Power supply as the Òkóbó metaphor

ÒKÓBÓ is a generic word with which the Yoruba describe impotence. So, to refer to a man as òkóbó is to simply say that such a man is impotent – impotence in its literal sense. However, euphemisms such as ‘powerless’, ‘weak’, or ‘ineffective’ can serve as the synonyms of òkóbó, and Nigerians will always understand it better when they encounter hawkers of aphrodisiacs – a common occurrence on our streets and all.

Òkóbó is one of those Yoruba words I learnt living in the great city of Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State and the citadel of politics both in the South West and in Nigeria. Growing up in the homeland of Ogunmola, the city of Ojo; the town of Ajayi is a gift, and also learning and being dyed in the nuances of the city is yet an added privilege. Òkóbó as a word is not thrown around so much in conversations. It is an adult thing. It is not commonplace to hear the word used anyhow, and it looks like it is on the way to becoming one of those words not really used anymore. But it is there. From what I learnt, only a man can be an òkóbó. Therefore, it is an exclusive preserve of us, the menfolk.

There is this paradoxical anecdotal rendition the Yoruba – perhaps it might be the Ibadan – have woven around the married òkóbó. Upon a deeper reflection, the question would have been what the impotent man was thinking by getting married to a woman in the first place. Such a marriage would soon develop an obvious K-leg in no time. Discerning people know that the reason the marital relationship would become a bedlam presently is because when a man and a woman agree to come together in matrimony, there would always be the consumption of the marriage. And when an òkóbó is involved, we can decorate our faces with those kinds of smiles that question where the children came from.

So, the proverbial saying about the òkóbó stems from that reasoning. They say: Èyí tí a ní kí òkóbó bò, kòleè bòó, ó wá ni òun le bo igba abéré nínú òkùnkùn. Literally transliterated, I can say: That which the impotent was asked to insert, he could not handle it but he is here boasting how easily he could thread 200 needles even in the dark. Part of the wisdom in this hilarious but serious analogy is the insertion of the thread in the needle hole. I’m sure we all have an idea as adults, and we all have the wisdom to determine what this means in a husband and wife relationship.

So, how does this whole description of Òkóbó the Impotent concern electricity? What has electricity got to do with an impotent man? Could it be that such a man can be medically jolted back to erectile life using the relevant electric shock therapies? Interestingly, this third question has a ready answer because of what has become of public electricity supply in Ibadan. University College Hospital (UCH), that legendary tertiary health institution in the city, is currently a pointer to how decrepit power supply has become in the city. As I write this, the hospital is wallowing in darkness and its frustrated management together with its numerous helpless patients, are crying day and night for a solution to the very poor or non-existent public power supply.

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So, the òkóbó who goes to seek a solution to his needle-insertion problem in UCH might have to wait for a long time for an appointment because of lack of electricity there. The beleaguered UCH is one of the triggers of this write up. UCH is a pathetic case of government negligence which has led to managerial helplessness. It just looks like the state is out to kill that institution.

The government inundates Nigerians daily with statistics of achievements of large proportions. However, these are not seen or felt in the daily life of the people. Electricity supply, which should fix the micro and small-scale business life of Nigerians, is getting worse by the day and no one knows what is really going on with that aspect of our life. They say it is gas…! That is why a serious Tinubu Trumpet like Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State could switch sides and join protesters to decry poor electricity supply in the state along with the brazen robbery going on with the commodity.

But the òkóbó aspect of this lamentation on electricity will always return one to Ibadan, also the land of the Great Adegoke Adelabu Penkelemesi. Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, is a highly regarded son of Ibadan. He is a man who has contributed in no small measure to the greatly-mouthed achievements of the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Indeed, Mr. Adebayo is a Scion of the legendary Chief Adegoke Adelabu, who is still the owner of the sobriquet, Penkelemesi.

Our dear Minister of Power, according to numerous accounts and undenied commentaries, is angling to become the governor of Oyo State in 2027. Of a fact, Adebayo Adelabu is a frontliner among those jostling to fly the flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming general election in the country.

It will be interesting to hear his electricity supply tales and takes when the campaigns set in. Or, could it be that they are keeping the important commodity to make it available when the time comes so as to erase the memories of now? I think Adebayo Adelabu will help us with answers on how poorly we have performed in that very important ministry of his. Otherwise, we will sadly remember the statutory assignment given to the òkóbó. Remember, the òkóbó is the still man who couldn’t do just one task but is telling us how well he can do in two hundred other tasks.

Sadly, we have been rendered so impotent as a people, especially in our thinking, so much that we have become such an òkóbó in our varied and tainted reactions to the numerous failings of our governments. It is often very sad how hard we try prove besmirch at every point when we raise queries about our political journey as a people. The best we have always been able to do is to march unproductively on the streets like they recently did in Benin City by our co-òkóbós in Edo State. Then we return to our electricity generating sets in our dilapidated and un-electrified neighbourhoods and communities and boast of our ability to handle 200 tasks like the typical òkóbó.

Some people will remember that there were social media posts of our president’s promise to make 24 hours power supply available in the country. He was said to have made the promise while campaigning for votes to be our president. He was said to have even added that if he failed to give Nigerians stable power supply, we should not vote for him if he comes back for our votes for a second term. Okay…

In his first presidential New Year message to Nigerians in January 2024, he acknowledged the socio-economic hardship Nigerians faced, and said his administration was poised to accelerate the pace of service delivery across sectors. In that 2024 New Year speech, he said Nigerians would soon begin to reap the fruit of one of his foreign trips, especially in the delivery of reliable electricity to homes and businesses. He said he had agreed and was “committed to a new deal to speed up the delivery of the Siemens energy power project that will ultimately deliver a reliable power supply of electricity to our homes and businesses under the presidential power project which began in 2018.”

While these might sound like long-term expectations, and might need Nigerians to wait since the government doesn’t always arrive when they say they would, what happens to the maintenance of what we had before now? This is yet another question for the Honourable Minister of Power. Why do we not have power sir? Before the answers come, may I submit that it all looks like the òkóbó business right now. In no muddled-up terms, the Nigerian power supply sector is of the òkóbó hue, and Nigerians are suffering greatly.