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Tag: overrun

  • Before we are overrun

    Before we are overrun

    Boko Haram insurgency may be a child’s play if reports are true that Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) is responsible for the mindless killings in parts of the country. Security reports submitted to President Buhari were said to have unveiled startling revelations linking the group, an affiliate of the Islamic State, ISIS to the orgy of killings that are increasing sliding this country to the precipice.

    The reports, said to be outcome of detailed investigations by tested security operatives revealed that the group has been operating in the Northcentral and South-south states using foreign terrorists. Their strategy is to recruit young men into their fold and kill innocent people with a view to creating tension along the nation’s fault lines.

    A good number of suspects arrested in the Benue valley and towns in Edo and Kogi states could not speak any of the Nigerian languages even as they were fluent in French. This in the calculations of security agencies, fuels fears of an influx of ISIS members in parts of the country.

    By extrapolation, the security agencies want us to believe that much of the killings attributed to Fulani herdsmen may in all actuality have been the handiwork of ISIS terrorists. Thus, we may begin to change our perception and extant narrative on those responsible for the mindless killings in Benue, Plateau, Taraba and other states where clashes between the herders and farmers had led to the savage butchering of innocent and harmless people.

    We may as well begin to exculpate the herdsmen from all the atrocities that have, before now, borne their imprimatur. There could be a measure of truth in the findings of the security agencies regarding the infiltration of our shores by foreign terrorists. Before now, both the government and its functionaries had claimed that Fulani herdsmen responsible for the killings are foreigners who capitalize on ECOWAS protocols guaranteeing freedom of movement of members to penetrate the nooks and cranes of the country in search of pasture for their cattle. In entering into such excuses, the inevitable impression then created was that our local Fulani herdsmen are harmless and therefore incapable of perpetrating the heinous crimes attributed to them.

    This argument resonates each time leaders from that ethnic group lament the wrong profiling of Fulani people in the violence index. In effect, the findings of the security agencies are nothing entirely new. Not when a former Inspector General of Police had some years back said those responsible for the killings were foreigners. There must have been some security intelligence that led the former IG into such a sweeping assertion.

    Sadly, it would appear everything ended with that claim as there were neither follow up investigations nor apprehension of the culprits. Those who oppose cattle settlement/colonies have sought to reinforce their argument on this score. They have consistently harped on the incongruity in creating such settlements or colonies for people of other nationalities as we had been made to believe.

    So when the security agencies came up with their seemingly novel findings, they were obviously speaking to themselves. About two years ago, Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau had announced that his terror group was going to ally with ISIS. Then also, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had accepted the pledge. They followed it up by announcing Abu Musah al-Barnawi as the new leader of Boko Haram affiliate of ISIS. In an audio message then, they said the caliphate or Islamic state had expanded to West Africa and congratulated “our Jihad brothers” there.

    Given the above, the attempt by the security agencies to sway the nation with touted diligent findings on the existence of ISIS in this country cannot strike the right chord. If anything, they should be held responsible for laxity in taking up the lead provided some years back by ISIS on the expansion of the dreaded terror group to West Africa with its leadership domiciled in Nigeria. It would have been interesting to know what use the security agencies made of that piece of information all this while.

    Or are we being led to believe that no synergy exists between the government and security agencies? At any rate, did the government not have the confidence of the security agencies before serially claiming that foreigners were responsible for those killings? And if the conclusions were borne out of arrests and interrogation, why did it take that long before the security agencies were able to establish a link between the foreigners who cannot speak any of our local languages but French and the ISIS factor? The latter poser is germane given the impression that the association of those foreigners with ISIS is on account of their inability to speak any of our local languages.

    Perhaps, security agencies stumbled into this information because they arrested some of those responsible for the renewed orgy of killings. But even if we admit that some foreign mercenaries are part and parcel of these purveyors of death, shock and awe, it does not in any way exculpate their local employers on whose shoulders the entire responsibility for the killings must squarely rest.

    It is hoped that this is not another subterfuge to absolve the Fulani herdsmen of culpability for the killings. It is also hoped it is not a subtle way of watering the ground for the so-called cattle colonies? Any attempt to do so will fail flat for a number of compelling reasons. For one, Fulani herdsmen both local and foreign speak the same language. It will therefore be neigh impossible to separate the two. For another, even when investigation revealed foreigners who speak French, this cannot in any way absolve local Fulani herdsmen from the savage and callous killings that have of late ruffled public sensibilities.

    Yet for another, the fact that all these killings are presaged by some form of altercations between Fulani herdsmen and their host communities implies ipso facto that those who kill do so at their behest. And of late, they have come public to claim responsibility for the Benue conundrum in which pregnant women, children and the aged were slaughtered in the most bestial and reprehensible manner. The lead provided by security agencies does not offer much help in resolving the conflict between the herdsmen and local farmers.

