Nigeria’s abysmal power situation

THE power sector is without doubt mired in absolute despair. There is scarcely any hope that it will be pulled out of the quicksand, and this happens to be the official position. Nigeria has been ranked as the second worst nation in power supply. The Spectator Index stated this in its recent report. According to the report, which came out just as power generation in the country plummeted to 3,851 megawatts (Mw), the country is only better than Yemen in the league of nations.

Out of the 137 countries examined in the report, Nigeria ranked 136th. It was closely followed by Haiti, Lebanon and Malawi. Ethiopia was ranked in the 37th position while South Africa and Algeria occupied the 41st and 45th positions respectively. Although the capacity of the national grid stands at 4000 Mw, it very rarely reaches that level because the transmission capacity cannot handle it. The report noted that the average power sent out by the Generating Companies (GENCOs) on 14th January stood at 3851.06 Mw. It  added that the peak power generation averaged 4,425 Mw, down by 5.5 per cent. Against this dismal background, the Minster of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola’s recent admission that his ministry did not spend a dime on any project last year should be viewed with the seriousness that it deserves.

In the power sector, it normally takes a minimum of 24 months for returns on investment to manifest as social benefits. If the Power Ministry has not spent a dime now, it can only be because the Federal Government was never serious about remedying the situation in the power sector in the first place, at least for the remainder of this dispensation. Nigeria will remain in darkness—no metaphor intended—for quite a long time before any manifestation of a remedy. And from the premise that the country’s economic emancipation is predicated on improvement in the power sector, this means that manufacturers and the real sector generally will remain in limbo for a long time. Any hope that the economy might improve has just been cruelly dashed. This clearly exemplifies both lack of vision and incompetence.

It simply rankles to think of all the humongous investments made in the power sector, especially by past administrations. There is simply no reason for it to remain as poor as this. Sadly, from the attitude and body language of the current administration, there are no plans to improve the power sector despite the dire situation. Dismal as the Spectator Index may be, it is already in the past. The future is more important and we think it is imperative to get serious about it and act as if the lives of the future generations depended on what could be done to salvage the situation. But Fashola’s revelations suggest that all hopes for the future are buried already. The government has not spent a dime on re-energizing the dilapidated infrastructure.

It is virtually impossible to envision any kind of development for the people without adequate power generation, transmission and distribution. It is an obvious embarrassment that the largest country in Africa remains in the backwaters, but it is even more horrendous that the administration is not bothered about the implications. The country will remain a hostile economic environment in which progress and development will be impossible and its potential for greatness will remain unrealised.  It may be unrealistic to imagine that the redemption of the power sector can be a once and for all project. Gradually, though,  the onerous challenges can eventually be surmounted. The place to start is the improvement of the distribution cables to facilitate efficient transmission, in readiness for improved generation.

The crude infrastructure in the power sector is a disgrace. Surely, the country’s leadership ought to feel disconcerted about the implications.