In the recent past, I have been inundated with sermons on how not to give a bad impression of your country to outsiders. In those sermons, it was said categorically that Nigerians are the only people in the whole world who, as a habit, bring down their country before foreigners. This has largely influenced my sit-down-look attitude on some national issues, as whatever one says could amount to ‘bringing down one’s country before outsiders.’

In all honesty, I have searched endlessly for something positive to write about as part of my efforts to contribute to re-branding Nigeria . Unfortunately, most issues have borded on negativity. And as the parlance goes, you do not market a bad product. If you do, breeze go soon blow and everybody go see fowl yansh.

That is not to say that Nigeria on its own is a bad product. Whatever negative image she has acquired over the years has been the result of the misadventure of our leaders and some Nigerians. And indeed, she has been terribly battered and has been looking really bad for quite some time.

I do not think it is proper to lay the blame of the present image of the country solely on the doorsteps of bad reporting. A lot of issues have been and are actually being reported as they are. And news, to the news man, is about the bizarre, the unusual or the unexpected. To influence the tide, therefore, it becomes absolutely necessary to have an improved product called Nigeria ; otherwise, whatever efforts are being made to re-brand her will always end up in futility.

Which is why I am particularly glad, though initially astonished, about the seeming sudden positive change in the power sector. It is no news that for months, the longest period of time most Nigerians enjoyed power supply in their homes and offices was less than one hour everyday, where it was available. This had necessitated the acquisition of at least a generating set by every household and company. Apart from the pollution, the costs of fuelling those generators have been enormous. I have often wondered how a people, the majority of whom are said to be living below poverty line, end up wasting so much of the little they have fuelling generators.

But last weekend, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) gave the people in some parts of Lagos a reason to smile. It started as a joke but turned out to be real. From Friday through Sunday, there was regular power supply in some parts of the city, including my neighbourhood. Although it was not uninterrupted, the interruptions were rather brief every time they occurred. The situation was so pleasant I had to temporarily (or is it permanently?) forget my generator. And quite a number of people I spoke with in the office on Monday morning had the same story to tell.

If the current trend is sustained (and there is no reason why it should not be), there is no doubt it will impact positively on the economy in no time. As far as I know, there is nobody using a generator who has not complained directly or indirectly about the cost of fuelling it. Regular power supply by PHCN will therefore free these funds for other profitable uses. Worthy of mention here are the manufacturing companies who have had to maintain two or three heavy generating plants over the past few years. It is true that all they had to do was pass on the extra costs of production to the consuming public. There are chances therefore that removing the burden of providing their own power will ultimately lead to cheaper prices of products.

Perhaps, one of the groups to contend with in the light of the new development are the people who have become billionaires overnight, selling diesel. They are not likely to stand akimbo and watch this lucrative business slip off their fingers. Another group are those who have built empires, importing and distributing generators; they will do anything to ensure that things do not get better so that they will continue to feed fat on the people. And these are the people President Umar Musa Yar’Adua or whoever is behind the sudden improvement in the power sector in some areas will have to contend with.          