    Not with the report of a helicopter suspected to be laden with arms and ammunition that landed in Jibu village in the Wukari Local Government of Taraba State. Taraba State government claimed that the arms and ammunition were for a militia group planning to attack the state in a fashion reminiscent of the tragic attacks and killings in the Agatu communities of Benue State last year. This is a serious allegation that should attract the immediate attention of security agencies.

    This is not the first time such allegations have been peddled without our security agencies getting at the root of the matter. By now, we should have been told the mission of those helicopters and those behind them to douse speculations that they are deployed by those with interest in the clashes to teach the local farmers a hard lesson of their lives. Security agencies in Taraba and Benue states should come public on the mission of that helicopter else, we will be left with the inevitable impression that speculations as to their purpose are correct.

    The lesson in this is that we face the danger of another insurgent group that has links with the deadly ISIS. And with its international connections, prospects for better funding coupled with our plethora of internal security threats; the nation stands the risk of being overrun unless serious steps are taken to stem the slide. That is where leadership comes in. Sadly, the handling of the insurgency of the Fulani herdsmen has left much to be desired.

    It is quite revealing most of those arrested were suspects fomenting trouble in clashes between the Fulani herdsmen and the local farmers. This should instruct that the easiest channel for ISWA to penetrate the country is through the insurgency of the Fulani herdsmen. It is therefore pertinent that quick and acceptable solutions are found to the crisis before it provides a new window for terrorists to overrun us.

  • Before we are overrun

    When recently I wrote on the “impunity of the herdsmen”, one had thought it would be pretty long before again, commenting on the potent danger which senseless killings by Fulani herdsmen has become to co-habitation and national unity. But that would not be.

    Not with last week’s attack on the Ukpabi Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local government Area of Enugu State. Not with the complications surrounding the attack that left in its wake 48 innocent villagers killed, 60 houses and shops razed down with 56 injured.

    Not with the fact that reports of the impending invasion by Fulani herdsmen were in public domain and even published in the media before the mayhem was eventually unleashed on defenceless villagers in the characteristic style of the insurgents. All these make it a very high risk for us to continue to ignore, treat with levity or paper the worrisome dimension which the orgy of violence that has now become the trademark of the herdsmen has become.

    Security reports had filtered earlier that Fulani militia numbering about 500 were offloaded from two lorries in nearby Kogi State in preparation to attack the community. Following that report, the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi convened a security council meeting where the matter was tabled. But the security chiefs gave copious assurances that they were equal to the task and would foil the attack.

    The militants eventually struck, overpowered the entire village without resistance and unleashed an unrestrained orgy of violence that left in its wake shock, sorrow and awe rendering the experiences of that rural community during the civil war to a child’s play. The invaders deployed sophisticated weapons such as grenades, AK 47 riffles and other dangerous weapons shooting and indiscriminately cutting down and killing those they could find.

    The villagers are now so frightened that they could be so mercilessly mowed down in their ancestral homes by invaders with nobody to their rescue. They are so scarred and frightened that they are now at the mercy of the Fulani attackers who could still strike as it pleased them. They are counting their losses, picking the pieces and unable to come to terms with the reality of the senseless killings and destruction of properties. On issue was a suspected loss of some cows by the herdsmen.

    Many have been rendered homeless and help is nowhere in sight. Life has become a similitude of the Hobbesian state of nature where the law of the jungle reigns supreme. Life for that community is now nasty, short and brutish. Yet, we claim to be in a civilized society that came into being through a covenant between the people and the sovereign. That covenant or social contract requires the citizens to surrender the atavism of the state of nature to a sovereign who will in turn protect them.

    But what we find in the unrestrained insurgency of the Fulani herdsmen is a scandalous failure of the state to protect its citizens. It is the failure of government; a failure of the social contract basis for the existence of modern governments. It is a collective shame that Fulani herdsmen could operate with such impunity that has continuously defied the government of this country.

    And what is there left in a government if it cannot protect lives and property? What moral justification does such a government have to command the loyalty of the citizens in the face of the relative ease with which Fulani marauders levy war on parts of the country and go scot-free?

    What are the options? To allow a relapse to the state of nature as the Fulani herdsmen’s devious onslaughts suggest; allow the law of the jungle to hold sway or take decisive action to restore order and discourage the increasing resort of the herdsmen to armed banditry and serial killings?

    President Buhari must come to terms with the drift to the precipice right away. Though he has asked the Chief of Defence Staff and the Inspector-General of police to halt the menace of the herdsmen, it is regrettable that a group that has scant regard for human lives was for a long time, allowed to hold hostage sections of the country in the fashion of a standing army of occupation. Tempers are now very high and motives are being imputed into the relative ease with which the herdsmen who value cow more than human lives have serially operated in parts of the country unchallenged.

