When Light departed from Our Lives.
As a young lad growing up in on the island of Lagos state,i lived a happy life with uninterrupted public power supply,a constant companion,water taps rushed in the kitchen and bathrooms throughout the day,throughout the week,throughout the month and year.
As a grown up.a father, i have lived long enough without electricity from public power supply,rather our lives are now governed by noise from generating sets of various sizes and noise levels.More dark days than nights ,we have lived along side the ubiquitous borehole supplying our daily water needs.The government at some point in time flirted with the idea of surcharging us for installing this life giver;giving up the silly idea after meeting resistance from citizens.Here you are being fleeced by the government that ought to be the supplier of a basic necessity turning around to rob us for providing it ourselves.Reason prevailed in the end.
For over twenty odd years i have lived supplying myself these vital requirements for meaningful existence coming at a cost to the pocket and reduced standard of living.Annie,my neighbor’s daughter was born into this world knowing darkness from her first light.It stayed this way for the first nine months of her life because the neighborhood transformer blew up and stayed that way for nine months.
Annie couldn’t appreciate light and when it finally came in the tenth month of her existence,darkness was more of a meaning than the light that was restored.She reacted,squinted,squirmed,she was uncomfortable with the flash of light that emitted from the bulbs hanging over her head.They,bulbs were objects of curiosity.
It took her a week to adjust her pediatric optics to the welcome of light into the house.Soon after,the light went away,never to return for another two days.And of course,the light has since left our lives replaced by metaphysical darkness.
This is the fabled allegorical story of the public power supply situation and the company-first ECN,(Electricity Corporation of Nigeria),then NEPA(National Electricity Power Authority),to PHCN(Power Holdings Company of Nigeria),now GENCO(generation Companies)and DISCOs(distribution companies).Nigeria’s love for acronyms is legendary,not so the ability to get things done right.
Each transfiguration has come with intense darkness,you begin to wonder what rally is in a name? Sango,the epiphany of the first order famed as the god of thunder(light) in Yoruba cosmology was accused by Christendom to be responsible for our perennial darkness.he held court at the front court of ECN and NEPA HQ on the Marina,Lagos island before it was left behind for its owners in Ogun state to be “returned to Sender”.Upon NEPA ‘s transfer of self to Abuja.the nation’s sparkling new capital city,moving meant a new beginning,new lease of life,constant power supply,from a new home,alas,NEPA?PHCN? are steeped in their ways.
Power supply situation as at 2013.
The more the transfiguration the more darkness it supplied.New gods were enthroned-importers and sellers or for a more elegant word,marketers of generating sets of various sizes,big and small,humongous to the littlest,stylishly called ” i pass my neighbor”.Humour is never far away from the Nigerian even in his many privations and torment from public service providers.No wonder i am described as the happiest of persons on earth.That was sometime ago.I wouldnt know about now,given the worsening situation despite the reforms of the power sector.
PHED,another morph from our national predilection to follow,follow other nations rightly,but wrongly doing,is my new owner,yes they own you and i.When someone gives you light small,and darkness big in proportionate measure,he owns you.But not totally now.I have gotten round them this time because the power to regulate what i consume and what i want to consume and whether i want to consume at all ,i now own.And exclusively too.The power they thought,willy nilly they possessed over me by supplying me a pre-paid meter,free of charge has afforded me the power to control the amount of light and “darkness” that should be in my dwelling.
I have stayed off PHED for about one year now,supplying myself the power i need though not enough for a quality existence(comes at a great price)but at least ,i pay for what i consume,not pay for darkness,what i did not consume but is compelled to pay.i am subsidizing inefficiency and corruption.The estimated billing is gone; gone too is the shouting match i regularly have at the local PHED bill center with tin gods manning the tables,the anxiety that comes every 15th day of the month when the bills arrives,for you never know how much will be slapped on you.All is gone.Peace of mind at last.Well just.
Now its the periodic phone call from Moscow road,the HQ of PHED,inquiring ,pleading to know why you are not using public power supply from them,whether you are pilfering supply.”Perish the thought”,i boldly admonished the fellow at the end of the line.
“So when are we expecting you back on our grid,sir”,the voice asks. ‘Well,when i have finished my sabbatical’,was my cold retort.Then the voice tries the Nigerian style of official intimidation,’since we are not earning any revenue from your installation we shall disconnect you from our PHED network’.
“The pleasure will be mine”, i said.After all i didn’t request to be supplied the new meter,did i?,i queried.
“And how do your get power?”,he further asks.
“From my private power supply grid”.
“And which is”,PHED queried.
“My faithful,embedded Hyundai,diesel generating set”,i said proudly.
” And how many hours do you get per day sir?”
“Now you beginning to annoy me,PHED.Really?Its no concern of yours.One hour,two hours,eight hours,zero hours,the power now is mine to control,to regulate.I bill myself,you understand the power of control,dont you?”
Now subdued,PHED suggested we work out something,like come to an agreement on how much i should pay monthly on the understanding amount on the meter.
“Oh,that.i have not averted my mind to that”,i flatly told him.
“But you are indebted to us”
“Preposterous”, I thundered feigning annoyance.”How dare you say that?.A bill that is in dispute with your local office at Orazi.I am not paying a dime .I told your manager back then in 2015 when the matter came up and now you resurrect a dead horse?” i am enjoying myself.They never give up,these monsters,do they?
“Oh,i see sir.I am sure we can still work something out,one thousand naira a month along side your regular recharge of your meter account wont hurt sir.I can get approval from my bosses over this”.
“Nice try but no thanks.i thought i said i was disputing the sum,a product of an illicit power hold over me,a product of over billing,billing for power not consumed and here you are trying to sweet talk me into paying”.
We were getting no where with the yin and yang over the outstanding bill of thirty nine thousand Naira.I was not going to relent,PHED equally was not.Stalemate.Like a Pirelli tire i have control over the road.
Annie,my neigbour’s daughter is twenty years old now,in the university about to graduate,the darkness that greeted her first light till remains with us.She wonders when if at all,this darkness will ever leave us.When public power supply will be a routine thing as it is where she is studying.
bomoalbertoguara 