By Abdu Labaran Malumfashi.
It is out of my character to be uncharitably disrespectful to others, especially the top people in the society. But the recent statement attributed to the Nigerian Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu forced me to call him unserious. And I am not alone.
The minister of power recently advised the customers of the electricity companies (DISCOS, for the uninformed) that if they go on for 20 hours without electricity supply, they should not pay the new (electricity) tariff coming on stream very soon.
I have three questions for the minister. These are (1) What is he still staying put for, (2) What is the use of the five or ten minutes of the power the electricity companies sometimes supply to their customers daily and (3) Is the minister more interested in the new electricity tariff than the satisfaction of the electricity customers?
For the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, my question to you Your Excellency is: Why are you keeping the minister of power in your cabinet, since all political appointees, especially the non performing ones, are expendable.
Except of course, the untouchables, those who are doing things (for the principle) other than what the world was told as their official brief.
One Ken Uttih posted in his X page that: A power minister who is more interested in the increase in tariff than the output in power, is that a minister?
Mr. Ken’s poser is also my third question above because, instead of making a case for the electricity consumers against the increase in tariff, the power minister seems more interested in the increase.
One is sure that his brief by Mr. President did not include adding additional hardship to the people. The people are already suffering because of the prohibitive cost of fuel, where it is available.
Easing the people’s hardship is what good governance is all about, not adding to it, which appears to be what the Nigerian power minister is trying to do.
Mr. President had promised to make power available in the country during his first term in office, and that would give him enough satisfaction even if he was not elected for a second term, according to him.
The president may achieve his goal with a more serious person in charge of the power supply. A person who will NOT put his interest or any other interests above national interest.
To be believed and be seen to be up and doing, Mr. President too must NOT allow any interest to supersede the interest of the nation.
In more serious climes, where money pales in significance to a good name, persons in top offices take responsibility for the seeming failure of the sector they are in charge
The Sierra Leonian immediate past Minister of Power, Alhadji Kanja Sesay resigned from his position, taking “full responsibility” for the epileptic power supply in the country, even though it was restored before he took the decision.
In my country, Nigeria, the electricity customer may even be blamed for a fault that is clearly government’s, until the minister is disgraced out of office, which happens only where the matter is close to the heart of the BOSS.
And President Tinubu was said to have said that giving the people sufficient energy in his first term was a legacy he would want to leave behind.
The poor Nigerian electricity paying consumer does not need additional burden on him, and can therefore do without it, for sure.
If the government is serious about making more money without adding to the hardship of the people, there are more than the proverbial ‘one hundred and one ways’ to do so.
The country is abundantly blessed with resources that are needed all over the world. All Nigeria is lacking is the right leadership that will harness these resources for the good of all, not the evil satisfaction of a few.
Malam Malumfashi wrote from Abuja.
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