Now, the respite people get from the little electricity provided by this our government of no respite is about being taken away. How do you jump from a tariff of 66naira to 225naira?
By Chika Abiakam-Onyeukwu
I’d been mulling on this topic before this increment of electricity tariff. Now, this action has lent greater fuel to my article.
Is it that our government cannot feel the pain its citizens are going through? Where is this government from, abeg? How long shall the citizenry continue to ‘suffer’ before we get our deserved and deserving respite from the government? Not just this dispensation, even though, they, this APC government, has shown Nigerians more shege than others.
People have been providing electricity for their households and businesses for a long time now through their generators which have become the stable source of electricity , while the public power supply agency, ‘NEPA’ has become mere backup. You can rely on your generator set more than you can rely on the national supply. That one comes intermittently and sparingly, never to be depended on. And boom, fuel and diesel prices have been escalated by 400+ percent (from 165naira to 640/650/700 naira) by our government of no respite.
Now households and businesses cannot power their generators for as long they are wont to due to high cost of fuel.
Has anyone noticed the level of eerie darkness that pervades the towns most nights these days? Eerie it is. Many townships, not just Lagos. I said townships!! Not village o!! Makes you wonder if we are still on planet earth where townships are lit with every paraphernalia of electricity. And to think that Lagos, our dear Lagos, known for its bright lights could be shrouded in such darkness makes you wonder more.
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Hitherto, households could keep their generators running through the night to ward off this darkness. And the heat of course. Well, that to an extent because the noise pollution from our generators adds to the distress. The heat has been unbearable, but we could have used our air conditioners if there was NEPA light. Now, this ability is being stifled by our government of no respite. That is for the one we can “see” or “get” because this government’s electricity supply is almost nonexistent. I mean, it’s just there for a few hours a day. Can anyone boast of constant electricity, for up to one week, not one month, from any part of Nigeria? Even in government houses. Please raise your hand, if you can.
It’s like no consideration for any form of comfort for the citizenry. Our air-conditioners are now mere objects of fancy to show that we can afford one because most generators cannot power them and whatever little electricity provided will not last long enough to enjoy the air conditioning. They’re just there.
Bulk cooking and storing of food is a known practice across the globe. It saves time and money. It has become a challenge now due to the high cost of fuel and diesel as well as the absence of our dear ‘NEPA’. Our various electrical gadgets that are convenient and help life including the freezers mentioned above, get blown up by these inconsistencies in electricity supply leading to greater distress, anxiety, frustration and increased poverty in the land.
Check out all the small businesses that depend on electricity. From hairdressers, panel beaters, business centers, electricians themselves who had all been groaning from the cost of diesel, now being hurled with this increment. Even big businesses are not spared. I cannot begin to count those.
Now, the respite people get from the little electricity provided by this our government of no respite is about being taken away. How do you jump from a tariff of 66naira to 225naira? This is a 350 percent increase. Based on what? The salary increment for civil servants? The businesses that have been destabilised by the seesaw of currency and policy fluctuations? And the worst; even with tariff increase, we may still not see the light. So where is the respite?
The worst is that even with this increment, the light still may not be there. Humph!!!!! Is it not Nigeria again? Why not fix/improve the intermittent and almost nonexistent power supply first to support increment. Our government of no respite.
If you ask me, I’d say there is a deliberate attempt to destroy as many businesses as possible to further impoverish the people so we would be too busy looking for what to eat to challenge nonsense. And perhaps as many family structures as possible, God forbid. Because, a family that is able to provide and be happy stay together. My take.
Which one do we talk about and leave the rest? You ride through the streets and you marvel at the state of our roads. Except for some major roads in Lagos where I reside, the inner city roads are a horrible sight. Zero down to FESTAC Town: Major roads here have become an eyesore, a nightmare and an embarrassment. The once beautiful pride of the nation. One wonders, with the money flying overhead, from taxes – formal and informal, to government allocations to FDI’s could it not fix the roads. Mind boggling.
Yet, our senators are haggling over budget padding with no consequences. Allocations running to several millions and billions flying up and down that cannot be accounted for. Even for constituency projects. Money here. Money there but none for the common man. None to provide facilities that give respite to the people. And we have our governors and representatives in the National Assembly to talk for the people.
Government schools, state and federal, are a sight to Behold. No chairs in most classrooms up to university level. Dilapidated buildings with roofs blown out in more than you can count. A local government had a hut school building fall on its students somewhere here in Nigeria. Haba!!!!!! Na wetin!!!!!!
But for the practice of appointing incompetent people into office, could there be a real reason for not providing basic facilities such as have been mentioned. There are more to be mentioned but let’s stick to these. Does it really cost more than what the government has in its coffers to provide these? Abeg, make we check am, now!!
I know I’m not the first person to be making such fuss and this hullabaloo about our government’s inability or perhaps disinterest in providing basic facilities and amenities for its people but abeg, make una begin try now!!!! Its 2024 for crying out loud. Countries have moved on from such stories of good roads, constant electricity, good government schools and the like. Abeg, help us change our perspective and our song. So we can really say we have a government. And respite from out government.
Chika Abiakam-Onyeukwu, public affairs analyst, wrote from Lagos
