Power Outage In Nigeria: Powering Terrorism, Industrial Decline And Deepening Poverty – Dr Charles Edet – SIXT-MEDIA LANE

By Charles Edet  Esq, PhD, Fcr

Nigeria today stands at a troubling crossroads, a situation where darkness has ceased to be a mere absence of light and has instead become a defining national condition. Power, what ought to symbolize rest and renewal has, tragically, evolved into a theatre of fear, economic paralysis, diminishing, kwashiokoed, convulsing, unstable and irregular power system, entrenching human vulnerability.
From the very foundation of creation, the primacy of light was unmistakably established.

The Holy Bible records in Genesis 1:3–4 (KJV),
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”
Light, therefore, is not merely physical illumination that is permanent, it is order, progress, security, and life itself.

Further reinforcing this divine symbolism, John 1:1–5 (KJV) proclaims:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Yet, in a tragic inversion of divine order, Nigeria appears to be a nation where darkness now overwhelms light and where the very essence of development is suffocated by chronic power failure.

Darkness as a Catalyst for Insecurity across rural and urban Nigeria alike, darkness has emboldened criminality. Terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers exploit the cover of night to unleash terror raiding communities, destroying livelihoods, abducting women and children, and demanding ransom with impunity.

In the absence of functional street lighting and reliable electricity, communities are left exposed, defenceless against faceless enemies who thrive in obscurity, even disabling cum affecting the efficiency of telecommunications industry, the network providers, Nigerians cannot charge their phones to report emergency situations, because of incessant light Outage and power ill functionality . Darkness has thus become an accomplice to violence, with the level of frustration and deprivation.

Economic Paralysis and Industrial Collapse
The economic implications are equally devastating. Small and medium-scale enterprises known to be the backbone of Nigeria’s informal economy are suffocating under the weight of erratic power supply.

Tailors cannot meet production demands. Business centres remain idle. Food vendors, artisans, and petty traders struggle daily with the prohibitive cost of fuel. What should be engines of grassroots economic growth have instead become victims of systemic neglect.
Industries are shutting down.

Hospitals and hospitality businesses are folding under the crushing burden of alternative power costs. The reliance on generators, once a temporary solution has now become a permanent and deadly substitute.

The silent killings of the alternative power, the generator, is a tragedy
beyond economic hardship, there lies a quieter but equally tragic consequence, death by carbon monoxide poisoning. Numerous Nigerian families have lost loved ones to generator fumes, particularly at night when ventilation is poor and no light.
Thus, in a cruel irony, the very tool meant to compensate for government failure has become an instrument of death.

A Nation Moving Backwards,
Nigeria, rather than advancing with civilization, appears to be regressing, grappling in darkness like a blindfolded giant. Critical sectors, such as education, classes in darkness, agriculture, healthcare, zero preservation for cooling drugs, and security absence power to charge walky talkies for internal and external communications, ware all severely impaired.

Power is not merely an infrastructure need, it is the foundation upon which modern society stands. Without it, development becomes an illusion.
Indeed, privatization of the power sector is noting but a paradox.
The intention of the Obasanjo led government to privatize Nigeria’s power sector was intended to usher in efficiency, innovation, and improved service delivery. Instead, the outcome has been largely disappointing.

Many of these privatized entities continue to rely on government financial support, raising a fundamental question, “what was the true rationale behind their privatization?”
If public assets were transferred to private hands to ensure better performance, why then does inefficiency persist, presently compounded by lack of accountability?
This raises the question on government’s responsibility and constitutional duty?

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria places a clear obligation on the government to ensure the security and welfare of its people.
Reliable electricity was not inherited by Tinubu’s government, it was from a deeply flawed system, governance is ultimately judged not by inheritance, but by transformation. The question is what has he done, knowing he inherited a decayed, malfunctioning power system?
Power is the First Step to Poverty Alleviation.

No meaningful poverty alleviation can occur without stable electricity. From grinding pepper to running barbing salons, from welding to ICT services, power is the lifeblood of productivity.
Palliative distributions may offer temporary relief, but they do not create sustainable livelihoods, but Electricity does.
It is pertinent at this time of uncertainty to urgently call for national reassessment for Nigeria to rethink its energy strategy.

Policy makers, legislators, and stakeholders must confront the harsh reality of Nigeria’s Gencos, and Ncos, approach to rationalising light, and most of the time in partial darkness. Wisdom has it, that a nation in darkness cannot prosper.

There are growing public sentiments for a comprehensive review of the power sector reforms, while majority of Nigerians are even calling for a return to a more centralized control reminiscent of the old NEPA era, albeit with modern efficiency and accountability mechanisms.
It is a truism that Nigeria today stands on a dangerous precipice, threatened by insecurity, economic decline, and deepening poverty, all exacerbated by persistent power outages with endless excuses.

Darkness has become more than a physical condition; it is now a national metaphor for stagnation.
Yet, hope must not be extinguished.
The Scripture holds that, “The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”, John 1:5 (KJV)
This is both a spiritual truth and a national aspiration.

Let there be light is not only in our homes, but in our policies, leadership, and national resolve.
Only then can Nigeria rise from the shadows and reclaim its destiny as a nation of promise, progress, and prosperity.

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