Showing posts with label Power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Power. Show all posts

Tuesday, 5 May 2015

IS HE A MIRACLE WORKING MAN?


Hot on the heels of the 2015 general elections are a string of lobbying, real politicking and power tussles leading to May 29th, when the elected government is sworn in to power. Everyone is guessing what the cabinet will look like, and with a recent mention of the APC changing its manifesto, the debate is raging on, on why that happened, and whether the party will rescind on her pre-election promises. Flashback to pre-election days in February and March 2015, and vote canvassing were done via the media - conventional and new - in the form of hate speech, defamation of character, in documentaries, advertorials, townhall meetings and civic debates before the elections. While manifestos were thoroughly analyzed, concerns over issues like corruption, unemployment, maternal and child healthcare, domestic violence, security, foreign exchange, economy, foreign policy, inflation, rule of law and power were hugely on the front burner before the elections and seem to remain, as Nigerians continue to guess, how the incoming government will deal with Nigeria's plethora of problems.



Analysts say if the incoming government can do away with corruption and make power available to Nigerians, a lot of the problems currently plaguing the largest massing of black people on earth will begin to tow the path to self sufficiency and development. And recently, at a gas sector roundtable, the issue of gas to power and gas to transport were reiterated as means to alleviate a lot of the problems plaguing Africa's largest economy. However, while the problem is said to be with the transmission of power rather than generation and distribution which have been duly privatized between preceding governments, it is not clear if the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) will be able to improve transmission capacity of the current grid, or a miracle is expected of Muhammadu Buhari in anycase. Prior to the elections, the Sell Your Vote webapp - j.mp/Sell2015, a scenario game asking Nigerians if they will compromise their votes by taking money from politicians, got some feedback which showed that Nigerians were no longer willing to take peanuts from politicians for shoddy showing while in office.







And believe it or not, Nigerians who have already set up the "Office of the Citizen" of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will seek to ensure accountability and transparency in the delivery of dividends of democracy, which like in 1959 till today, revolve around clean water, good roads, functional hospitals, free education, jobs and constant supply of power. Whether President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari is the Miracle Man from Daura, is something Nigerians will realise after May 29.
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Friday, 6 March 2015

WHERE'S THE GOOD LIFE?



What is better than the good life? Why do parents ask their children and wards to study hard, get good grades, and good jobs? Why do businessmen ‘hustle’ hard? Why was the United Nations formed? Why did Karrueche ‘Caro Uche’ Tran break up with Chris Brown? Well, argue with your data plan, but everything revolves around the good life. Even the growth of economies, and the running of governments, and the activities of the United Nations and the thousands of non-profits. And then the big matter of elections…

Depending on how you see it, the Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigeria’s federal firm charged with the conduct and regulations of elections, sought a good life for the polity, and that was why she deemed it fit to shift #NigeriaDecides from #feBuhari to #March4Nigeria. Trust me, it doesn’t matter which politician’s plans have been scrambled or enhanced with this change, the end game is that #WeTriumphStill, from this grueling ordeal as a nation.

However, I am told that since the election campaigns of 1954, the promises have been the provision of basic amenities like water, power, roads, hospitals, etc. Fast forward 61 years after, and the promises are the same. Worse, is the state of the power sector in the country, which has cranked up the cost of doing business; created a generator imports cabal; and a government which is yet to fathom how to upgrade the transmission infrastructure seamlessly. But can I blame them? The issues dates back to the era of the famed National Electric Power Authority, NEPA.

Young Nigerians are looking for jobs, careers, human security, justice in their lives, peace, and the good life…I am one of them. But we are tired of waiting for the opportunities, we are tired of waiting for power, and good roads, and better wages and salaries, hospitals, even light. This was what Deji Arosho a movie director and producer captured ahead of the 2015 elections, in the musical movie, “The Good Life”. In 30 minutes, featuring such star artistes like DJ Switch (Glo X Factor Winner 2013), Six Foot Plus (Jos bred popular artiste) Shaffy Bello-Akinrimisi (Award Winning Nollywood Actress) amongst other cast, Deji weaves the story of renewable solutions with elections, and seeks a common ground where everything might just lead to the good life, when politicians adopt issue-based campaigning, and talk about power. 


The movie, sponsored by the Heinrich Boell Stiftung Nigeria, buttresses the #PowerIsPower campaign by the same foundation, which has been drumming up civil society, to advocate for the inclusion of renewable energy as a power solution in the campaign manifesto of politicians at local, state and national levels. While Nigeria needs about 200,000 MW of power to feed her hungry population's demands, current output is pegged at 4,400 MW. This means that most of 170 million people are either spending a lot on hydro carbon powered generators or utilise kerosene powered lanterns, which remains hazardous to health.
Operating in Nigeria from Lagos since 1994, and then from Abuja in 2009, Heinrich Boell Stiftung Nigeria runs programs on sustainability, women’s rights and good governance. She supports activities that aim to identify greener development options, which would include growth models that promote responsible use of natural resources in times of increasing climate stress; but overall are gender sensitive and socially inclusive.

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