    Questions are increasingly seeking answers as to the sources of the grenades, sophisticated riffles, arms and ammunitions the herdsmen put into advantage when attacking host communities. It is increasingly assuming a big puzzle the sophistication and dexterity with which the herdsmen defeat villagers in their ancestral homes and whether conquest mentality for religious or political motives is not behind it all. It is also curious why such armed bandits could easily pass through the security checkpoints undetected. And when they were offloaded in Kogi State, nobody made any effort either to search or arrest them. We need to get at the root of this seeming complicity on the part of the security agencies.

    In their characteristic manner, the police downplayed the number of death and the incalculable damage to property and announced that normalcy has returned to the area. It said it has commenced full investigations.

    But what manner of investigations are we talking about when the mortal harm has already been inflicted? What can such an investigation achieve when the security agencies had prior knowledge of the impending attack but failed to prevent it? The investigation that will make sense now is the unraveling of the reasons behind the failure of the security agencies to nip this singular attack at the bud given that security reports on its imminence were available to them.

    It will also interest the public why security operative did not quickly deploy to the area, cordon and search for arms and ammunitions. There is the need to know on what basis the security chiefs hinged their assurances to Ugwuanyi that they were on top of the situation- an assurance that has turned out a colossal disaster.

    This is perhaps, the first time an attack of such destructive proportion would be carried out in Igbo land by Fulani herdsmen or their hired militia. Not unexpectedly, tempers are now very high. The people are very livid with anger and not likely to take the matter lightly. They suspect that the orgy of violence that left communities in nearby Benue State a ghost of their former selves is about to be replicated within their soil. They are worried that Fulani militias now operate as if they have monopoly of the means of violence.

    Concerns are mounting as to whether any other ethnic group could venture into Fulani soil, attack and kill their people and get away with it the way they have done. The people of Ukpabi Nimbo, some of who may have fled the north due to sectarian strife, cannot understand why the insecurity that compelled them to flee those areas has now been brought to their backyard by the same people. Such realization is bound to ruffle feathers; it is bound to challenge their collective will to protect their inalienable right to life.

    And if every community resorts to self-help in defending themselves; if they resort to self help in seeking remedy to loss of property, then society would have relapsed to a verity of the state of nature. That would amount to a failure of the government. That is the foreboding prospect that has been brought to the fore by the unrestrained escapades of Fulani insurgents that convey the miserable impression that they have become law unto themselves. Enough of that rubbish now! Buhari must rise to this challenge before we are overrun by Fulani insurgents or take full responsibility for the looming state of anomie.

  • Nigeria: Overrun by electric power generators

    Nigeria: Overrun by electric power generators

    Nigerians expend  over N796billion on fuelling electric power generators annually, the highest in the world, a development, some discerning public have argued, is blatantly outrageous. Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf examines the implications for the economy

    Nigeria spends an estimated sum of N796.4 billion annually on fuel to power electric generators no thanks to incessant power cuts all year round.

    This figure is strikingly similar to the federal budget of N796.7 billion for capital expenditure for the current fiscal year. A breakdown shows that N540.9 billion is spent on diesel and N255.5 billion goes into the purchase of petrol annually for power generating sets.

    According to a study conducted on electricity distribution among the six geo-political zones in late 2009, Nigerians enjoy only four to six hours of power supply; hence many Nigerians have to expend a lot of money to augment the rather poor supply by providing electricity for themselves.

    Painful reality

    To many observers, the big expenditure on power generation is perhaps a sad commentary on the low level of infrastructural development in the sector.

    In the view of Godfrey Ogbemudia, Programme Director, Community Research and Development Centre, the expenditure on power largely due to inadequacy in power supply.

    Speaking at the official launch of the Nigeria Renewable Energy for All Project in Benin recently, Ogbemudia explained that the figure represented Federal Government’s budget of N796.7 billion for the capital expenditure for the 2009 fiscal year for 36 states of the federation.

    He lamented that in spite of the various government policies to revive the energy sector, many Nigerians still get as low as four hours of electricity supply per day, hence the need for Nigerians to embrace solar as a viable source of power.

    Ogbemudia said that CREDC had been playing a key role in the deployment of renewable energy to rural communities since 2006, part of which was the installation of stand-alone solar systems for no fewer than 550 households in Edo, explaining that the solar project, also known as Nigeria-REAP, was aimed at improving access to sustainable and interrupted electricity supply using renewable energy in collaboration with Schneider Electric.

    “A 2009 study on electricity distribution among the six geo-political zones in Nigeria shows that some Nigerians enjoy only four to six hours of power supply. Also Nigerians spend about N796.4 billion on fuelling their electric generators to provide themselves with electric power.”

