What actually provoked this was the challenge by the Honourable Minister for Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN, who claimed that Nigerians now use less of generators due to improved power supply.
Yesterday, I posted a story in respect of the revolution that happened in Egypt, where Siemens constructed a 14.4 gigawatts power plant in just two years with the sun of $7.2b.
The main focus was partly to show that between 2015 when the Buhari administration took over power, and now, the problem of lack of electricity could have been solved.
What actually provoked this was the challenge by the Honourable Minister for Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN, who claimed that Nigerians now use less of generators due to improved power supply.
I can only speak for myself and where I live and work, which is Lekki Phase 1 in Lagos, where I use generators now more than ever before.
There are times there is no power supply for a whole day, for a whole night and at times for days and nights.
At the least threat of rainfall, power supply is disrupted and even when the rain stops, darkness will persist.
It is always one problem or fault or story or something, the result of which is always that there is constant blackout.
In Lekki Phase 1, I’m told that the feeder pillars are weak and obsolete, the cables and conductors are old and wearing out, and electricity supply to the whole Estate is very poor, hovering around a meager 4 megawatts, at the peak.
For a whole Lekki Phase 1, with giant mansions, estates, sprawling commercials centres, banks, churches, etc, to be struggling for just 4 megawatts, then we have a very long way to go.
Most often times, we are forced to depend on generators. The transformers are archaic, old, exposed and thus liable to vandalism by criminals, all of which is still the same story of blackout.
How can we be in a country like this? And in just two years, Egypt has done the impossible.
So, I urge Nigerians to rise up and take up the electricity challenge.
Let no politician, whether in APC, PDP, APGA, AAC, PSP or whatever, be allowed to campaign to us in any community, town, village or city where there is blackout.
It is tiring. All resources are channeled on diesel, fuel and repair and servicing of generators, virtually for everybody.
This is not to talk of the health hazards and environmental issues involved in relying upon generators, which has led to deaths of families, who slept and inhaled generator fumes, the noise all over the land, etc.
This is not to mention it’s ripple effect on crime and criminalities, when kidnappers, armed robbers and terrorists hide under the cover of darkness to perpetrate wickedness.
Enough is enough.
Give us constant, permanent and reliable power supply or no vote. It is that simple.
If you can’t give us POWER (electricity) to better our lives, you’re not entitled to POWER (governance) from us, to better your pockets. Simple as ABC.
#NoPowerNoVote
Enough of darkness!
Ebun-olu Adegboruwa, Esq.