“For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.” – Isa 60:2,3
In my native language there is a proverb that says that describes an unfortunate situation. It’s the situation where the person you have trust to help you blow out specks from your eyes has pepper in his or her mouth or where the person you depend on to scratch your back has thorns in his or her hands. When war gets to a point where the choice men of war in town begin to run, what becomes the of the peasants?
One of the shocking headlines in the dailies yesterday was the FG of Nigeria and it’s agencies have budgeted N2 billion to fuel their generators in 2009. The state house – the seat of power and the home of the president was said to have a budget of about N27 million for fuel and another N14.3 million for maintenance. The Police force will spend about N110 million while the national assembly, over N466 million for acquisition of alternative power, fueling and maintenance.
What instructions can we take from all these? Read on.
Well, we cannot afford to kid ourselves and be over optimistic about the fate of PHCN or NEPA this year. Our leaders have shown us the direction to follow in their budgets. It’s not absolutely a bad thing, it’s a crucial step in the movement forward.
The current position of the FG and it’s agencies reminds me of a statement in the story in my previous article Economic Depression 1. In that story the King of the town answered a citizen that had been battered by the famine – “How can I help you, if God does not help you?” By this statement leadership alludes to a state of helplessness and that they themselves being in the same state of despair and despondence as the citizens. In the story, not short after this declaration were initiatives of courage taken that finally got the citizenry out of the glut.
It’s possibly a quote that will end up being attributed to me, but it’s my honest opinion, that the government is not in the government house, the government is you and I. In a democracy, the people are the government. It’s called government of the people by the people. We have to customize our own democracy and apply what will work for us. We are the government – we all have budgets for our light, we pay for our own security, we do our own roads, we provide our own water are we not taking government responsibility in some areas? When I look at what I get to do, I cannot but see myself as a local government executive. When we begin to put our hopes and futures in the hands of systems that even though more empowered are faced with similar predicaments as us, and start taking responsibility, we would have started off in the right direction.
Yes, I hear you when you say we can’t do too many things in this current state, yes! But we can do a lot more than if we just keep pointing fingers. One day we will exhaust what we can do as the lower arms of government and stretch out into either motivating people to take on leadership or become directly interested. Till that happens, we must consistently enlarge our boundaries of influence and focusing less on mere concerns that we have no influence over.
It’s easy to be selfish and fix our own problems and complain about the inefficiencies of those who rule over us. The sad questions however are not masked, because in time, the society that we do not help in developing, will be around to frustrate our developed lives. How will those without fuel budget cope? How will the low and no income earners cope? How does it feel when you know that your nation is x% productive and that the x is less than the number of hours over 24 that there is light? These are the issues we need to be able to address as governments. Complain? We can’t afford to, that’s a weak position, but act, talk and get our ideas in the frontline where they can be seen and heard globally, we must!
Our future is now… and it is our responsibility to deliver the future!
24 thoughts on “FG,Agencies Predict: Darkness”
Hmmmmmm……., it is very sad to know what the government budget is for Generators and maintenance, it clearly shows what they expect to achieve in respect to power throughout 2009.
Well Deolu, i feel you and agree with your line of thought. It is very clear that we must create a new wave of actions with the spirit of the people, this year must witness a louder shout, mobilization and intelligent actions, the time is now !!!
Complain? We can’t afford to, that’s a weak position, but act, talk and get our ideas in the frontline where they can be seen and heard globally, we must!
We must.
Chairman,
I once went to NEPA office a few years back to report a fault only to meet them using a generator ( i better pass my neigbour). I will have personally appreciated the government of the day in their only achievement is in the power sector. Here are some of the excuses they give for not been able to solve this problem once and for all:
– very long project gestation
– highly specialised
– equipment not available off the shelf
– extreme high foreign exchange content
– very capital intensive sector
We need leadership with a will power to give us power. If Ghana can achieve it…why not us. Power will determine Yarduas chances of coming back 2011.
Oluyemi Adeosun
Things will get better, but we have to take responsibility for our future. Power is critical to the growth of our economy.
Hmm…
I have always decided to live as if there was no government. But how long Deolu can we watch things go worse. We cannot afford to allow our children grow to go through some of the conditions under which we were raised.
I agree with you that the ‘supposed government’ or the country’s leadership is uncertain on how to handle this hydra-headed issue of POWER which has continued to gulp the nation’s resources without even a scratch of solution.
What lessons can we learn from Ghana in terms of credible elections and even power?
I believe there’s a way out too. Not just by talking it but working at it. First, by being the best in whatever we do and shortly maybe will come up with an alternative source of power in large scale.
I believe in a New Nigeria!
