Policy On Power And Where We Are Today
In 2009, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan PRESENTED a manifesto which included a lot of revolutionary ideas on his power policy boasting to the media and public how he would revolutionise Nigeria. Today Nigeria has regressed as far back as the pre-Obansanjo days.
He swore to :
Deliver stable, constant supply of electricity
To provide stable power supply by the year 2015 so that small and medium scale industries can thrive again.
To ensure that Nigerians do not use generators more than two times in a week.
To explore the coal deposits in Benue and Kogi?” states for improved power supply
To construct more dams to build more hydro-power stations.
To reduce the importation off generators to at least 90 percent in the next four years.
To raise power generation to about 4,747 megawatts by December 2011
To put an end to epileptic power supply in the country just as fuel queues at petrol stations were ended.
These policy issues albeit good have not been made real. Nigerians are today suffering the worst form of power outages imaginable in all 774 local governments in the country . Small and medium sized companies are comatose, with the cost of power stifling them from inception. Small scale industries have limited output and are not very competitive due to cost. Industry is a no no and existing ones have had to shut down because their products cost however well produced or otherwise could not compete with similar products imported .
There is no vibrant domestic economy in Nigeria today because of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, PDP, and their policies on energy amongst other failed policies..With the breakup of the Power holding company of Nigeria and the set up of distribution companies one would have imagined it would be a panacea for improved power supply. What Nigerians are faced with today is huge electricity bills for the little periods they provide electricity.
Corruption in the power sector has been prevalent since before the Obasanjo regime, under PDP, mandated the incorruptible person of Bola Ige to take control and solve the problem since nobody in the PDP starting with Sen Liyel Imoke could successfully solve the problem. Bola Ige exposing the monumental corruption was moved to the Justice ministry as Attorney General and invariably killed.
Nigerians are using generators in multiple numbers the demand has accelerated beyond imagination.
The effect of this is increased pressure on families and their resources further exacerbated by increased pollution in the environment and their immediate surroundings leading to cancer, lung infections and other diseases cause by carbon monoxide.
To date the Ministry of Mines and power is still the most inefficiently run body and solutions to make it more efficient, led to its splitting up to two now the Ministry of Power and Ministry of Solid Minerals both still seriously underperforming and creating untold hardship on Nigerians and the other loosing aggregate revenue in humongous numbers .
Today Kogi and Benue states have coal mines that are neglected by government. The drive and intention was to increase the deposits but through poor funding corruption, lack of will poor implementation of policy and lack of drive or interest nothing significant has been done .. the primary concern abandoned and replaced by the squandering of resources.
Similarly is the creation and building of dams. Nothing significant enough to improve the situation. the commissioning of substandard dams unfit for the purpose is what we have witnessed in the past 6 years of Jonathans Presidency leaving us with no significant improvement in the increase in power supply.
Generators are in every nook and cranny all over Nigeria. There is no end to its importation and fabrication …No where in the developing societies are generators needed than Nigeria which is an indictment on the governments showing and failed policy.
Power generation has not been raised to acceptable aggregate levels as promised. Infact the performance has been made worst by neglect of power generation by discouraging and frustrating independent power projects especially those initiated by the opposition APC especially in lagos state. There is no evidence to support the policy drive towards constant electricity, either in 2015 and beyond .
the PDP government has through ineptitude, maladministration, corruption, wanton disregard for human life and dignity embarked on a programme that has created the worst ever kind of hardship on Nigerians. The inability to solve the power problem to a manageable or acceptable level since 1999 is a serious indictment and a clear signal to vote out this corrupt evil government at the next general election on the 14 of february 2015. Nigerians through the amalgamation of progressive have shown a clear signal that its time for change. Its time to fix Nigeria so it can take its place in the committee of nations. Its time we stopped being a laughing stock .
The APC manifesto addresses this critically. without power Gen Buhari has said how to we get the nation working how do we create jobs how to we make our roads safe at night …he opined how such visionless leaders have worked hard to bring Nigeria DOWN. An APC government Gen Buhari says, will make this needed change a reality , Nigerians will be accountable and so a hands on approach to governance will be the order of the day fuelled by discipline , organization , truth and capacity .