By Dawud Ahmed.
Photo credit; Daily Nigeria Post.
The purpose of government in any country is to provide governance, maintain order, protect citizens’ rights, and promote the general welfare of the population.The course of executing these statutory responsibilities, typically involves tasks such as making and enforcing laws, managing public resources.
Others are the provision of public services, and representing the interests of the citizens, domestically and internationally.
This is the general concept of government,aptly amplified by an Artificial Intelligence ,AI,language model,code named,’ChatGPT 3.5″, designed to understand and generate human-like text based on the input it receives from inquisitive minds desirous to know more about happenings in their environment.
No doubt, the provision of public services such making healthy water and constant electricity available to the people is one of the foundametal of functions of any government to the governed.
These basic functions notwithstanding, it is instructive to note that, the provision of public light remains a daunting challenge over the years and has defied lasting solution.
Therefore,the phenomenal power outage in Nigeria may not be news to an average citizen of a country any more in spite the sour effects in many spheres of life .
However,what is of major concern with particular reference to Lokoja, the capital of kogi is the prolonge power outage ,a development they describe as like adding salt to their injury.
The lingering electricity problem, which has become an intractable menace in Nigeria, took a more frightening dimension recently in Lokoja with most parts of the area recording prolong power cut lasting for more three to days,setting thongs wagging and many residents groaning.
The importance of electricity to man cannot be overemphasized.
It is crucial to humanity for numerous reasons as it powers homes, industrie, and infrastructure, enabling us to light our spaces, run appliances, communicate globally, and facilitate medical advancements.
From powering transportation to driving technological innovation, electricity is fundamental to modern life, making it indispensable for economic development and societal progress, as aptly explained by AI,language model devise.
Important as electricity is to the basic survival of mankind, it is regrettable to note that it is has become a scarce facility in Lokoja while its tariff to continue to with alarming per cent.
Thousands,if not millions of electricity consumers in Kogi state, especially Lokoja and its environs,particularly the down trodden who cannot afford the use generating set as an alternative to epileptic public energy supply said the prolonged “black out”has thrown them into the state of hopelessness in executing their social, commercial and economic activities.
They argue that thousands of house holds have helplessly seen their fresh dairy products ,meat ,vegetables among others go rot due to lack of light to energise refrigerators to give such perishable items fresh air.
Operators of restaurants,hotels and other commercial enterprises said they have been running at a loss as they also partake in the pangs of the power outage.
The pains of other segments of the population of Lokoja and other parts of the state is no different either.as they expressed dismay over the issue.
With the extreme hot weather, characteristic of Lokoja at this type of the year and no public light to activate cooling systems such as fans and air conditioners to douse the effects of the hostile atmospheric condition, residents bemoan the effects of the prolonged power outage.
To them l,it is simply better imagined than said but they are not loosing the hope that the problem will be solved one day.
Their most worry, they note,is not the characteristic epileptic power supply in Lokoja but that the capital of kogi,a state which with flourishing commercial activities and shares border with at least 10 states of the federation can be without public light for more than three days. The unique problem which became much pronounced on Tuesday remained as at the time this news analysis became a public consumption on Friday at about 11 a.m.
The concern of the electricity consumers in Lokoja is further heightened by the fact that, at the thick of the prolonged power outage, the new Regional Manager of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company AEDC, Engr, Engr. Michael Meliga,assured Lokoja residents of equitable power supply.
But inquisitive consumers agree that the reality of that problem remained a mirage as at the time of this news analysis on April 19,2024.
The new helmsman gave the assurance when he visited the Caretaker Chairman of Lokoja Local Government Area, Comrade Abdullahi Adamu.on Tuesday in Lokoja.
“The power sector is presently facing challenges,mostly from the generation, system instability and these have affected our services to the end users,”he acknowledged.
He promised that all hands on top the gear to find lasting solution to the the challenges hindering effective distribution of electricity to consumers in the state.
Receiving Engr..Meliga and his entourage, the Director of Local Government Administration in the council,Hon. Musa Aliyu Omuya, commended the new regional manager for the initiative to visit critical stakeholders in the local government.He said the move would enable the regional manager the opportunity to know their energy problem with a view to providing lasting solution.
He, however urged the management of AEDC in Kogi to see their services as a critical factor in boosting the local government and the state’s economy, hence the need for the company to do the needful by ensuring equitable power supply.
All said and done, there is no need emphasizing the agonizing experiences the prolong power outage in.Lokoja has brought to bear on the residents of kogi state, especially those in Lokoja,socially, commercially,economically and psychologically, not minding the threat to public health.
The recent over 300 per cent increase in electricity tariff,said to be for electricity consumers, tagged Band A, by the federal government, public affairs analysts believe should be seen as a challenge for AEDC to improve services.
They called on the company to remove epileptic or prolonge power outage from its list of plethora of energy problems and pave way for efficient and effective services to justify the high increase in tariff.
Let consumers on other line of electricity distribution,apart from 33kva whose customers enjoy almost 24-hour power supply, also enjoy such an effective and efficient public service, the consumers further urged AEDC.
This, energy analysts strongly believe, is necessary in the interest of equity, social justice in the provision of public services to make life worthwhile for the people.
After all,as the popular adage, says,”To whom much is given, much is expected, and in this particular instance, demanded.
Dawud Ahmed publishes The Reporters.
ahmeddada008@gmail.com.
