INDEPENDENCE DAY: AS WE MARK 47 YEARS OF NIGERIA

On October 1st this year Nigeria will be 47. Nigerians worldwide will be celebrating their 47th Independence Day anniversary. This is the time for Nigerians to remember the efforts of past heroes in the fight for Independence. This is a period for Nigerians to assess how far we have gone in achieving the goals of our founding fathers.

What did our founding fathers have in mind when they were struggling for independence? Did they anticipate that by now Nigeria a country blessed with abundant human and natural resources will be one of the poorest in the world? Did they anticipate that many years after power stations like the Kainji dam were built, Nigeria will still be deficient in power supply? Who will believe that Nigeria still has only 4 refineries decades after the first was built.

Our leaders at all levels should use this unique opportunity that this Independence season provides to reflect on the past 47 years with a view of facing the challenges of the future. They must not forget that they will still be in power in 2010 when Nigeria will mark her 50th anniversary. Then result will be expected from President Yar’adua’s 7 points agenda.

However, is there anything to celebrate after 47 years? With the long list of problems (challenges) presently facing Nigeria, it is tempting to answer no to the question.

Corruption remains one of the biggest problems in Nigeria. This corruption is fueled by poverty, greed, illiteracy and impatience. Corruption is at the root of most of the challenges we face in Nigeria today. Be it epileptic power supply, low human capital development and more.




President Yar’adua seems to have won the trust of a lot of Nigerians with his unique servant leadership style. Most of us who criticized his selection seem to have fallen for the humility we have seen in the man. It is hard to find ordinary Nigerians saying negative things about Mr. Yar’adua.

In addition the reversal of certain decisions made by the Obasanjo administration has gone a long way to make us have an afterthought about Yar’adua. For me, any decision that will hurts Obasanjo and his interest is good enough; at least he needs to pay for overseeing the worst elections in my history and for the many years of heart ache that he had caused Nigerians. It is obvious that Yar’adua is popular with Nigerians presently.

However, what is important is what Yar’adua does with his popularity. A look at history shows that most dictators starts well and ends in disaster. They win the trust of their people and then use their popularity to oppress the people.

President Yar’adua must use his popularity to promote good governance in Nigeria. He must use his popularity to push that his servant leadership philosophy be adopted in all the states in Nigeria.

At this 47th Independence anniversary in Nigeria, I will be celebrating Yar’adua the servant leader from Katsina state who emerged from the most widely criticized elections in my life time. You should do the same.

NIGERIA: PAYING FOR ENERGY BEFORE YOU USE IT.

A few weeks ago the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) began the installation of prepayment Electronic Energy Meter in my Area. However, on the 21st August I came home only to find that the prepayment meter had been installed in my house. My old meter unit had been replaced with two impressive looking units by technicians of the PHCN.

The smaller unit called the monitor unit displays information about your credit level with the PHCN. The monitor unit is also used for loading credit into your meter. The other unit called the metering unit is the main meter unit.

Having used this new prepayment meter for about three weeks I have noticed a change in my attitude to using energy. I have also noticed similar changes in my neighbors and most other Nigerians who have had the privilege or nightmare of using the new PHCN prepayment meter.

I am now more conscious of my energy consumption. I switch off any appliance that is not in use. I now switch off the light in my bathroom and toilet which used to be on from night till morning. Switching off my security light is now in my to-do list every morning. I am not the only one who has changed, people living around my area have also been thought a lesson or two by this new prepayment energy meter from the PHCN.

These days the streets are dark at night, even when there is power, which is a pity. Most people do not turn on their security lights at night, which used to light up the city. These days the only light you see on at night is the light from the TV.

It is quite surprising to see how a pair of electronic gadget can cause tremendous behavioral change in a community. Because we now know that we will pay for every unit of energy we use, we are now more conscious of our energy consumption. In addition because we know that our power supply will automatically trip off if we run out of energy credit with the PHCN, we now manage our available energy credit with caution.




This behavioral change is positive. At least the demand on the PHCN is bound to reduce. The PHCN can now know what the real energy demand in Nigeria is.
However, some Nigerians have overreacted in their attempt to save energy. How else do you explain a situation where people shut off their security light at night, endangering their lives and the lives of others? Security lights are supposed to provide illumination for you to see the outside of your house without being seen. The security light can also deter opportunistic thieves, snakes and other harmful creatures from your house. Of what use is saving energy if your loved one is beaten by a snake because of poor illumination?

I would not be surprised if some parents, in their attempt to save energy are no longer allowing their kids to study at night. Nigerians will have to look for more innovative ways of saving energy. Shutting off the security light is definitely not the way.

The way forward is to buy energy efficient devices. Currently there are light bulbs that consume just 6 watts (10% as much energy as a 60 watts incandescent bulb). There are also television sets that use less than 25 watts. Investing in such energy efficient devices can reduce your energy consumption without necessarily reducing your quality of life.

