OPINION: HAS PRESIDENT BUHARI TACKLED THE ELECTRIC POWER PROBLEM SILENTLY???

OPINION: HAS PRESIDENT BUHARI TACKLED THE ELECTRIC POWER PROBLEM SILENTLY???

Dear Nigerians,

I have observed in the past one week that the power supply at least in my area has improved significantly. My domain happened to be a place dominated by Christians though ugly notorious for the sales of alcoholic drinks and the Hausa local gin burukutu, and as such it was widely believed that we were neglected by the Muslim government of the day in the state level due to this posture which usually left us in darkness, as neighbouring zones do have adequate power supply as against our locality being served with an obsolete power transformer, even though the government at the centre was a Christian and in fact a Christian governor held sway in the state before this present regime. So how true was this posture?

We have always been neglected in regards to electric power supply to our domain since I came into this vicinity over six years ago. However, in the last couple of days, at least I can attest to the fact that CHANGE has been noticed in the power sector within my immediate residential area. And this led me to ask this question: HAS PRESIDENT BUHARI TACKLED THE ELECTRIC POWER PROBLEM SILENTLY? This is because NO major pronouncement or directive has been seen from this government so far.

Prior to the advent of the current APC government in the centre, ‘NEPA’ as it is been known and addressed by the young ones even those that weren’t given birth when the power company was called National Electric Power Authority NEPA has always been a disappointment to the Nigerian citizens as their hitherto acronym ‘NEPA’ fitly represents Never Expect Power Always. So with the poor power supply to the Nigerian citizens, we already concluded that we will never expect power always from NEPA and as such, it was a normal thing to be left in total darkness by this company at the time.

However when NEPA rebranded and metamorphosed into Power Holding Company of Nigeria PHCN, again Nigerians concluded that their acronym fits very well as they were only releasing electric power to the general public at their own pace since they were HOLDING the power from the general public. So it was never a crime to be denied adequate power supply by the power holding company when it existed and Nigerians started holding their individual power too as the generator importation business boomed during their regime.

So when the power company was recently bundled by the federal government and private investors came into play in the system, Nigerians hived a sigh of relief that at last the poor power problem would be over soon. But alas, the result was the same if not worse as it has always been the case with their successors (NEPA and PHCN).

One thing has always been the bane of the power sector in Nigeria and that is CORRUPTION in the system. With the billions of dollars that the Obasanjo government sunk into the power sector and with little or nothing to show for it in the long run, Nigeria has always been seen as a cursed nation as they were so blessed by GOD both in human and natural resources but misused by the greedy few to keep other Nigerians in perpetual poverty. So, who will redeem Nigeria today?

So, Nigerians, as the government of President Buhari clocks fifteen (15) days today Saturday, 13 June 2015, what is the electric power supply situation in your location? Has it improved over the days or it has gone worse? Speak up! In my case there’s noticeable improvement. How about yours?

Cheers.