Power Outrage!

There are many who say that Nigeria's biggest problem is in the power sector where shortages have crippled the economy. And even though the average Nigerian has become accustomed to situations where there is 'no light' or 'half current', the overlords at PHCN still find new ways to shock us out of our desensitized state.

Saw this at http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5566404-146/story.csp and was maddened. Only because it was so laughable that at the nation's busiest airport we have to contend with a 3-hour power outage that is entirely man-made (that is to say, not the result of some freak accident or natural disaster) and potentially worth losses of several millions of naira.

Check these stats out: Nigerians in their individual households and as businesses spend in the trillions to feed our unavoidable addiction to power generating sets; yet the nation's power generating capacity is billed at 4,000 mw at source and trickles down to a measly 3400mw delivered to these Nigerian homes and companies because transfer cables and transformers are badly maintained; moreover this current power generating capacity is up only 400mw from two decades ago when it was projected that 10,000mw would be generated by, well, now; as a sort of concession to public unrest, 6000mw were promised by the government by the end of last year, a jump that is yet to be seen; but perhaps most startling is the standout statistic that only 40% of the urban population and 10% of the rural population of the entirety of Nigeria has access to electricity! It's enough to drive anyone right around the bed. No wonder a lot of us seem to be barking mad!

The pressure group LightUpNigeria does a grand job of informing Nigerians about the utter ludicrousness of the power problem while also offering workable and sometimes green solutions to the issues at hand. Check this organisation out at http://www.lightupnigeria.org/ to build up your understanding.

As a small sign of progress, the current Presidency has promised to make the power sector a priority. Goodluck Jonathan has made the supervision of this promise his own legacy for the rest of his first short stint at Aso Rock. It remains to be seen if anything comes of it. Let us make sure we hold him to account. Every time you experience a power outage, express your outrage by screaming 'JONATHAN!' instead of the customary 'NEPA!' and watch how quickly your umbrage grows.