It is not at all an understatement to say that the greatest bane of social and economic development in many of the developing countries in Africa, particularly in Nigeria today is the continuous failure of electric power energy.
Gone were the days when cities, towns and hamlets in the country could boast of a full day power supply as against the common features today when even it is available for not more than six hours a day in some particular areas.
That only can be regarded as a task of Hercules for the both the ministry of the government and the agency established for the purpose of power generation and distribution to the entire populace.
In the pre and immediate post independence days of Nigeria, little was heard or known of the electric power generators and the only ones available then could only be sighted in the building premises of the then major multinational corporations and big time entrepreneurs who normally used them as an alternative source of power.
The generators were then useful only when there was a little disruption in the general public power supply which may last just for a few hours and at times some minutes owing to maintenance of equipments by the government agency in charge.
Today, the situation is a far cry from what it used to be during the early days of Nigeria's freedom from colonial rule.
It is quite a common place to see that electricity power continues to be out of reach not only for the common man but also for the people of the upper class.
It is better to forget the world 'middle class' for that no longer exists in the country's lexicon, since it vanished long ago with the advent of the military incursion into the country's political arena.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the major social engineering commodity brought along with the military into the polity and psyche of the people for almost 30 years of the country's flag independence is corruption.
This is because their rule is always that of the jungle where might is right is surely the rule rather than the exception and all they understood as governance is the wanton embezzlement of the country's common wealth thereby denying the populace all the good things of life that are regarded as foregone conclusion in a safe and sane society.
The reason why the entire populace can be in darkness for no reason cannot be farfetched.
Even when the civilian administration took over about eleven years ago with cronies of the military, it was just a matter of business as usual and there was nobody to bell the big cat of corruption while the citizens (except their cronies or those that are so close to the corridor of power) continue to wallow in abject poverty.
It is quite unimaginable that a country like Nigeria, the sixth largest oil producer of crude oil in the world can only survive with the importation of refined oil from other parts of the world after 50 years of independence from colonial rule.
That is the reason why elections are always shamelessly rigged by the political parties particularly those that are currently in power, or the incumbent if you like.
This is what they do with all forms of violence that is abnormal in any sane society so that access to the country's common purse might be easy for them since it is a matter of winner takes all.
Whichever way one looks at it, Nigeria will soon be 50 years old as an independent sovereign nation.
Gone were the days when cities, towns and hamlets in the country could boast of a full day power supply as against the common features today when even it is available for not more than six hours a day in some particular areas.
That only can be regarded as a task of Hercules for the both the ministry of the government and the agency established for the purpose of power generation and distribution to the entire populace.
In the pre and immediate post independence days of Nigeria, little was heard or known of the electric power generators and the only ones available then could only be sighted in the building premises of the then major multinational corporations and big time entrepreneurs who normally used them as an alternative source of power.
The generators were then useful only when there was a little disruption in the general public power supply which may last just for a few hours and at times some minutes owing to maintenance of equipments by the government agency in charge.
Today, the situation is a far cry from what it used to be during the early days of Nigeria's freedom from colonial rule.
It is quite a common place to see that electricity power continues to be out of reach not only for the common man but also for the people of the upper class.
It is better to forget the world 'middle class' for that no longer exists in the country's lexicon, since it vanished long ago with the advent of the military incursion into the country's political arena.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the major social engineering commodity brought along with the military into the polity and psyche of the people for almost 30 years of the country's flag independence is corruption.
This is because their rule is always that of the jungle where might is right is surely the rule rather than the exception and all they understood as governance is the wanton embezzlement of the country's common wealth thereby denying the populace all the good things of life that are regarded as foregone conclusion in a safe and sane society.
The reason why the entire populace can be in darkness for no reason cannot be farfetched.
Even when the civilian administration took over about eleven years ago with cronies of the military, it was just a matter of business as usual and there was nobody to bell the big cat of corruption while the citizens (except their cronies or those that are so close to the corridor of power) continue to wallow in abject poverty.
It is quite unimaginable that a country like Nigeria, the sixth largest oil producer of crude oil in the world can only survive with the importation of refined oil from other parts of the world after 50 years of independence from colonial rule.
That is the reason why elections are always shamelessly rigged by the political parties particularly those that are currently in power, or the incumbent if you like.
This is what they do with all forms of violence that is abnormal in any sane society so that access to the country's common purse might be easy for them since it is a matter of winner takes all.
Whichever way one looks at it, Nigeria will soon be 50 years old as an independent sovereign nation.
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