TAMING THE DRAGON IN NIGERIA’S POWER SECTOR

‘‘Only a thorough probe of the former military bandits and their civilian collaborators will swiftly reposition the country on the route of positive development…They bled the country; these putridly corrupt barons, who were grossly incompetent when they ruled over the affairs of the country!’’ – Quoted in Nowinta’s book, WHERE WE ARE, 2009 (page 88)

Pebbles with Igbotako Nowinta

Since President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in on May 29th 2015, nothing significant has been done or said about the debilitating power sector in Nigeria until last week, even as some notorious critics were already insinuating sarcastically that he should do something about the sector.

Last week Mr. President expressed his view about the power sector, saying that the nation cannot achieve meaningful development without stable and up to date equipment. I am on the same page with Mr. President on this glaring fact

Why is the power sector still in a gigantic mess, even after the so called privatization or unbundling of the sector by the last civilian administration, led by Goodluck Jonathan?

Why did Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan governments fail miserably in spite of the sum of 632 trillions of naira sunk into the sector?

The reasons are not far-fetched. I want to quickly identify some of the factors standing against stable power generation, distribution and supply to consumers in Nigeria.

Mind boggling corruption, government chronic insincerity, nepotism at its zenith, government reckless planlessness, employment of mediocre in the system, lack of focus etc.

These are the things that constitute the dragon in the power sector making darkness to be the lots of our country since Independence.

Now, how can the Federal Government tame or kill the dragon haunting the power sector? We must remember quickly that efforts were made by the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2007 to probe the power sector without success.

Specifically, the Ndudi Elumelu-led ad-hoc committee in the Green Chambers and the Nicholas Ugbane-led ad-hoc committee in the Red Chambers walked into trouble waters.

They stayed permanently in the abyss of controversy, litigations and confusion in 2010 when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly accused them of stealing the sum of 5.2 billion naira meant for the Rural Electrification Project of the Federal Government.

Today, Elumelu and company are junketing around the world bubbling recklessly and nobody is talking about that money allegedly embezzled again.

What of the sum of $10 billion dollars that General Olusegun Obasanjo squandered in the name of the fictitious National Independent Power Project (NIPP)?
Those that have been fingered in that financial mess are having cocktails parties in town without being harassed again.

Since November 1st 2013 unbundling of the Power Holdings Company of Nigeria (PHCN) into 18 different companies to provide efficient power services to Nigerians nothing has changed.

The six generation (Genco); one transmission (Transco) and 11 distribution (Discos) companies have been struggling to perform and darkness is still being experienced everywhere in the country.

We must not forget easily that insincerity, nepotism and corruption came to play nauseatingly before the Jonathan administration allowed the Ministry of Mines and Power to unbundle the defunct PHCN.

We watched and shouted stridently in utter disbelief as known acolytes and bootlickers of the then ‘owners of Nigeria’ who lacked the technical and financial muzzle to operate in the power sector were picked and certified to replace PHCN.

Behind the door those companies that could not meet up financially were bankrolled by government to stay on in business, thereby rendering the whole exercise a huge mockery, while those that have the expertise and pedigree to handle the sector were left in the cold.

What a country!

The reality today is that the Genco, Transco and Discos are exhibiting their obvious inexperience and incompetence in the sector; the issue of vandalization of equipment in the distribution network is something rearing its ugly head.

And we know too well that those involved in this criminal venture are not far from those running the distribution lines. The Discos are equally pursuing profit at all cost to the detriment of consumers.

All sorts of anomalies are going on within the operation of the Discos; the vexed issue of Fixed Rates is another and at the end of the day consumers are at the receiving end of poor electricity supply.

Now that the Abubakar Olusola Saraki-led Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has deemed it absolutely necessary to probe the criminal wastages undertaken during the tenure of Obasanjo, YarAdua and Jonathan regarding the power sector, we all must be on alert to ensure that it will never be business as usual.

This is challenging the Senator Abubakar Kyari-led 13 man ad-hoc Committee probing the rot in the power sector since 1999 to come out clean, drastic and patriotic in their national assignment. This time around Nigerians will not entertain any tales that will not bring practical result.

By the time the Senate’s ad-hoc committee report is ready, it should be sent to the Presidency immediately for implementaction Because we have suffered unquantifiable agony as a result of epileptic power supply both individually and as a nation, President Muhammadu Buhari should declare a state of emergency in the power sector in Nigeria.

It is only a state of emergency that will destroy the dragon giving us darkness in Nigeria. That is the only way that sanity would come speedily to the power sector and Nigeria can join the comity of nations enjoying stable power supply.

Nowinta wrote: Where We Are – A Call for Democratic Revolution in Nigeria