New vista opens for Lafia with uninterrupted power supply

Tuesday Column By VICTORIA NGOZI IKEANO 

vikeano@yahoo.co.uk | 08033077519

“Come and see America wonder, come and see America wonder; come and see America wonder, come and see America wonder”. This song popular during my childhood years resonated in me as I marvel at the uninterrupted electricity supply residents of Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital have been enjoying in recent times. It is indeed a miracle of sort and many residents are pinching themselves to be sure that that they are not dreaming. It is reality though. Actually, indications that something good was underway for the citizenry in that regard began in early December with test running of the 330KVA Akurba power project which completion date have been postponed severally. Previous governors had not really succeeded in  getting the federal government improve the abysmally poor power situation in the state. It was not for lack of will; they pushed as hard as they could. Eventually,  in February of 2018, the federal government through the Niger Delta Powe Holding Company (NDPHC) flagged off construction of this 330KV Transmission sub station. 

And so for the first time since its establishment in 1996, Nasarawa’s Government House is now using public electricity. All along it had been powered by generators. You can well imagine the millions, now running to billions of naira that had been spent since then on purchase of these generators, purchase of diesel to energize them as well their servicing/maintenance costs. If Government House could afford generators with  related costs for its 24hour electricity, not so the masses who were left to contend with ‘darkness’ arising from constant power cuts.. What is more,  even when available on rare occasions  the voltage was low, making people euphemistically referring to it as ‘candle light’. For most residents, this ‘candle light’ electricity was as bad as not having electricity at all because it was really useful for lighting bulbs only. For common electrical appliances as a television and small fridge, you needed stabilizers to boost the power. Freezers and air conditioners were out of the question. If you wanted to use them then you had to buy giant-sized stabilizers to enable them function. Of course,  the air conditioner has to have a capacity of not more than one horse power. Hot plates/electric cookers were ‘no go’ areas as they could not work with that low current. Electric fans did manage to function but their highest speed level was as slow as that of a snail.  Which is why when some residents visit some other state capitals they were often ‘dazzled’ by the brightness of the bulbs, the ‘furious’ speed of the fans even at the lowest level and they usually asked their compatriots whether the electricity current there was not too high. The reply of course was that that is the normal voltage. Thus, what is normal and taken for granted in other parts of the country was hardly experienced in Lafia.

Understandably therefore, most houses in Lafia were wired for only small electrical appliances. Charcoal and firewood were/are popular means of cooking being relatively cheaper than cooking gas plus cylinder; the masses spent more time outdoors than indoors, especially, during the hot season as a fan even when functioning at its highest level was not effective enough to totally mitigate discomfort from the heatwave. Owing a generator became not just a status symbol for the low-income class but a necessity for the middle class and the rich. When solar energy technology arrived, it was latched on by the rich in Lafia By end of November, 2022 there were in many many rich neighbourhoods of the city, rows of big solar panels pinned to the ceilings to power every kind of electrical equipment. Public electricity supply became increasingly irrelevant for the rich.  

The masses bore the brunt of it all and it also acted as a disincentive for those that are business minded,  increasing operational costs, not least for small scale enterprises through which the government hoped and is still hoping to lift its citizens out of poverty to prosperity. And so it is that despite gradually losing the toga of a ‘one street capital’ following construction of alternative routes, the Nasarawa state capital was still largely regarded as a ‘glorified local government headquarters”, No thanks to  poor ‘candle light’ power supply.  Now as President Mohammadu Buhari commissions the 330 KVA Akurba power plant a new vista opens up for both the state and its citizenry. It opens a corridor of opportunities, for improved productivity and enjoyment of modern-day living. Lafia can now shed its unenviable garb of ‘underdeveloped” albeit gradually. It can now catch up with its contemporaries and become a proper state capital. Mutltiplier effects of this regular, full current electricity now being enjoyed in Lafia is countless. It is a crowning glor, to the efforts of Governor Abdullahi Sule who personally took it upon himself to see to the completion and activation of the power project. He was practically visiting the site everyday to monitor operations, giving the officials/workers all necessary support within ambit of his own powers, frequenting Abuja to quicken approvals that require higher authority, etc. His commitment is not out of place for, industrializing the state is a key priority of his administration. And he is well aware that constant electricity is a key factor in realizing that objective. He should be relieved now and can now turn his attention to other matters. However, typical of Nigerians’ mistrustful attitude, many fear that the prevailing uninterrupted power supply  may not be sustained; they fear that it  could be a flash in a pan, that the authorities could disappoint them just when they need regular electritcity most, during the hot season that peaks at March/April. The onus is on the power transmission and distribution authorities to proved Lafia residents wrong in this regard.