Which way are we heading to is the question that is asked myself when i read this? Well, the answer depends on the perspective at which we see into the future. Some may say the future is bleak. I will say, there is nothing bleak, it is our thoughts, words and actions that makes it so.
Things will surely get better if we are very ready to do democracy. We must take responsibility to provide the things we need. We must be ready to meet needs whether we are in government or not. Indeed, government is not i government house but in you and I.
God Bless Nigeria
New Nigeria is a possibility, 24 hours power supply is also achievable.But how do we achieve it,if we continue to vote men that lack will power in our political offices.We need to take responsibility and i believe we should start from the grass roots.Your Local government and your wards.
Arise o compatriots
Nigeria call obey
Let us rise up and save our nation from the greedy few ones that are holding us down.
There was an article I wrote just before this administration. I still maintain that we don’t need many other things from these Leaders, we need power! Power will create a level ground for other things to come.
My friends, we cannot afford to just sit down and look. The future is to precious for that. People must begin to volunteer to lead us who have the will, desire and capability.
http://www.deoluakinyemi.com/power-is-all-we-need/
It is time for creativity and the use of inner eyes. When you do not have help from where you expect, take your destiny to your hand and do everything possible, legal to come out of it successful. God help Nigeria(ns)
I believe…
… that this is a good call to wake us all up to our individual responsibilities
… that this government at all levels does not have solutions to the real problems facing us
… that God has put us in situations today to be able to take actions
… that “we are the change we’ve been waiting for”
… that we will get there
I believe in a new Nigeria, let us make it the Nigeria we’ve dreamed, envisioned and talked about.
God bless Nigeria!
and yes, I must add this:
We must start to have those who we can trust take up positions of greater influence, go for political positions so that the top can also be prepared for the change that is coming from the bottom up.
Those that trust upon the Lord shall be like Mounth Zion. My prayer is that their budgets and policies shall be to our favour. I have info on how to print GSM recharge cards. It is legal. You can make cool money. If you need the information contact me at philonyem@gmail.com
Power is one of the several issues. abuse of Human rights, state of our educational systems, state of our hospitals, bad roads, etc. They are countless. Really really, we have to stand up and act now.
I believe everything that has been said so far. No complaint but action. My only concern is while we have lots of people with action, but less of the platform to exercise their action. Like u said, the government has made their own budget which indeed is not wrong, but i should expect something better. The three auto giant makers here in the US have their CEOs reducing their salary to the bearest minimum just to elevate the status quo of their company while receiving aids (platform) from the government. I agree, we are the gorvernment, but if the choice men of war turn their back at the battle, what will be of the common men who only have visions and ideas of how the battle can be won but with no skill for war. Action! Yes Action!! We are still talking and i mean just talking, why didn’t they stay in darkness and use those monies to generate some form of energy. Somebody should please tell me, i use to think that it is the king that leads his army to war, where do we go from here. If we oppose this decision of the gorvernment and call for the use of those money into those grey areas we have identified as the cause of this timeless blackout, are we going to be regarded as complainants? Please, when are we going to tap into the brains in our higher institution and call for mass solution and implementation. Obama has a site in which he wants people to advise him on the way forward in this so called economic depression. He has given his cabinet members and even the congress a time frame to implement certain solutions already identified. Now that is what i regard as action. My friends, i know there is a way and am sure we can find it if we put our hearts together. “If there is a better, way find it” Thomas Edison. Lets start by attacking some of these decisions by our gorvernment and call for pragmeatic solutions of the already identified problems to this national disaster. Let our ideas start taking roots in the hearts of those who have financial means. We can start with our small street, and effect an electric power change. LIke Joel in the bible, this is an emergent situation, lets gather the people together, call for a solemn assembly, let our prince and kings go away from their closet and let us find this solution. It is only then it will come and we can boastfully say we took an action. I have had it in my street too, i gathered people when our transformer got blown off, within two weeks i came back from school, it was resolved and they have sufferd blackouts for 4 months. It can be done… Yes we can
Why is our democracy government of the much, by the few and for the few? At the expense of the much? We just have to continue to voice out!
Prof Wole Soyinka has said that the revolution by the people of this country will be sooner than when the government expects it. Yes i totally agree.
It will be much more sooner!
Dear Nigerians like my kinsmen will say, “aya mi nja, eru nbami”.
Me sure thinks the right way to go has being proffered by the author, let us take our destiny in our hands, friends let us seize the day from the inepts……Carpe Diem!!!!!
@ Otome,
Yes we must take action… and yes we must not gather to complain, we can gather to take action.
