Nigeria: A Nation Without Electricity
It is 2008 and a lot is happening, we are continuing from where we stopped, the political field is filled with land mines, if you are a participant, one has to be careful, as you never know where you will be caught napping. It is either you are a fan of Ibori who is feigning illness or you are one, for Ribadu, or against. The drama is exciting for an onlooker, but in it we lose the very issues that matter.
Also with so much after eight years, tales of the thievery of Obasanjo keeps coming to light, even as friends have deserted him. Even Governor Gbenga Daniel today would not attend a naming ceremony with Obj, funny how times change; the third term cap no longer fits.
Interestingly, we are where we are today because men like Obasanjo failed this nation. My brief take in this column is the power sector. A sector which is supposed to be in a state of emergency has hardly shown any stumbling sign of crawling, talk less of walking and working. Despite the billions, no one has been held accountable, will anybody be held accountable?
This is a nation that use phrases, and clichés especially our politicians and they do so, often without any understanding of the real issues. That is why a Nigerian politician would visit his house on a familiarization tour, and promise to address the issues, and in local parlance we say, a rat’s teeth cannot be stained by oil, no matter how soaked the yam is in red oil.
Nigeria, with a population of over 140 million and less than 20 power plants, currently generates about 3,200 megawatts of electricity. Yet installed capacity is less than 8,500MW. South Africa through ESKOM generates 35,200 MW from 20 power stations. The United Arab Emirates with a population of less than 1.million people produces 162,20MW. It hopes to raise this to 26,000MW by 2010.
In the last eight years we have had all sorts of interventions, we have even witnessed the murder of one Minister For Power, in the person of Bola Ige, we have seen name change from Never Expect Power Always(NEPA) to Please Have Candle Near(PHCN). We have suffered the brunt of inefficiency through frequent tariff increase.
It is no longer news that during the rains, the dams have too much water and during the dry season, it is a case of no water, or when the weather is stable across the country, it is a case of no gas, The regulatory body for electricity, the National Electricity Regulation Commission NERC talks of deregulation, and one wonders when.
We have tried pre-paid, post paid, consume less pay more, and all manners of payment system for a utility that is simply not there.
As of date we have 21 licensed private power-generating companies that would supposedly generate electricity in excess of 8,000 megawatts. Only four private power-generating firms have so far come on stream. The four, Agip Gas Plant in Okpai/Kwale; the Rivers State IPP in Omoku; the Ibom Power Project; and Alaoji Plant have not shown light difference with their 1250 additional MW, that of AGIP is even expected to add another 960MW.
Sometime in October 2000, the old NEPA signed a partnership agreement with South Africa's Eskom to help improve electricity supply, help develop NEPA's repair capabilities, execute transmission line projects, and participate in rehabilitating, operate and transfer (ROT) schemes for the running of Nigeria's power stations. Millions of dollars went in and it ended like the regular blackout.
Shell joined in the blackout dance December 2001 and was awarded a 15-year ROT contract for units 1-4 of the Afam power plant and a lease operate and transfer contract for Afam's fifth unit. Shell was to refurbish the Afam power plant at a cost of about $ 500 million, and with capacity expanding from 400 MW to 900 MW. For now it is still a fairy tale, and the ALICE called electricity remains in wonderland.
Of all companies, Lagos State decided to sign an agreement with ENRON, Swiss Company ABB was awarded a $40-million contract as part of its national cake to construct a high voltage transmission line from the Shiroro hydroelectric facility to the 450-MW IPP facility in Abuja. This excludes contracts valued at $1.1 billion to China’s CMEC for gas fired plants, another Chinese firm SEPCO benefited.
The federal government has signed two contracts with the United States based General Electric Company (GE) for the supply, installation and maintenance of five gas turbine plants to produce 2,016MW at a cost of $2.5 billion. Siemens got its share too, until the story went sour.
We have signed contracts, entered agreements with everybody and everywhere, for gas fired plants, for Independent Power Plants (IPP), for gas turbines. Maybe what remains is Kerosene or a candle fired plant. From ENRON, SHELL, ABB, ExxonMoblil, Cummins Corporation, Geometric Power Corporation, Eskom, ENI, GE, CMEC to SEPCO, this list excludes, the likes of Obasanjo Corporation, Third term Power, PTDF Energy, Money Power Plantations owned by Odili, Ibori, Lucky and co.
In all these the best we have is a three course meal of no light, half current not even comparable to candle light and then the highest of current that necessitates a visit to the repair shop, as virtually every electronic appliance in the house is victim.
The nation ranks top as favourite destination for manufacturers of Power Generating sets, while top NEPA or is PHCN officials are Directors in the companies. In most suburb it is a case of ‘na me pass’ a local name for the small Chinese genny that barbers, seamstress and homes use. No one cares about the health hazard, via emission of carbonated smoke.
We see vision 202020, but no one sees vision no light, no development, no sees vision reality which says that a nation cannot move forward when a sizeable number of its small scale industries cannot run because of power outage.
It bothers leadership less that operational cost is plus labour, plus raw materials, then plus, plus, plus electricity depending on the type it may by multiplication rather than plus and Nigerians bear the brunt. In all these folly we think this is the way that the 19 nations we aim to get behind in 2020 got there. I am sorry by no means, we are not yet ready.
Yar’Adua in Germany recently asked for assistance on the problem, with all the power projects, some completed others almost, some never to see the light of the day. Nigeria remains in 2008, a nation without light.
Painfully we have the resources, the manpower, we have it all, and sadly and almost in unimaginable contradiction I say we do not have it, we do not have the commitment, the political will, the sincerity and as long as this stays, like the during the xmas service which Obj was in attendance it would be ooooooh NEPA! May the Almighty Allah show us His light; grant us the wisdom, to know what to do with our leaders.
Prince Charles Dickson
Assistant Editor/ Jos Bureau Head
Leadership Newspapers Group
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