackout.

The electricity distribution companies (Discos) are rationing electricity supply and the shops on this lane will have to wait their turn.

The electricity power supply had been interrupted since 11 am that morning, barely two hours after it was restored and the stylists had no option but to generate their electricity for business.

And the two sisters are not the kind to let a walk-in customer leave without a hair wash and a dry. In a few minutes, the loud hum of their genset will contribute more noise to the already uproarious plaza.

To make up for the N15,000 ($39.06) monthly petrol expenses, customers are charged more for the extra service.

Over the two decades since Blessing Ogbuanoh, a mother of two has been a stylist, generating energy for her hair salon has never been as financially burdensome as the past few years.

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/how-electricity-failure-is-gradually-killing-small-businesses-in-nigerias-power-state/

Blame Jonathan & pdp members, now in apc, Useless Criminals.

is there sense in what u just said? pdp and Jonathan after how many years of Buhari rules?

blacknp:
Blame Jonathan & pdp members, now in apc, Useless Criminals.