But for problems of a national scale, our gathering is hindered by geography, we need to create movements driven by the online medium, by mobile phones, facebook, ireport and all that we have and can use to make our voices heard. But we must ensure that our voices can be heard when we speak, or build our momentum to make sure that when eventually we want to act we can make it work.
The action we can take now… is to continue to build our numbers – those with like minds. We can begin to take action in our neighborhood as you did, we need to take charge in our schools, our work places e.t.c. Then we need to start getting interested in the bigger picture and taking steps. This way the culture is formed and change is gradual but inevitable.
HELLO ADEOLU, I READ FROM ONE OF THE DAILIES THAT SOME EASTERN STATES HAVE STARTED CONSTRUCTION OF THE OWN INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT THAT WILL NOT BE ADDED TO THE NATIONAL GRID,. I STRONGLY HOPE GOV. FASHOLA IS ALSO THINKING ABOUT THIS AND I BELIEVE ITS POSSIBLE FOR EACH LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO HAVE ITS OWN INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT LIKE THE ONE U PROPOSED IN THE NEW NIGERIA ESTATE PROTOTYPE.
AS FOR ME I HAVE ADOPTED MY OWN OPTIONS OF LIGHT FROM INVERTERS AND SOME TIMES GENERATOR, I STONGLY BELIEVE ONE DAY I WILL BE ABLE TO GENERATE MY OWN LIGHT FROM MY WIND MILLS, SO PEOPLE KINDLY LOOK INWARDS AND THINK FOR UR SELVES. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
HELLO ADEOLU, I READ FROM ONE OF THE DAILIES THAT SOME EASTERN STATES HAVE STARTED THE CONSTRUCTION OF THEIR OWN INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT THAT WILL NOT BE ADDED TO THE NATIONAL GRID,. I STRONGLY HOPE GOV. FASHOLA IS ALSO THINKING ABOUT THIS AND I BELIEVE ITS POSSIBLE FOR EACH LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO HAVE ITS OWN INDEPENDENT POWER PLANT LIKE THE ONE U PROPOSED IN THE NEW NIGERIA ESTATE PROTOTYPE.
AS FOR ME I HAVE ADOPTED MY OWN OPTIONS OF LIGHT FROM INVERTERS AND SOME TIMES GENERATOR, I STONGLY BELIEVE ONE DAY I WILL BE ABLE TO GENERATE MY OWN LIGHT FROM MY WIND MILLS, SO PEOPLE KINDLY LOOK INWARDS AND THINK FOR UR SELVES. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
I appreciate your position, and am grateful to be able to meet people with your vision and optimism.I actually reacted to your first paragraphs with my regular complaints (which I couldn’t resist sharing with a couple of colleagues), but I’m grateful for the perspective this’s given me, and the reminder that much more is achieved when we look beyond the mistakes of others,and reach within…treasures truly lie within.
God bless you. Let’s rise to the challenge…the time truly is now!
Hmmmmn… please in profering solutions to this problems we should not forget the place of prayer… If my people, which are called by my name
shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land… 2 Chronicles 17:4
I think what we need at this time and moment in this country is serious supplication to God. Awareness and sensitisations are great tools which I believe if channeled towards the needed course (prayer) will bring the great change we are all yearning for.
Shallom!
Well, I agree with everyone and Deolu in particular, but when i hear people talking about praying, talking to God, and all that, i get tired. I am a christian and i believe in prayers, but i have learnt one thing , and that is, what you can do for yourself; God will not do for you. or why did he give us brain , good health, strength, unity even in our diversity, God has tried overtime for Nigeria, it is now our turn to turn things around by ourselves. Rosa Parks made a decision to sit, she said ” my feet are tired” Martin Luther king made a decision to walk, and he did. he said ” I have a dream” Obama ran for presidency and he won he said “yes we can” these people did a little more than praying. they took actions, another election year is around the corner, it is not enough for you to just register, and pray for a non-violent election. Identify a good leader and go and cast your vote for him. lets stop proposing spiritual solutions to scientific problems. I have given up on the Presidency and many of our leaders but I have not and will not give up on Nigeria, it is not enough to look forward to a New Nigeria, we must have “NEW NIGERIANS” or else we will be putting old wine in a new wineskin.
I really do not think that the solution to Nigeria power problem is as big as we are making it seem. If we destroyed Nepa and started working on a rebuild of our power infrastructure we probably would finish in 10 years counting from the time Obj took over. For instance the whole of Maldives is powered by fuel generators and they have stable power supply. I also can not understand why the government needs to spend so much money on power when they can make relevant policies that will enable foreign investment in power.
I think our leaders are just insincere and plainly not very intelligent.
Ours shall be increase in the midst of the crises. When others are saying there is a casting down, we shall say there is a lifting up.