By Abdu Labaran Malumfashi.
Many people in Katsina state have said some couple of days ago, that the two-day of non stop supply of electricity the state had enjoyed would come to an abrupt end the day the security meeting of the governors of the north west came to an end.
And the laying of the stone for some projects to be executed by the present government in the state by the President and Commader-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He was represented by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima.
And it has come to pass as predicted by a lot of us. I said ‘us’ because I was among those who thought so. Now that the two events have come to an end, the state is back to square one. Our pessimism stemmed from the fact that we knew where the state came from in terms of the lack of the sufficient supply of electricity in most parts, except the government house and the residence of the few who could afford to run generators that are fuelled either by petroleum or gas.
It is believed that, perhaps, the leaders have forgotten or chose to forget that many of the daring raids and attacks made by bandits were carried out under the cover of darkness, when most people were soundly asleep and therefore unaware of the fate that would befall on them.
The Kankara, in Katsina state, attack and abduction of some students were carried out in the night. If however, there was sufficient light to light up everywhere in the school, the bandits could not have had their way as they could be detected long before they were able to strike.
The roads leading to the bandits’ hideouts in the vast expanse of the forest they live were not lit completely, and they ‘vanish’ in it within short moments without a trace. They might attack in Katsina and before the activity is fully grasped by the people around, they would be in Zamfara state or any other state within the region.
The leaders may or may not be asleep, but they are very secure in the Villa and various fortified government houses the governors call home. And apart from the 24-hour human security they and their immediate families receive, there are also all manner of electronic gadgetry, such as close circuit television (cctv), to keep them doubly secured.
The other leading politicians across all the political parties are also enjoying protection from the Commonwealth. Even if some of the politicians (especially those in the National Assembly (NASS) are not in the position to enjoy protection from the government, the out-of-this-world salary they receive monthly and other benefits are enough to keep them secure from the insecurity that is a debilitating problem in the country, especially the north western and the north eastern parts of Nigeria.
Above all, there is the suspicion that the banditry is fuelled by the abundant mineral wealth that the north west is so blessed with and that the ‘big’ people were not only involved in it’s illegal mining, but provide ‘security’ for the bandits, so as to keep attention away from these (illegal) activities.
The mineral wealth hidden beneath the soils of the north west include, but not limited to, gold, diamond, lithium, cobalt, manganese, aluminium and iron. A gold consignment worth eight billion naira allegedly belonging to a former governor in the north west was said to be stopped in Ghana sometime last year.
The poor or ordinary Nigerians can not claim to have the luxury of peace, even though it is supposed to be a cardinal duty of the government to ensure that every citizen of the land is free from fear of insecurity, among other things. On this score, there is no gain saying that the government has failed to deliver, since it does not guarantee the security of every citizen but only to the ‘high and mighty’ in the society.
Which explains the apathetic apathy of voters during elections, because they realise that on these shores those who care do not count, and those who count do not care. But for only a few, most of the elite do not care to vote, but they decide who rules and who gets what from the ‘booty’ of the election.
But despite all their ‘calculations’ there appears to be a stark disconnect between what is real and what is not in the mind of the so called elite in this country. The failure to appreciate the fact that they can rule only a populated nation, not a barren land, is one of the reasons that the majority of the registered voters are apathetic about going to the polls to vote.
In Nigeria and other underdeveloped countries, light is still considered a luxury in this age of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), whereas in the developed world, light is security.
Take off light for ten minutes in cities like Paris, London, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Moscow or Seoul to mention just a few, and see what would happen. Outlaws would take command and ransack as many big shops as they could, and cart away as many items as they could. That is why houses, streets, shops, all manner of buildings small and big, as well as highways are fully lit. Electricity on those shores is a necessity not luxury, because it offered security for both lives and property.
In Nigeria and elsewhere as underdeveloped as we are, there is a great reliance on the human resource to provide the necessary security services, which many derogatively on these shores refer to as ‘Megad’. But some of them are security risk themselves, as there are many tales of the security man running away with or stealing some goods that they are supposed to protect at night.
It is the right of the people to expect to have light 24 hours daily, not the epileptic supply most paying customers get. In a number of cases, some customers might even go for days without electricity for no fault of theirs, but when the month comes to an end, the manual customer will receive a an exorbitant bill from the ‘provider’ for the ‘darkness’ they received.
Even the increased tariff on electricity did not make the so called providers of electricity to up their performance at the time. In many cases, those that are affected the most by the non performance include the Band A customers, whose electricity rates were hiked twofold.
It hoped that state governments, especially in the north west, would find it necessary to ensure that electricity is supplied in all parts of their states 24 hours daily, so as to fully guarantee the security of life and property of their people. As well as ensure the end of banditry in the region.
Right now, I have been battling with heat and mosquitoes, not knowing which one I am going to fight with the most, all because the mighty Kano Electric Distribution Company (KEDCO) has, as was the case before the two-day north west governors meeting on security, deemed it fit to put off the electricity.
Malam Malumfashi wrote from Katsina.
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