Electricity
and Governance in Nigeria
By Tive
Denedo
Energy generation,
distribution, and transmission are emerging development issues
in Nigeria and many parts of Africa. Within the continent, the
concern for energy matters is not as contentious as the demand
for civil and political rights or even the clamour for the promotion
and protection of those rights by international donors and governments.
However, this is like putting the cart before the horse if we
are to seriously consider the implications of the inter dependence
and inter relatedness of all rights. It is clearly very difficult
if not impossible for people to enjoy civil and political rights
in an environment where their economic rights are regularly abused
and violated. The availability of efficient and sustainable energy
will make a whole lot of difference in the way and manner that
people will live in a particular society and it will determine
as well how they respond to civil and political issues.
The impoverished,
marginalized and deprived class of citizens who are mainly concerned
about how to put food on their table are not the people that will
be interested in the pursuit of political changes and make a demand
for the respect of whatever is their right. The availability of
efficient and sustainable energy also contributes immensely to
how political rights are enjoyed in the country. It makes the
difference between those who are disenfranchised in the Nigerian
political system and those that are not. This could well be illustraed
by the events in the run up to the April general elections in
the country. There was a sudden disappearance of fuel from the
filling stations which government spokespeople attributed to all
kinds of events and people even to the American war in Iraq. Those
who had access to fuel in that period were able to effectively
utilise the opportunities that were presented at that time to
campaign and solicit for votes.
Those that
had no access could not make meaning out of their strategies.
There is urgency in the need to come to terms with the potentials
of energy in ensuring good governance and in the transformation
of the lives of the nation's citizens. The provision of energy
is at the heart of the delivery of what Nigerians generally refer
to as dividends of democracy. Whatever programmes that government
must embark upon as a cardinal point for development and in changing
lives from bare existence, must derive great input from electricity.
For education to be meaningful today, it must incorporate Information
Communication Technology, which relies so much on energy as it
depends on the microchip to make it functional. Energy in this
perspective becomes a right that Nigerians ought to enjoy as they
currently do in some form with civil and political rights. Continentally,
there is an affirmation in Article 24 of the African Commission
of peoples and Human Rights (ACPHR), which states "people (of
the continent) shall have the right to a generally satisfactory
environment favourable to their development."
It is very
difficult if not impossible to have the kind of environment that
the ACPHR envisages in a country where electricity is so highly
priced that even the apostle of free enterprises are groaning
under the tariff regime. This confirms the belief and philosophy
of campaigns for development that, electricity shall not always
be considered merely for its sales but of its vital linkages between
development and human rights. Obviously, the respect for the economic
and social cultural rights of Nigerians cannot have a better foundation
than that which is erected on the availability of clean, efficient,
and sustainable energy. There is also a global call for energy
that can help adjust the national economic order as contained
in the Energy Report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development. It said, "A safe, environmentally benign and economically
achievable energy strategy that can maintain the progress of mankind
far into the future, is an absolute necessity.
It is also
a possibility. But it will require a new dimension of political
will and institutional collaboration to carry it through." This
institutional collaboration to stimulate the political will must
begin with an intense awareness generation drive that will raise
issues about the pivotal role of energy in the broad base development
of the country. These institutions must show and convincingly
too, that with an efficient energy system, their lives will never
be the same again as industries would flourish and the rising
spectre of zero income generation in many rural and peri-urban
areas, will gradually give way to income generating ventures which
will translate to financial empowerment.
The ripple
effect will bring a new lease of life to all sectors economy and
the desire to always hike the pump price of fuel, as a way to
make more money for government will become unnecessary.
