Some men who claim that they have ‘spiritual eyes’ have deciphered from their crystal ball that the darkness in Nigeria today is not only physical but also spiritual; whatever that means. But as superstitious as it sounds, that reasoning calls to mind the Biblical account of what transpired on the first day of creation where the Creator Himself decreed: “Let there be light”, and there was light. This divine gift of light for which nations of the world paid nothing whatsoever is now like precious gold given to those who do not know its value. Sadly, this is the character of the crisis in Nigeria’s energy sector. There is electricity everywhere; there are energy experts everywhere; there are GENCOS and DISCOS everywhere, yet there is no light.
“My government in this New Year 2024 and beyond, will work to give every Nigerian equal opportunity to strive and to thrive.” Those were the exact words of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu in his New Year message to the nation on Monday, 1st January 2024. The reality on ground today is in sharp contrast to that pledge by the President.
Perhaps it is too early to determine whether or not the President has delivered on his New Year promises given that the year is still in its first quarter. But as an Igbo adage says, it is the speed with which your guests wash their hands before lunch that gives you a clue as to who among them was likely to eat fastest.
In that speech, the President informed the nation that he entered into a deal with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in Dubai during COP28 “to speed up the delivery of the Siemens Energy Power project that will ultimately deliver reliable supply of electricity to our homes and businesses”. That project began as far back as 2018 under the Presidential Power Initiative. Everybody in this country is aware that power supply has since been on a downhill trajectory. As at 2021, power generation in neighbouring Ghana with a population of about 34 million people had exceeded 4,000 megawatts, while that of Nigeria with a population of over 200 million people stood at a dismal 3,970 megawatts as at July 2023. As we speak, Nigeria’s power output is so embarrassing as to render the figure unprintable! It is indeed something of an ‘electric shock’ that 64 years after independence, this country’s ‘beautiful ones are not yet born’ to fix the nation’s power problems. Even if the nation’s generating capacity of 22,000 megawatts is achieved, it would still be a far cry from the nation’s energy requirements. Virtually all Military Heads of State, all elected Presidents, all Ministers of Power and Energy from as far back as my kindergarten days, have pledged to fix the power conundrum; but like a malignant sore under the scrotum, the situation keeps getting worse every passing day. One begins to wonder whether indeed the problem is spiritual. Even if that is the case, this country’s bragging rights for her proficiency in spiritual matters is acknowledged all over the world!
As the perennial energy crisis persists, countries that would ordinarily be regarded as Nigeria’s peers in the comity of nations seemed to have recorded relative progress in the sector. For instance, Brazil with a population of 216 million (same as Nigeria’s own population bracket) is currently generating over 199,000 megawatts mostly from hydro-electric plants. Malaysia’s power generation capacity, much of which comes from coal and gas, stands at 19,023 megawatts serving a population of a little above 34 million people. Our extended family kinsmen in South Africa numbering about 60 million had serious energy crisis too but they have managed to ratchet up their output over the years, now peaking at over 58,000 megawatts with 42,000 MW generated through coal-fired power stations.
It is pertinent to recall that the President’s 2024 Budget outlined his 8 priorities: national defence and internal security, job creation, macro-economic stability, investment environment optimization, human capital development, poverty reduction and social security. These priorities also defined the administration’s policy direction at inception eight months ago. In the past eight months, nothing much has changed; if there were any changes at all, it is most noticeable in the spiralling cost of living, severe hardship and acute hunger across the country. As if to spite the Presidency for ‘prioritizing’ internal security, armed bandits, kidnappers and all shades of criminal elements have unleashed their devilry in multiple-fold upon the Nigerian masses since that Presidential New Year speech.
In the meantime, the President’s deal with the German Chancellor to power the nation is yet to translate into tangible benefit for the biggest Black nation in the world now almost completely enveloped by self-inflicted darkness.
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*Anthony-Spinks writes from Asaba, Delta State.
