EPILEPTIC POWER SUPPLY

It is a known fact that industrialization and availability of social amenities is closely used as a measure of development thus the classification of some nations as developed, developing and under developed.
It is also a truism that no nation can be classified as developed without adequate supply of infrastructural facilities aided by adequate supply of electricity and this is accountable for our slow pace of development in Nigeria with our not only poor and inadequate but epileptic supply of electricity.
This epileptic nature of electricity that is so common to developing nations of Africa and with particular reference to Nigeria, an assumed Giant of Africa, is sympathetic
The epileptic nature of power supply in Nigeria is neither accidental nor inexplicable neither without solution. This age long issue of power supply and generation has witnessed massive transformations which were designed to boost the power generation in the country and improve the supply of electricity, but the end result of those transforms seems to be mere change of name from its inception name of Electric Corporation of Nigeria [ECN] to National Electric Power Authority [NEPA] and to its present name - Power Holding Company of Nigeria [PHCN].
These various changes were measures implemented by various political and ruling class to supposedly ameliorate or cure the epileptic nature of our electrical supply but these changes turn out to be a political hoarse and empty promises as these changes have not meaningfully helped the electricity situation in spite of the huge financial commitments on the part of successive administration into the implementation of these transformations.

It is on record that Nigeria with her teaming population of about 140million of the world’s estimated population of 6billion has a total electric generating capacity for consumption that is below 3000 mega watts which is well below what is being consumed and generated by a city like Dallas in United States. It has been shown that Kainji dam has the potential and capacity to exceed its present utility capacity of 960megawatts, and it is also sad to note that not all the turbine units are in operation because of the low water level in the reservoir sometimes due to drought. It is however this same Kainji dam that supplies Niger republic that is fairly moderately decent when compared to the erratic supply in Nigeria.
Nigeria as a nation is blessed with an abundance of sources of renewable energy like sunlight, water, wind, bio-fuel, biomass and biogas power. Despite the availability of these sources and the various plans and attempts to improve the nature of electrical supply in the country, several factors like corruption, thefts, vandalism and sabotage have made the effectiveness of these attempts impossible.
Early efforts to solve this problem of erratic supply began with President Olusegun Obasanjo who during his President term appointed the late Chief Bola Ige with sole mandate of improving the power supply. President Obasanjo also came up with the National Power Policy in 2001 which led to the electric power reform act of 2005 which in turn birth to National integrated power project [NIPP] promising to deliver 10,000 Megawatts of power by the end of 2007.
These policies did not improve but rather worsened the epileptic nature of the power supply.
Subsequent regimes of late Musa Yardua also led to a 7 point agenda giving a topmost priority to power generation all to no avail. The present government of President Jonathan toeing the path of the past came up with RoadMap for power supply with a mandate to dismantle PHCN and seek for collaborations with 18 private firms all in an attempt to improve the power generation.
The prevalent erratic supply of electricity has led to the heavy dependence of the country on Generators for the supply of power which has led to comments tagging the nation a Generator republic due to the prevalent of the use of generator ranging from the small to the giant industrial one.
My opinion is easy as it may seem in the above analysis on the various steps taken by successive administrations. The epileptic power distribution is collateral to a nexus of mishaps that runs through the cardinal points of the Nigeria geographical entities in the recent past.
The power logistics is just affected by the act of economic sabotage which is a derivative of a long period of political imbroglio which has a resultant attractive effect on all the public structures and institutions.

The issue of power supply can not be treated in isolation.
it is note worth to consider other parastatals like Water Corporation which has almost gone into extinction all over the nation, the case of NITEL (the communication giant of Africa) has been consigned to the past not to mention the Nigerian Railway corporations and textile meals
A possible laughable solution would be for the President to summon all stake holders in power generation including all generator contractors and marketers to Aso rock, the seat of the government, and mandate that all generators in Aso Rock be dismantled and sanction a ten year imprisonment on the contractors and marketers if power fails for a second in the Villa. I can assure you there will be healing in the power sector and the light will shine.