Let there be light
• Group protests incessant power outage
By MATHEW DIKE
Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Perhaps, in tandem with the axiom that God is the last resort of the poor, a non-governmental group, Nigerian Renaissance Movement (NRM), in conjunction with Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), some members of the coalition groups of political opposition, PRONACO, and other unidentifiable groups recently held a protest march that saw them through Ogudu area to the provincial headquarters of PHCN, at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

During the protest, the groups prayed that any staff of the nation’s sole energy supply outfit, PHCN, who had a hand in the unimpressive power situation in the country, should die.

Members of the protesting groups carried placards, some of which had inscriptions like, “Say No to Darkness”, “Say No to Crazy Bills,” “Fight the Monster: End the Darkness” “Light is Wealth”, “No light: No Life” etc. Others wore uniform T-Shirts with inscriptions that read, “No Light; No Job.” “The Siege is over,” No light: No Nation,” No Light, No Progress.”

Some members of PMAN also displayed banners that read: “Let there be light.”
President of NRM, Jalingo Agba, accused PHCN of giving irrelevant excuses for its failure to meet up with its constitutional obligation.

“PHCN is more adept at providing excuses for its failure than working hard to overcome its weaknesses. There hasn’t been any time the company did not have one spurious reason or the other for its inability to meet up with its responsibility of providing the people with light. If it is not water level, it will be a dead-snake in the turbine shaft or the Niger Delta militants,” he said.

The NRM president alleged that PHCN officials collaborated with generator distributors in the country to deny people the enjoyment of a standard social expectation from the government (power supply), with a view to boosting the trade of the ubiquitous electric generator importers.

According to him, this has led to death of thousands of small and medium-scale enterprises in the country. He, therefore, advised the government to look for an alternative to the jinxed and epileptic PHCN.

Proffering solution to the endemic poor performance, Agba suggested generating power from Deothermal, Windmills and Solar Energy.

He called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to look into the issue of connivance of PHCN officials, those of Federal Ministry of Power and Steel as well as generator distributors/importers in the worrisome performance of the power organization.
The groups enjoined the government to look into how the billions of Naira expended on the erstwhile comatose NEPA, and the current unhealthy PHCN was spent.

In his contribution, Bolaji Rosiji, President of Performing Musicians and Employers Association of Nigerian (PMAN), stated that Nigerians were far too relaxed, which he claimed was why the people were being trampled upon. He called on Nigerians to support the struggle for adequate supply of light, while reminding them that electricity has been in existence since 1800. He wondered why PHCN’s performance should still be abysmal.

Rosiji disclosed that it was NEPA that blew his multi-million Naira, 300 volts music studio, and accused the management of NEPA for inefficiency, while challenging them to give account of their stewardship.
The PMAN leader queried: “what have NEPA officials done with the huge sum of money that government invested in electricity? They should come out and explain to the people.”

Rosiji promised Nigerians that PMAN would also hold a special protest against PHCN soon because power outage affects members of his organization the most.

A member of a coalition of political oppositions, PRONACO, Segun Aka-Basorun, appealed to the governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, not to relent in his effort to establish an alternative independent power generating company in Lagos.