BusinessDay 22 Oct 2017

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C002D5556 12BD SUNDAY Sunday 22 October 2017 Feature How FG can help DisCos instead of revoking transaction IGNATIUS CHUKWU Experts and other deep players in the power distribution industry have suggested how the Federal Government may help the DisCos instead of thinking of re-acquisition, an option the government had openly discarded. The minister of power had told the Lagos Chamber of Commerce that the present administration had decided against revoking the sale of power to private owners to avoid creating negative records and disturbing the international investment community. Despite this, however, a top business tycoon last week in Abuja pointedly urged the FG through the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, to re-acquire through a technique he suggested in the form of buy majority shares and reselling same to new investors for the purpose of injecting new capital into the sector. Some of those who play deep in the power distribution sector in the oil region however, said there were some ways the FG can help the Discos to take stronger control of the sensitive power sector. Chinedu Ama, CEO of Spark Media online, fighting vandalism and power theft as well as selling the distribution business through integrated messaging systems, said: “Two key places where the government can come in are policies and funding. In terms of policies, there is need for policies and regulations that guide against infractions, and sourcing funding for investments into the Discos. I remember seeing statistics which showed that in January 2017 forex allocation to power sector was only one per cent. This is against the high demand for forex to source equipment such as meters, transformers, etc. I have not seen enough capacity to produce meters and meeting the demand. So, there is need to import meters. It means the Discos have to source forex, but how easy is it for them to access forex? Now, is it more important to tackle pilgrimage or source meters?” He went on: “When you talk of capacity, there is a lot of talk about the licensing of the Discos but people need to look at it critically. What knowledge level exists amongst Nigerians for discipline in use of energy? The government needs to step in on sensitisation of the masses. How much can the Discos commit to this important task and still fund investments in the sector, Chinedu Amah, CEO, Sparkonline.com the government can push the National Orientation Agency to take up this task and join the fight on proper use of power.” He said he read where the Gencos were promised N700billion to grow capacity. “Some say it’s a loan, others say its funding, but for me, a large chunk of that fund can be committed for bulb exchange programmes for rural areas because if we can meter and change the bulbs, energy would be freed up for large urban areas with more population and higher demand for power. These are the areas with industries that would create jobs and production.” So, he said, Nigeria must look at policies that drive the sector and control attitudes. “FG needs to critically look at these areas. They are doing a good job but there is need to carry everybody along with monthly all-industry meetings and direct interface between the Discos and the customers with the government agency as the meeting point. There is a lot of ignorance in the power sector. Investors are torn between investing in power and educating a huge populace. Government can bridge this gap and improve capacity.” On what the FG can do about energy theft and efforts to reduce vandalism and tampering with meters, Amah said punishment for energy theft so far is very minimal. “There is need to upgrade it to the status of an economic crime. The individual or organization tampering with power items should be treated as saboteurs. There is need for upward review and making the penalty harsher. Along that, there is need for massive education. Nigerians for now see stealing of power as a right or act of bravery. They used to see it as government property but it is now owned by private interests. These investors need to recoup their investment to reinvest. You cannot demand improved services of more investment when the investor is losing minimum of 30 per cent per month. An average Disco loses at least N1.5Bn every month. That amount is huge. This can get you well over Babatunde Fashola 100 transformers every month. If you have people that steal energy, policies should aim at curtailing such wastes. We are not talking of federal levels alone but also at state levels. Strict actions must be taken against refusal to pay or theft of electricity.” In her contribution, Chioma Aninwe, the CSR Engagement Officer for PHED, under the Corporate Communications Department, harped on safety and need for the FG to step in to help the Discos. Aninwe said one of the hardest aspects in the power sector was visiting a woman to tell her that her husband, bread winner, would not be coming home that day; that something happened to him to say, “We are sorry that a line snapped and unfortunately your loved one stepped on it. It is so difficult to be the first person to convey bad news or tragedy to a child, a wife. The FG should look at safety again. There may be regulations, but are they being observed or enforced? She went on: “Another issue is right of way (RoW) and buildings under high tension. What is the government doing about this? Such matters should not be left to Discos or push them against members of the public. There should be huge advocacy. Discos cannot do this. Let the National Assembly should step in too. It can happen to anybody. Disaster is taking place everywhere, from Kaduna to Aba. The FG should take this matter very seriously. Let action start from the FG and cascade down to the Discos. If you see someone living under tension, even a child can say no, no, no. It can even become part of the primary education system so that children can be very safety conscious as it is abroad where they are taught about hazards early in life. The FG should make safety a nationwide campaign.” She said her department has a responsibility to visit customers and engage with them heartto-heart, get it raw from their mouths and feel what they feel. You can go back to report to Management. The issue is that we are in business because of our customers.”
