Nigerians: No electric power, forget development
When we were in the Kaduna Refinery in 1979, then under mechanical construction, yours sincerely was with the Owners Management Team headed by King Wilkinson, an American consulting firm. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) engineering staff were working with them to monitor and evaluate the progress of work done by Chiyoda, the Japanese Contractor. The interaction between the Japanese and Nigeria, one would say became organic in two ways. One with the owners and the other as a company employing Nigerians as their staff as well as other service providers to get the work moving.
The Japanese respected time and delivery of work on schedule. The Nigerian did not respect time nor cared much on the duty reposed on him. When saddled with a task the Japanese found the Nigerian “member” sloppy, lazy and failing most of the time to discharge his duty. If asked why the Japanese found out the Nigerian one after the other will fail to accomplish a task most of the time and say I will “explain”. They dismissed us as they observed that always, the Nigerian will fail and “explain”. So they came to label us as “Nigerian member explanation, explanation”.
Again in 1977, I was a Supervisor at the refrigeration and air-conditioning with the engineering department of the former United Nigeria Textile Limited (UNTL) Kaduna managed by Chinese. Their assessment of Nigerian was that “Promote a Nigerian and he will not work”. When a manager, he takes it as a privilege to report for work late and close early. Would expect largesse so that he will build houses and acquire assets at the expense of the company with little or not much contribution to the bottom line.
In virtually the same way and manner, Nigerians yearn for development, as it would appear in Europe or the developed world just like that. But how can we develop without electric power? Every joker who has made it rich with no sweat just opens his mouth and says, ‘In Nigeria, there is no hope’. The blame game is endless. If one asks the noisemakers, how did you acquire the house you live in and the cars and the chains of the plazas and other assets in Nigeria and abroad , he will ignore that one. How can the elite live in Fantasy Island whereby, each home is to have a dedicated borehole, a standby generator just for him and his family while most Nigerians live in darkness and expect development? The roads to the GRA are dilapidated with potholes, bumps and electric poles and the stringing misaligned and a potential danger to the community.
It is sad that Nigerians can only talk, make noise but in reality, not disposed to changing their lives. How can industries work without electricity? How can medium, small and micro businesses survive with no electric power? Presidents, ministers and technocrats spend years deceiving people of a phantom electric power, where lots of water passes under the bridge and over the bridge.
Primitive people who were born in villages with no electricity, no pipe born water during their childhood, the likes of Obasanjo, do not see sustenance of electric power as the basis for development. Nor even give a damn if iron and steel like the Ajaokuta Steel Company are vital to driving industrial progress. Since in their blood and psyche, it is of no consequence. So, like the Japanese see Nigerians, they wasted precious eight years explaining, why with 16 billion US dollars and more, nothing tangible is on the ground. They are not ashamed to face Nigerians and whip ethnic and religious sentiments and the ethnic and religious-based media will dismiss the case as a non-event. As if they are immune to the disaster.
When Fashola came in with a double portfolio to jumpstart electric power and road infrastructure, his major concern remained the LagosIbadan road, which is a tiny fraction of the total Nigerian roads and highways network. With electric power, you wonder, if he is enlightened enough to understand the role of electricity in human development. After four years, the story is just a mere explanation of why there is nothing to show.
Nigerians have fallen into misfortune by being saddled with wicked leaders and sadistic ones like OBJ. Their major living interest is to secure loyalty from any and will let him “come and eat”. The PDP that ruled from May 1999 to May 2015 had the golden period to fix electric power for the good of all Nigerian citizens. The electric power that is core to solving unemployment nation-wide was treated with disdain. With over 100 USD per barrel and at the same time pumping over 100,000 bpd of crude oil, the primitive and village boys pursued self-indulgencies.
It is only in Nigeria that the ruling elite sees development as a standby generator, a bore hole and a fortification of your home against frustrated citizens that have been victims of primitive and savage corruption. These elites described by former Chairman of EFCC, Farida Waziri as lunatics, steal too much money they do not need. They cannot account for the illegal and ill-gotten wealth that would provide electric power to Nigerians that will alleviate the touted youth’s restlessness and unemployment including the unfortunate waves of kidnappings.
I was away in Cairo, Egypt from October 24th, for about a month and never witnessed electric power failure. There are about 20 million people in the city with high rise buildings with lift facilities. With over 1000 and over 16 floors how can one survive without electricity? No matter what, even in Gaza Palestine and war-torn Syria, electricity is not one thing the elite choose to steal away the funds for capital and recurrent as obtains in Nigeria. I have been to Saudi Arabia since 1976 and about 10 times thereafter and I have not seen electric power off for a second.
All these “developed” countries that I have been to, the UK, Germany, France, USA and China that Nigerians waste precious FX to patronise have put their homes in order. I remember in 1972 when a professor in electric engineering and the head of the department of electrical engineering department, Professor D.G.O Morris, a Briton was taking us on the subject, applied electricity in our first year, though I went for mechanical, he used to write only two equations. These were the compatibility equation concerns with the capacitance and inductance of a coaxial cable. It would appear to me that, it is not these equations that are not compatible in our electricity generation but the failed and explain equations that the Nigerians are known for.
Until and unless Nigerians take the generation, supply and distribution of electricity into the very bottom of their hearts, forget about development. I heard that in the usual Nigerian way, some “smart” guys were induced to go and be planting trees “economic” in order to blackmail the project if they do not take “compensation” as a way to feather their nests. Should that not happen, they could sabotage the Mambila Project as if the electric power to be generated is of no value to their lives and the future generations.
(mofari@hotmail.com)