The
importance of electricity to the economic development of Nigeria cannot
be overemphasised. It is the driving force of development, be it
technology, industrial, and other forms of economic expansion. Equitable
power generation can improve the life of millions of the people. It can
serve as the basis for running an effective economy. Successive
administrations have failed to provide adequate electricity needed for
economic activities by Nigerians.
Artisans, technicians, and
entrepreneurs have been forced to shut down their businesses due to
government’s inability to provide electricity, in the process, adding to
the increasing list of the unemployed. In some cases, electricity is
routinely distributed and for others, it does not show up for months.
Foreign investors have subsequently relocated to other countries where
they can conveniently operate their business.
Several
allegations were made about the current administration’s irregularities
in its approval of contracts to companies that were not registered
under the Corporate Affairs Commission, and which lacked the capacity to
carry out such contracts. A report by an online newspaper, The Nigerian
Muse, published on March 18, 2008, stated that the CAC declared 34
companies that handled contracts in the power sector between 1999 and
2007 illegal and that it had no record of the firms in its books. The
contracts were worth N6.2bn. Several other illegal companies were
allegedly awarded contracts worth millions of naira by the Jonathan’s
administration to execute contracts for the National Integrated Power
Project without due process.
It is understood that Nigeria needs
a yearly generation of at least 10,000 MW of electricity per year to
enhance sustainable development. South Africa has a population of about
55 million people but generates an average of 45,000 MW of electricity
through various sources, while Nigeria with 170 million people struggles
to generate 4, 000 MW. As Africa’s most populous nation and leading
economy, Nigeria is expected to be generating not less than 50,000MW of
electricity.
Despite the huge funds that have been invested in
the energy sector, it has only added 1,687.5 MW of electricity
generation, making it about 5,800 MW. Part of the reasons for the poor
generation is owed to the extent of vandalism of the pipelines network,
which supplies gas to some power stations. Another reason is the lack of
commitment by government to invest in the sector. About $20bn has been
reportedly embezzled by successive administrations within the past 16
years.
Subsequently, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission was constituted to give the required institutional support to
ensure a balanced regulatory framework to protect both the investors
and consumers. This was in line with the objective of unbundling the
Power Holding Company of Nigeria into 18 successor companies to achieve
increased access to electricity, improved efficiency, affordability,
reliability, quality of service and greater investment in the sector to
encourage economic growth. Regrettably, the outcome of these plans has
not yielded positive results. Government has not lived up to its
responsibility of transforming the energy sector. The privatisation of
the sector has become worse than it was. The country is plagued with
epileptic power supply. Generation of electricity has deteriorated. The
sector can best be described as being in a comatose state.
Editor
of the Journal of Sustainable Development Studies, Ise Olorunkanmi O.
Joseph, of the Department of Political Science and International
Relations, Landmark University, Kwara State, stated that ‘‘despite the
privatisation of the PHCN in 2013, Nigeria’s electricity generation
capacity has declined from the peak generation level of about 4,517.6 MW
recorded in December, 2012 to about 3,670MW in January, 2014.” (See
www.nigeriapowerreform.org). According to a recent poll by the NOIPolls,
limited electricity supply in Nigeria worsened in the fourth quarter of
2013, at the peak of the privatisation process.
The issue that
runs through one’s mind is the fact that government and the successor
companies did not consider the challenges that the energy sector is
facing. Therefore, after successful bids were considered, Nigerians woke
up to be confronted with a more complicated electricity sector.
Nigerians now pay twice as high for getting epileptic power supply, and
in some cases none. Were the successor companies not aware of the state
of electricity (electricity generation, transmission, and distribution),
before they bid and bought them over? How many megawatts of electricity
have been added to existing ones by the successor companies? How come
Nigerians are made to pay for what they do not consume? Are there no
laws to regulate charges based on consumption? Your guess is as good as
mine, on who the actual saboteurs of our economy are.
Part of
the challenges of poor electricity supply in Nigeria is the lack of
alternative energy source (Nigeria has hydro, thermal, solar and wind
electricity sources to tap from to boost her power supply but has not
managed to do this effectively over the years) and increase in
vandalism. Government should understand that electricity is a major
economic booster that can make a country self-sufficient in job
creation, economic productivity and growth. It is the means of
encouraging young entrepreneurs to advance in business and shun crime
and corruption.
- Charles Iyare is Monitoring and Evaluation Officer with the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, Benin City.
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