'General Abubakar vs. NEPA' by Reuben Abati
Joshua Meisler
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'General Abubakar vs. NEPA'
by Reuben Abati
February 28 1999
http://www.kilima.com/abati/nepa.html
I was in Abuja when the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) decided
to give the Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, a sample of the
kind of treatment that the rest of us have come to accept as standard
NEPA practice. I had gone to Abuja, to attend a seminar on "the
Transition and Democracy" organised by a Lagos-based Non-Governmental
Organisation called Divine Communications. The venue of the seminar was
the International Conference Centre, across the road from Radio House,
and less than 10 minutes away from Agura Hotels. This Conference Centre,
like nearly all the government-owned buildings in Abuja is an
architectural masterpiece. It houses a main hall, called Africa Hall,
and the National Assembly. I was so impressed as I surveyed the building
only to be told, eventually, that it is like all Nigerian assets, poorly
maintained. Several of the electric bulbs in the building are dead,
faded tiles are yet to be replaced, the staff are de-moralised. In spite
of its beauty and size, the International Conference Centre makes one
rather nervous about its future. Going round Abuja, one thing seemed
obvious: so much oil money has been sunk in that city. I wonder what
anyone from the Niger Delta would feel seeing Abuja the way it is: may
be anger? Perhaps disgust.
I had occupied myself with the fortunes of the International Conference
Centre and the future of the Federal Capital Territory when on Tuesday
afternoon, word went round immediately that NEPA had finally shot itself
in the foot. At the Old Parade Ground, about 400 metres away, where the
Head of State was launching the Nigeria '99 "National Mobilisation and
Awareness Campaign", NEPA as usual had ceased power supply. Not once. I
guess thrice? Apparently, the Head of State found it difficult to
believe that anyone could treat him so casually. Naturally, he was
annoyed. According to reports, he simply took the microphone and issued
an open threat: "I want to caution the organisers and government
officials of this championship. You don't invite people and mess them
up. You are trying to host the world and you invite them here to mess
them up. I will not tolerate all that again before and during the
championship". Please note His Excellency's choice of words: NEPA messed
him up!
Candidly, I sympathise with Gen. Abubakar. In Aso Rock where he lives
and works, I doubt if there has ever been a case of power outage.
Obviously, the man considers power outage an insult. That is surprising,
isn't it? It is a good thing, I suppose, for those who occupy positions
of authority to come to town once in a while, to have a taste of what
most Nigerians are enduring outside the corridors of power. If General
Abubakar had been told that NEPA is inefficient, he probably would have
considered the report somewhat exaggerated. So, NEPA messed up the Head
of State? For a few minutes? Your Excellency, Sir, that is how NEPA
treats the rest of us too. NEPA messes us up, all the time. Has your
Excellency been told? NEPA is now better known as Never Expect Power
Always.
It is however baffling that the Head of State only blamed the organisers
of the Nigeria '99 event. What could they have done? If NEPA is
functioning as it should, would anyone ever need to provide a back-up
for electricity supply? But somehow, General Abubakar chose to blame
those who like him, were also in a helpless situation. If it were in the
days of General Abacha, or the General Idiagbon we knew, those NEPA men
in Abuja would by now, be answering serious queries. But everyone knows
that General Abubakar loves to go slowly on every issue, so even NEPA
now takes him for granted.
On Wednesday, NEPA repeated the same offence. On this particular day,
General Abubakar was going to attend the launching of the book on
General Muhammadu Buhari's tenure as chairman of the Petroleum Trust
Fund (PTF): Buhari: The PTF years: at the Africa Hall of the
International Conference Centre. I was glad that he was coming that way.
I'd hoped that the Head of State would discover that the Central
Air-conditioning in that marvelous building is almost dead. Very early,
security officials took over the premises and locked people out. When
the Head of State arrived, he was duly received and ushered into the
hall as protocol demands. He had hardly settled down when again NEPA
struck. The PTF guys moved quickly. Smart guys, they had brought enough
diesel to run the generating set at the centre. Up till the time the
Head of State left, they didn't bother to switch back to NEPA.
It was shameful. Sometimes, I even suspect that NEPA had decided at some
stage, to employ children onto its staff. The way those guys switch
power supply on and off, within short intervals, one may be forgiven to
reach this conclusion. NEPA switches have become toys: except that
nobody thinks that this is funny. Now that General Abubakar knows how
irresponsible NEPA is, he must summon courage to stand on the side of
Nigerians in the matter. The first step to be taken is simple: General
Abubakar must relieve the Managing Director of NEPA of his post, without
any further delay. If a man occupies a position, and he cannot produce
results, why retain him? What NEPA needs is a new management and a
different kind of orientation. If General Abubakar ignores this
suggestion, I wouldn't be surprised if Aso Rock is thrown into darkness
soon. The children at NEPA are like that: they love to play with those
switches. For how long would they be allowed to mess up the nation?
