NIGERIA POWER: AS GREED GROUNDS THE GRID
By Bala Ibrahim
When as a young student of Economics, the teacher explained to us that Human wants are insatiable, my mind didn’t immediately go to greed. Neither did I, in my wildest imagination, prophesize the possibility of greed coming to bedevil the power supply of my country, Nigeria. Yes, the intense and selfish desire for money and material, have combined to take over the conscience of some people. It is now difficult for some, to differentiate between the lawdul and the unlawful, especially with regards the means of making wealth. The drive to accumulate, even if at the detriment of one’s health, is on the increase daily and dangerously. What has started as a joke, a kind of boffola, is now turning into reality, albeit blindly.
Electricity or power supply, as it relates to the National grid, has gotten a new name called collapse. Collapse is the new name of the National grid now, and anyone in doubt should take a trip to the north, and keep his hope tied to a transformer. That hope would transform to hopeless, or hopelessness .
According to a report released by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, sometimes back, N11tn meant for the provision of adequate electricity for Nigerians was squandered under ex-presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan. Also, it is estimated that the financial loss to Nigeria from corruption in the electricity sector may further reach N20tn in the next 10 years. The total estimated financial loss to Nigeria from corruption in the electricity sector starting from the return to democracy in 1999 to date is over N11tn. This represents public funds, private equity and social investment (or divestments) in the power sector.
It is again estimated that it may reach over N20tn in the next decade, given the rate of Government investment and funding in the power sector amidst dwindling fortune and recurrent revenue shortfalls. So said the report. But at the time of giving that report, the new nomenclature of collapse has not arrived at the home of the National grid. So, with its arrival now, a more frightening estimate should be expected, with unpalatable consequences to the future of the country.
Nigeria spends a significant amount of money on electricity generation, including on fuel and generators, and on infrastructure projects. And the primary source of electricity generation comes from fossil fuels, especially gas, which accounts for 86% of the capacity in the country. Nigeria has these resources in excess.
When he assumed office, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari threw a jibe at Obasanjo, saying he spent $16bn on power projects during his tenure, without corresponding power supply to Nigerians. “Where is za power?”, was the joke rhat was hyped widely in the social and mainstream media. Also, before he came into office, President Bola Tinubu had equally accused Obasanjo of spending $16bn on power without corresponding supply of electricity to Nigerians.
An investigation by the Senate revealed that the Federal Government has invested N2.74 trillion in Nigeria’s power sector over the last 16 years (1999 to date). The investments were made during the regimes of former President Olusegun Obasanjo; his successor, late President Umaru Yar’Adua, and President Goodluck Jonathan. Nigeria has spent a total of $12.38 billion in the last 46 years. Between 1999 and 2019 Nigeria Spent N2 trillion and Buhari spent 45% of that fund.
As things stand today, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is accusing the immediate past Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, of conspiracy to commit money laundering to the tune of N33,804,830,503.73 (Thirty-Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Four Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Five Hundred and Three Naira, Seventy-Three Kobo. Almost thirty-four Billion. That’s an amount huge enough to set up a mini grid in a sane society. That money went into the pocket of an individual, without corresponding supply of electricity to Nigerians. Greed can not have a better name. Because of such greed, Nigerians are compelled to seek alternative sources of electricity, wherein, last year alone, they spent, on the self-generation of power – on fuelling and servicing their generators – N16. 5 trillion, according to research. This is terrible, for a country that ought to be teaching Africa the meaning of good leadership.
Everything boils down to greed and corruption. As I write this article, today, 08/11/2024, Kano, Nigeria’s oldest commercial centre, is on partial or total darkness. This is a situation that is almost becoming the norm. A. Simple search would show that from October 2024, the National grid had experienced ten collapses, significantly disrupting power supply nationwide and pushing businesses to rely on self-powered generators to maintain operations. To date, the grid has collapsed more than twenty times this year, with multiple failures occurring in a single day. Although the authorities have been giving excuses, ranging from upgrade to vandalism, observers are united on one reason- greed.
So, unless something is done to tame the tide of this greed, in no distant time, it would completely ground the grid.
NIGERIA POWER: AS GREED GROUNDS THE GRID