Robot  Villager

# 1 In the recent past, I have been inundate...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 30.07.2007 13:02

pappilo  Villager

# 2 I hope this trend continues and better days may yet be ahead for Nigeria Posted by pappilo| 30.07.2007 17:34

nf5kmw1  Villager

# 3 Hope Mr. President is putting his foot down and making people sit up. Please help us to spred the word!! God Bless Nigeria!!! Joseph Inyang Nigerians for Super Energy 2026 N. Oakland Ave Milwaukee, WI 53202 414-272-1656 http://www.nigeriansforsuperenergy.com joe@nigeriansforsuperenergy.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JULY 28, 2007 Nigerians for Super Energy a grassroots campaign for energy sends an open letter to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of Nigeria. Open Letter to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Dear Mr. President: We are writing in support of your Energy goals for Nigeria. We believe that Nigeria should become energy “Super Energy Power”. You rightly said so on June 11, 2007 and we quote “As I keep saying, we cannot begin to address, in a fundamental manner, the problems of the economy, until we successfully tackle the power and energy issue. It is critical to all my plans. So I am more interested in how much gas we can tap for domestic use than what we can get for export. We must power this economy,” Mr. President as you know, we have a very sick patient, "Nigerian Energy"; we need world class surgeons to lead this effort no more nurses. No disrespect to my mom she was a nurse for over 40 years!! And when you sign the FOI (Freedom of Information) bill you will have about 100m + eyes helping to monitor the progress of the projects. Mr. President below is our humble suggestions for radically changing our energy strategy. Fuel Plan 24 Refineries in a National/Publicly traded oil company with global reach is what we need!!! They say imitation is a form of flattery. If so, Nigeria needs to look to Venezuelans to reform its fuel sector. Due to the policies of Venezuelan oil company, PDVSA, the Venezuelans are able to enjoy $0.19 per gallon or N6.12. The Venezuelan oil company, PDVSA, had decided that it was not the crude oil export business but in the global petroleum and chemical business. So they invested in refining and retail business in Venezuela and almost all their export markets. Today PDVSA processes 3.3m barrels per day through 24 refineries: six complexes in Venezuela, one in the Caribbean, eight in the United States and nine in Europe. The Brazilian Oil company, Petrobras is another example. This company is renowned for its leadership in development of advanced technology from deep-water and ultra-deep water oil production. With 55.7% of Petrobras' Common Shares (with vote right) is owned by the Brazilian government, however privately held portions are traded on Bovespa stock market .On April 21st of 2006, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced Brazil's self-sufficiency in petroleum. Mr. President please seek counsel of the architects of PDVSA, Mr. Putin and/or Silva to see what they are doing. We recommend three strategic steps to revolutionize our oil sector. 1. NNPC should be come a government/public firm with part of it shares allocated for Nigerians. This will provide the company with a new direction and ownership need for the global challenges. 2. NNPC should go on a buying spree with the aid of government funds to buy (outright or major) shares in refineries in Africa, China and United States. This will provide us with immediate source of refined products, opportunities to train our people and hard currency. Best of all this does not need the 18 to 24 months to build a refinery. This will also provide us a stop gag measure until we build more refineries. It is all about add value and we need to start doing that. 3. Start building 4 refineries and retail outlets to take care of the local demand as estimated for 2010. This will help put to rest the fuel challenges that we face as a Nation. Electrical Plan 50,000 megawatts in a well planned power grid is what we need!!! Why 50,000 Megawatts? Given our population, the goals (15,000MW, 20,000MW, and 30,000MW) currently proposed in different political and business circles does not take care of latent electrical demand. In 1999 we estimated a goal of 4,000mw and 5,600mw, we have reached those goals but still not able to survive disruptions to the power grid. South Africa with a population of 47M generates 36,000MW, Brazil population 188M generates 90,000MW and South Korea population 49M generates 43,833MW. Nigeria with a population of 140M would need to generate 67,021MW to be at par with Brazil the lowest per capita among the three countries. Based on the current estimates of 10,000mw in current or in progress, we will need 40, 000mw to complete our goal. This translates in 1,100mw per state and Abuja. Yes we know some states may not be able to generate this amount due to logistic or cost can join with other states to meet their goal. Some states like Lagos will need double or triple that amount. Using current estimates we believe that we need $29 billion for completion of the goal which about $15 billion should come from the Federal government. 1. The plan would call for part of excess revenue funds to be invested in power generation and transmission. 2. All sates, Abuja and Local governments must contribute a percentage of their net worth to the projects. Land for projects will be provided by state and local governments. 3. All banks must invest a percentage of their net worth. Corporations and individual investors will be encouraged to invest in the projects with a strong push for public stock participation. 4. All companies must provide free electricity and cooking gas to local communities. 5. Alternate sources must be encouraged, At least one coal power station in Enugu with similar capacity of Tutuka, South Africa 6x609 MW. This should be part of the sale of 13 mining titles belonging to the Nigerian Mining Corporation. 6. Gas and oil pipeline should have backup points. We must be able to ship gas or oil to Lagos; after all we ship it to the ends of the world. Our pipe line should be like a Hydra (multi-head monster) that will allow for maintenance without totally shorting down the country. 7. Implement widespread adoption of CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights) and other energy saving programs. CFLs save about four times more energy compare to regular lights. 8. Last but not least, industries using gas for energy will be given gas for free or token price. We are calling on all Nigerians to wear copper colored ribbon (similar to the AIDS ribbon) and March for a Global NNPC with 24 refineries and a 50,000 megawatts power grid. Mr. President since you understand the challenge, we are ready to give you 100% support to make these changes. If the energy issues in Nigeria are solved, a lot of Nigerian lives will be astronomically improved. We call upon all religious, traditional and civic leaders to join Mr. President and 40 days pray and fasting for success. God Bless Nigeria!!!! ### Nigerians for Super Energy is a grassroots campaign aimed at supporting the need for energy in Nigeria and the sub region. 35% of all black people in the world need energy to improve their daily lives. Posted by nf5kmw1| 30.07.2007 17:58