The Blackmail from Daily Mail
The Daily Mail of London advertises itself as "Newspaper of the year",
but it practices a peculiar kind of journalism. It is that kind of
publication where you read about Mr. R's abortion dilemma, Lord S's
love-child, the length of that actress's tongue, and what the playboy
found attractive in Miss Beauty. Every story provides an opportunity for
the editors to scream, and there is a touch of desperation to the pages.
But even then, Daily Mail went totally overboard in its story on Nigeria
in its Wednesday, February 10 edition. This back-page story, titled
"Nightmare in Nigeria looms for young stars" by Ken Lawrence and Britain
Scovell, is a comment on the Under-20 FIFA soccer tournament scheduled
to hold in Nigeria from April 3 - 24. The two reporters are
scare-mongers. After making the point that crime and disease are rife in
Nigeria, they turned histrionic. They argue that players coming to
Nigeria "will need to take their own supplies of blood plasma". They say
Nigeria has a high incidence of AIDS and other diseases, along with a
frightening crime rate: "players and officials," they add, "will have to
be inoculated against small pox, malaria, dysentery, diphtheria and
yellow fever. They will also have to take quantities of their own blood
with them in case they need transfusions. Anyone suffering a blood
injury will be airlifted out of the country for treatment and
helicopters will be on constant stand-by for that purpose. Armed guards
will follow every squad and no players will be allowed out of their
security compounds alone".
In this same story, it is further suggested that the only reason the
U-20 tournament is holding in Nigeria is because FIFA is insisting on
it. If countries and players have a choice in the matter, they would
rather not go to Nigeria. I do not know whether Lawrence and Scovell
have ever been to Nigeria, but reading them you would feel that this is
hell on earth. Many of the Europeans who would be coming for Nigeria '99
would most probably bring their own water, and air, just to be sure. I
am in part, amused. If these two reporters are to be believed, then all
of us in Nigeria must be dead, or waiting to die.
This story is nevertheless important. It further re-affirms the
stereotype of Nigeria that the Western world projects in its media. And
we cannot blame anyone, can we? We have become a nation of "small pox,
malaria, dysentery, diphtheria and yellow fever" because we are yet to
learn how to run a state. Nigeria is like a baby that the whole world is
teaching how to walk, even at our age. We are the giant of Africa, at
least in terms of population, but in other respects, we are a small
nation in the eyes of the world.
The Daily Mail reporters remembered to speak to at least one Nigerian,
Nwankwo Kanu, the eminent footballer now with Arsenal FC of England.
According to Kanu: "For me, Nigeria is not a dangerous place at all. I
grew up there and I've been back there many times with no problem". I am
not too sure that The Daily Mail audience will believe Kanu. When they
read reports about power outage at events attended by the Head of State,
and senior government officials, cannibalism in Lagos, the filth on our
streets and the state of our hospitals, what do you expect?
That Nigeria '99 Levy
Organisers of Nigeria '99, the FIFA Youth Soccer Championship scheduled
to hold in Nigeria, April 3 - 24, are imposing a N100 levy on anyone who
travels through our local airports. Each time you board an aircraft, you
are required to part with the stipulated amount. If you are one of those
persons who travel now and then, by air, then you'd find yourself in
serious trouble. By the time you calculate how much the Nigeria '99
people have taken from you, you'd be alarmed. Last week, I had to pay
N200 as punishment for going to and from Abuja. I got a funny-looking
ticket as proof of my patriotism. On each occasion, I opposed the idea
of the levy but I was told bluntly, that I'd not be allowed to travel if
I didn't oblige. Asking people to pay a levy of N100 at the airport is
an unnecessary extortion. Insisting that we must all support Nigeria '99
is sheer blackmail. I mean, it is not fair.
We pay too many levies in this country. We are continuously harassed by
all kinds of toll collectors. If I am required to demonstrate my
patriotism, I shouldn't have to pay for it. The N100 per head that is
being collected at the airports should be optional. As it is the local
organising committee of Nigeria '99 owes me N200. If there is any way
the money can be returned to me, I'd be glad. I had to pay the levy
under duress. And that if I may say so, is unconstitutional.
© 1999 Reuben Abati and The Guardian Newspapers (Lagos, Nigeria)
Ken Onwere
Let her have her three months of fame. If you believe that the force
behind a good man is a good woman, then she deserves it.
Ken