Canticles…
Did you see how charismatic the Vice President was last Tuesday when some youths in Abuja blocked his convoy to the airport? How he briskly sauntered out of his car, addressed the youths, and pronto, they removed the barricade on the highway?
Oh, pity, we had no light to watch anything. I am tired of buying petrol for the old generator. We have been sleeping in darkness for two weeks now, back-to-back in this new level heat.
Why do you have to drag in “new level” into the issue of heat? Is there an old level heat?
You know we are in the era of New Level, in this second coming of President Buhari. Didn’t you notice how the unfriendly heat burns us even at night, as if the ozone layer is leaking? Who knows if it is part of the agenda of this government to increase the heat level for Nigerians.
Please spare us your ignorance. You mean in all your learning, you have not heard of Climate Change? Or you think it is a joke? It is a global phenomenon. So don’t drag our president into a natural occurrence.
You speak as if the president and the rest of us are helpless. What happened to the tool of electricity which can enable us fight the heat a little?
Yes, there is electricity supply. What part of town are you? Are you not connected to the grid?
Grid indeed! Why are you talking as if you just arrived from Germany yesterday. Are you not in this country? Is our epileptic electricity supply not a global shame? Only in this country does government spend such huge amount of money, and still darkness remains our host.
But the minister of Power, Works and Housing says electricity supply has very well improved so much that some states have 24-hour light supply. And that…
(cuts in) It is a black lie from the pit of hell. Why did he not name those states? It is vexatious propaganda.
Are you saying Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN)former 8-year action governor of Lagos State is a liar?
You said so! All I ask is for him to name the states that have 24-hour electricity supply.
Do you know that the Buhari administration has paid the operators of DISCOs and GENCOs over a trillion naira in the last four years to make electricity stable?And that they are even now asking for that same amount to increase the distribution?
Rubbish! Over a trillion naira and yet the only thingstable is darkness! I thought Mr President was both a hard and prudent man. Did the operators ‘jazz’ him? Why is he spending government money on private operators?Are the operators not collecting electricity bill? Pray was NEPA not unbundled? Is this another back-door subsidy by the government? Yet, we cannot see the benefit?Can’t government break the sabotage, revoke their licences or are they partners in this perfidy? Even with a learned man like Fashola there? Are we jinxed? OMG!
Calm down! We are generating about 7,000 MW now only that the DISCOs can only distribute 5,000 MW. As soon as they increase their distribution capacity, the light situation will improve. Trust me!
Me? Trust you? On this matter? Never!
Look, former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002, had said his willingness to seek re-election in 2003 was dependent on how well he fixes the electricity supply challenge. That was after his then minister of Power, late Bola Ige, also a learned man, a SAN, had promised stable electricity in one year max. He later found he spoke too soon. And then Late President UmaruYar’Adua came, he tried to review all the Independent Power Projects (IPPs) and set us backward in the progress in that effort. We got worse off. And then came former President Jonathan. And six years after, we neither moved forward nor backward.
President Buhari inherited 3000MW and for four years has managed to inch it up allegedly to 7000MW but cannot distribute more than 5000MW despite secretly spending over N1 trillion. It’s all so much motion, no movement, my brother and that is why I am asking if we are jinxed on this electricity issue. If the duo of Buhari and Fasholacan fail, who then will succeed? We are simply tired of all the grammar and technical exegesis. Let there be light!
…And there was darkness!