Sunday 22 October 2017 C002D5556 BD SUNDAY 13 Feature What type of future are we leaving for our children? AYO OYOZE BAJE One of the most distinguished, yet unsung nationalists who remains an inspiration to Nigeria’s youths in their educational development was the Efikborn Professor Eyo Ita (of blessed memory). Returning to Nigeria in 1933 after two masters’ degrees and a doctorate in Philosophy, the educationist saw to the birth of the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1934. The matching mandate was on the palm philosophy with the five fingers of Health, Economy, Beauty, Knowledge, Patriotism and Religion. So profound and influential the NYM became that in March of that same year the Lagos Youth Movement was launched with Dr. J.C.Vaughan as the president. Other members such Ernest Ikoli, Samuel Akinsanya and H.O.Davies became the moving spirits. Its patriotic aim and cardinal objectives included seeking inter-tribal harmony, nationalism and selfless service. In fact, soon after its coming into being it saw to the training of the junior cadre of doctors, engineers and teachers in protest against the shoddy educational standard at the then Yaba Higher College. Eventually, it evolved as the catalyst for national cohesion that influenced the return of the great Zik of Africa from Ghana and the increased tempo in the demand for political independence. The rest, as they say is history. But how would these patriots feel, were it possible to bring them back to life to witness the Nigeria of today, 57 years after independence? That is the billion (sorry, the trillion) Naira question. Too often, we blame our youths for the escalating wave of crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping for ransom, rape and terrorism without asking ourselves if we, as their elders have been there for them, or playing our parts. Do the perpetrators of these heinous crimes appear from Mars or Jupiter? Don’t they Obarilomate Ollor have parents, teachers, pastors or Imams? Have the governments (local, state and federal) acted as the father-figure to provide for their welfare and protect them against social and food insecurity as enshrined in Section 14,Sub section 2(b) of the 1999 Constitution,(as amended)? The answers are obvious. Let us for a moment consider the mind-boggling and humungous sums of public funds serially siphoned to feather the nests of members of the political class ever since independence in 1960.Couldn’t that have facilitated in providing quality education, sustainable food security, sound healthcare delivery and the enabling infrastructural environment to provide mass employment for the youths? Indeed, one’s increasing fear about the nature and texture of the future the current crop of Nigeria’s political leaders is bequeathing to our rudderless youths is predicated on the prevailing climate of institutional failure of governance. Consider the scary scenario where instilling the Fear Factor on a hapless, hungry citizenry through flexing of military muscle in a pseudo-democratic dispensation has become the rule of the leadership thumb. Or, how else can we explain the recent controversial Operation Python Dance in the overtly marginalized South-East geo-political zone and the provocative Crocodile Smile version in the more peaceful South-South and South- West axes? What moral lessons are we teaching our children, who have to grow up daily in a thorny, political jungle peopled by power-poaching hyenas and jackals; where rats and rodents chase the Lion King from the hallowed palace? Yet, there is more to worry about. That a government has to ask it military (whose constitutional function is to protect its territorial integrity) to monitor the social media is simply preposterous! Talk Shows on television stations are being closely monitored by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to strangulate the views of the led majority. Perplexing still is that of government demanding details of its citizens on social platforms such as Google, Twitter and Facebook. No one is asking questions about Nigeria’s sudden withdrawal from some international collaborations and how they affect the future of the youths of this country. These outrageous moves are clearly antithetical to the mores of the United Nation’s Freedom of Expression Law as the outcome of the its conference on freedom of information, held at Geneva, Switzerland, March 23–April 21, 1948. Also known as access to information (ATI), it took root in 1766 when a Freedom of Information Law was introduced in Sweden-Finland. Since then more than 110 countries (2004- 2011) have adopted such laws affecting about 5.5 billion (2012) inhabitants. The recent monitoring mechanisms also run against the grains of the Freedom of Information Act(FOIA), 2011 which was duly signed into law by the then President Goodluck Jonathan on 28 May 2011. “The underlying philosophy of the Act is that public officers are custodians of a public trust on behalf of a population who have a right to know what they do.” So, who really is afraid of the people’s power? Perhaps, our current leaders should climb from their high political horses to drink from the fountains of knowledge of history. How did democracy evolve and what are its axioms? For the records, ancient city-states of Greece were for instance, ruled by autocratic kings. But about 700B.C. they were expelled as more people wanted a share in the government process. Soon after, monarchy gave way to aristocracy as the lever of power was held by the few rich men. But at about 500 B.C. many cities adopted democracy. This was a new type of government that was more people-inclusive. Good enough, their cities were small enough to enable the people to meet together to make decisions in the overall interest of their welfare. They did not need to elect representatives. What Nigerian leaders need to learn from Greek history was the different modes of youth development in the two city-states of Sparta and Athens. Sparta was governed by two kings aided by the nobles. While their youths were groomed under harsh, oldfashioned conditions; caring little for literature, commerce, art and science, their counterparts in Athens were brought up in a sophisticated setting under a more progressive and openminded city. According to H.A. Clement, the author of the ‘Story of The Ancient World’, while boys in Sparta who could not withstand severe conditions to become soldiers were left to die in a cold mountain valley, those in Athens were exposed to the arts, science, literature and commerce from an early age. While the youths of Sparta who survived were brought up as soldiers, who were taken from home at the tender age of seven and brought up together, to wear same clothes, with much physical exercise to build their bodies, there was a law in Athens that banished any leader that became too powerful for ten years! Again, while Spartan youths were publicly thrashed once a year to be used to pains and conditioned to speak as little as possible, the laws in Athens honoured talents, guaranteed justice and threw its gates open to strangers. In all of this, Athens became a democracy but Sparta never became one! The question before Nigerian youths therefore, is to choose between the command-and-obey stringent structure of Spartan leadership style and the more liberal and minddeveloping format as provided by Athens. We are in a democracy and this is the 21st century globalized world. A word is enough for the wise.
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BusinessDay 22 Oct 2017

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