GENERATORS ARE MORE UBIQUITOUS THAN OUR NATIONAL FLAG

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Over the years, Nigerians have continued to clamour, “Let there be light!” but successive governments seem to be telling us that we are asking for something that can only be done by God and his chosen ones.

Perhaps we now have a high priest in President Goodluck Jonathan, who can be touched by the feelings of our infirmities (pardon my biblical allusion), since he has told us that God chose him.


Lest I forget, let me seize this opportunity to congratulate the president on his inclusion in this year’s edition of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World” list by Time Magazine. Indeed, it is no mean feat. But, I’m afraid the Nigerian masses don’t give a hoot about it; they are only interested in how instrumental the president will be in bringing about the much-needed transformation in the country; they are only interested in having their impoverished lot improve; they want the president to do something that will earn him a pride of place in their collective memory.


Now, it is as clear as crystal that Nigerians are going through tough times. Indeed, these are not the best of times. Apart from the security challenge that we are grappling with, this year, the country’s electricity system moved from a state of convulsion to coma. Is it not bad enough that we have the lowest electricity consumption per capital among the eleven members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) when we are not the least endowed in the group? Worse: we are effectively among the world’s most electricity deficient countries.


It is most baffling and mind-boggling that despite being the largest oil producer in Africa and being the sixth largest oil exporter in the world, our country still scores low on power generation. It is said that we hold about 2.82 per cent of the world’s known natural gas reserves, but in spite of the numerous natural endowments we are blessed with, we still find ourselves groping in darkness.


Evidently, the comatose state of our electricity sector is taking a heavy toll on Nigerians, paralysing many businesses and sending some to early graveyard. They couldn't bear the persistent losses resulting from increased expenditure on powering their plants and maintaining generating sets. This really constitutes a major bugbear to the growth of our economy as the real sector is worse off.


Worryingly, generating sets, which in better climes are only used as alternative means of sourcing power, are now seen as essential commodities in our own milieu. Not a few Nigerians have stopped relying on power supply from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) for their domestic uses as many now boast generators, or I-better-pass-my-neighbour, as it is called in local parlance. Generators are now the major source of electricity for Nigerians. We had hoped that this issue resulting into National Embarrassment and Public Annoyance (NEPA) would be a thing of the past when NEPA was changed to PHCN, but lo we are still being told to ‘Please Hold Candles at Night’.


But what is most disconcerting about all this is that the country has become a junkyard for generators of all sizes and brands. One would be stating the obvious to say that this loudly advertises the failure of successive governments to solve the power problem; with promises upon promises always ending up like mere effusion of gas.

The hopes of Nigerians were dashed when the late President Yar'Adua-led government failed to deliver on its promise to increase power generation to 6000 megawatts by December 2009. In 2010, during the swearing-in of ministers, Jonathan, then acting president, decided to personally handle the power portfolio. This decision, we were told, was sequel to government's new policy thrust aimed at ensuring regular electricity supply. Since coming to power, and particularly during his election campaign, Jonathan repeatedly promised to improve Nigeria's dire power supply situation.

Generating sets are now hot cakes in the Nigerian market. Millions of Nigerian households use generators of varying sizes. Even the toiling masses struggle to own one. Assorted brands of generating sets are shipped into the country at regular intervals. While the sellers of the generators and technicians who repair them smile to the banks following unprecedented patronage, Nigerians who have become hostages to the machines groan over the cost of maintaining them, especially the cost of fuelling. The partial removal of fuel subsidy is still dealing Nigerians terrible upper cut. I hope it is not true that the government is planning to increase the price of fuel again.


Apart from the financial cost of using generating sets as the main source of power, the health hazards of the fumes from the machines and the threat to life their usage has become, is a major source of concern for environmentalists and medical practitioners. There have been cases where families were suffocated to death overnight by exhaust from their generators and many experience one form of respiratory infection or the other due to continuous inhalation of the exhaust from generating sets.


Last week, a story was published in Punch about the death of a 95-year-old man, Chief Sopulu Nwankwo and three of his grandchildren. Their death was attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning from the generator fumes. They reportedly went to bed on Saturday night leaving their generator on.

In 2009, three members of a family — a father and two sons — were killed while trying to refuel a generating set to watch a football match between Nigeria and Spain. Professor Onah Emmanuel Ojeka of the Department of Chemistry, Nasarawa State University, Keffi and his two sons were trying to mix petrol and engine oil for the generator when the fuel suddenly attracted fire from the kitchen and the generator exploded.


To be sure, generators are more ubiquitous than our national flag — you find them everywhere, not only in cities, even in rural areas, in shops, houses, churches, mosques, etc. Or has it become one of our national symbols? Is it not a crying shame that a country that prides itself as the giant of Africa is in the league of the world's largest buyers of electricity generating sets? Nigerians are said to be among the people most deprived of grid-based electricity in the world with a per capita consumption that is far lower than many other African countries. With a population of 150 million, our generation capacity is sadly about 3,600 megawatts. South Africa with about 50 million people generates more than 40,000 MW; Ghana generates 2,111 MW for a population of 23,837, 261 (what is the difference between this and the population of Lagos?).


“Now, Ghana is seriously playing catch-up with the continent’s electric energy giants, whilst seeking to stretch its lead in West Africa to become the de facto sub regional energy hub by 2015. It is aggressively pursuing a Strategic National Energy Plan, drawn up by the country’s Energy Commission, which seeks to more than double Ghana’s electricity generation capacity to 5,000 MW over the next five years.”


Shall we continue to play second fiddle to our less-endowed neighbour, Ghana, in terms of power supply? Will the people at the corridors of power continue to fiddle while Rome burns? Why should we continue to wallow in the throes of economic woes in the midst of affluence and abundance? Must we wait until we sink deep into the mire of economic oblivion before we act? It is believed in many quarters that there is a strong cabal sabotaging electricity in Nigeria. They benefit from the rot in the power sector and will continue to have a field day until our government takes up the gauntlet.

In the words of renowned international law expert Prof. Akin Oyebode, “these people are beneficiaries of the confusion and if you profit from the status quo, you will be a fool to change it except you want to commit class suicide. These are virile opportunists who advance their own personal interests and their own personal agenda at the expense of the national interest.”


Nigerians are sick and tired of government officials attributing the problem of poor power supply to shortage of gas supply, poor maintenance of the old power stations and low water level because of absence rain in the north. What we need is lasting solution. One hopes that the Jonathan-led administration will distinguish itself by mustering the seeming elusive political will required to improve our power supply.


Written By Femi Asu

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