Also available are systems that can automatically switch off light not currently being used. These systems can sense the presence of someone in a room and automatically switch on the light. Similarly such a system can sense someone leaving a room and automatically switch off the light. Such systems can considerably reduce ones power consumption.





However, it is not only the consumer that has changed. The PHCN has also changed. There has been a noticeable improvement in Electric energy supply in my area. Perhaps the PHCN officials now know that the only way for them to make money is to supply electric energy to its consumers. The days of estimated bills are over. The income of the PHCN will now be directly proportional to the amount of energy they supply to the consumers. It means that once again the Nigerian consumer is king.

But as we celebrate the new energy meter we must also ensure that the much talked about Nigerian factor does not creep its ugly head. The PHCN must ensure that they have enough capacity to manage an Electronic prepayment energy metering system.

The supply of energy meter should be open. I will like to see a situation were one will be able to buy an electronic energy prepayment meter off the shelf in say a supermarket. The present situation, were the PHCN has monopoly to supply the electronic energy prepayment meters is not ideal. Nigerians must be allowed to shop for these meters at the price they can afford. PHCN should in such a situation collaborate with the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) to ensure that all available meters are certified.

An open system like this will reduce corruption (political interference) and free PHCN to focus on its main responsibility of generating, transmitting and distributing energy. This will also allow for innovation, since people will come up with different designs that will meet the needs and pocket of the consumer.


This new Electronic Energy Pre-payment meter by PHCN is good for Nigeria. It will definitely make Nigerians more energy conscious. It will reduce corruption in the PHCN by forcing them to focus more on power generation and distribution. I urge all Nigerians to accept this new development, because at the end of the day we will be the winners.

NIGERIA: THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS

On Sunday the 2nd of September 2007 the president of Nigeria Alhaji Musa Yar’adua had his first presidential media chat broadcast live on national television. This gave me and most other Nigerians the opportunity to here the president’s view on major national issues. This also gave me in particular the opportunity to compare Mr. President with his predecessor Olusegun Obasanjo.

The first thing that struck me about Yar’adua is that he speaks a lot faster than his predecessor who seem to think that we have all the time to waste listening to him. This probably shows that Yar’adua is a more time conscious individual than Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who needed a third term to do what others would have done in one term in office.

In addition for the whole 55 minutes that the programme lasted Mr. President did not make a single joke. He was always straight to the point. This was also different from Obasanjo’s style. The immediate past president will often make jokes leaving the questions unanswered. President Yar’adua seems to be time conscious which is okay by me.

Another thing about Yar,adua that struck me is that he was always patient for the journalists to conclude their questions before responding. Obasanjo on the other hand would always interrupt his interviewer often to tell him how wrong he was in asking such a question. He even abused journalists on the programme several times. The patience exhibited by President Yar’adua points to the fact that he is indeed a listening president.

A President different from Obasanjo is what the nation needs right now. My discovery of a president who is different in this TV programme ‘Mr. President speaks’ gives me hope for a better Nigeria to come. To me anything that moves Nigeria away from the Obasanjo style is welcome.

NIGERIA: YAR’ADUA 100 DAYS IN OFFICE

This week Mr. President will be 100 days in office. The President Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua was sworn into Office on the 29th of May this year amid lots of tensions in the land. Weeks before Yar’adua’s swearing in, Nigerians had witnessed the worst elections in her 46 years history. Even before that the Universities in Nigeria were shut down following the nationwide strike by University lecturers.

With problems everywhere for Yar’adua all eyes was on him to see how he handles the situation. As if his hands where not full yet, then came the nation wide strike by labour protesting some wrong steps taken by the Obasanjo’s administration. With all these challenges Yar’adua’s enemies must have had some pity for him.

However, within 100 days Yar’adua seem to have overcome all these challenges. He can now concentrate on the challenge of governing a complex country like Nigeria. But what has Yar’adua done in the past 100 days that is worthy of mention.

In my own opinion the most important achievement of Yar’adua is that he has committed himself to the fight against corruption. He publicly declared his assets hence setting the stage for other top politicians to follow suit.

However, unlike the past administration, Yar’adua has decided to anchor the fight against corruption on the rule of law. This means the end of EFCC brutality in the name of fighting corruption. It also means that the Abuja master plan will be recovered without police brutality. Yar’adua’s decision is sound as two wrongs cannot make a right.

The unbundling of the NNPC was another good move taken by the Yar’adua administration within the first 100 days in office. This move will ensure that the petroleum company focuses on the actual business of developing Nigeria’s petroleum capacity and less on petroleum product imports.

President Yar’adua obviously has some achievements to be celebrated within his first 100 days in office, but he must not lose sight of the fact that a lot still needs to be done. With in the next 9 months Nigerians will like to see their fortunes change for the better and no stone should be left unturned by the Yar’adua’s administration in ensuring that Nigeria is developed to greater heights.