    The craze for generators

    Unreliable power supply in the country has seen most households resort to the use of power generating sets as their primary means of electricity, while the state utility company, Power Holding Company of Nigeria, (PHCN), which is essentially a monopoly, hardly meets up to 20 per cent of the nation’s demand. It generates between 1,6000mw and 1,500mw. This has led to a situation where power supply from PHCN is viewed as a standby source, to be used when available, while generators are seen as the principal mode of catering for power needs.

    Industries operating under the aegis of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) spend an estimated N350 billion to fuel their generating sets annually, The Nation learnt.

    To make PHCN more efficient, it was unbundled into 18 successor companies comprising 11 power generating companies, GenCos, six power distribution companies, DisCos, and one transmission company, Transmission Company of Nigeria.

    The blame game

    A former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has blamed his successors for the rot in the power sector.

    The former President said that the country needed to generate 2,000 megawatts every year for the citizens to enjoy stable electricity.

    Obasanjo, after his second coming as a civilian president, handed over to the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007 while President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office after the death of Yar’Adua in May, 2010.

    The former President, spoke at a programme tagged: ‘First Green Legacy Moment with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Leadership and Human Security in Africa’, which held in Abeokuta.

    He said subsequent administrations after his reign as military ruler between 1976 and 1979 did nothing on power generation until he returned in 1999.

    According to him, leaders in the country lack the political will to confront national challenges.

    He said, “Part of our problems is lack of political will on the part of the leaders. What does a leader understands about development? Any leader worth his salt should know that power is very important. It is the driver of all developments, be it social, economic, and even political.

    “When I was military head of state, I developed the Jebba Dam, I developed Shiroro, I started Egbin. (Ex-President Shehu)Shagari came and completed Egbin and commissioned Jebba and Shiroro.

    “Between Shagari in 1983, until I came back in 1999, there was no single dime invested in power generation. If anything, the ones that were there were allowed to go down.”

    Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) came into power on December 31, 1983 after Shagari was overthrown in a military coup. Buhari himself was shoved out in 1985 by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, who stepped aside in 1993 following the tension that greeted his annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, won by Bashorun Moshood Abiola.

    Ernest Shonekan, head of the Interim National Government, and late dictator Sani Abacha followed while power was transferred to Gen. Abdulsalami Abubaka on the death of Abacha in 1998. It was Abdusalami that handed over again to Obasanjo as a civilian president in 1999.

    Obasanjo said, “A country like Nigeria must be adding not less than 2,000 megawatts every year if we are to be moving on the path of development.

    “If you will remember, when I came back in 1999, my first Minister of Power was late Bola Ige. I won’t say Bola didn’t know what he was doing and he said publicly that he would fix the power problems in six months.

    “After one year, Bola with his capacity couldn’t fathom what was wrong with power. It was riddled with corruption. Then we had no money. People have forgotten that in 1999/2000, the price of crude oil was US $9 per barrel. So, I wanted the oil companies, Mobil, Total and they wouldn’t go.

    “When we started having money, we started the National Integrated Power Plant. When we said the money we had should be invested in power, my successor didn’t understand; he stopped it. If for almost 20 years we did not achieve anything in power generation, then we may not be able to get it again.”

    Obasanjo, who cited South Africa as an example, said with its population of 55 million people, SA generated 45,000 megawatts, while Nigeria with about 180 million people could not generate 4, 000 megawatts.

    He said, “For us to say that we are industrialising the country, we must be generating much more than what South Africa is generating, say 100,000 megawatts.

    “What year will Nigeria get there if we are adding 2,000 megawatts each year? For us to get to 100,000 mega watts, I leave the mathematics to you. It sounds very discouraging but that is the reality.”

    Solar energy to the rescue

    Although the initial financial outlay in setting up a solar-powered plant is astronomical, it can last for 25 years without fuel other than solar energy which is captured by the solar panel.

    The government also recently signed a contract with a French outfit to establish a wind-fuelled plant in Katsina as a mark of its seriousness to diversify public power supply sources from the traditional hydro and thermal to wind, solar and coal, among others.

    To improve power supply however, it has been realised that the private sector must play a critical role, which has led to NERC licensing about 29 independent power producers, IPPs, which are in various stages of completion.

    A gas master plan has however been put in place to make gas more readily available to fuel the over 70 per cent of power plants that depend on thermal source of energy.

    How other Africans are faring

    In his contribution entitled: ‘Resource conflicts: energy worth fighting for?’ in the International Handbook of Energy Security’, Joshua Olaniyi Alabi said at the centre of the energy crisis bedeviling African countries is the problem of low budgeting.

    He was however quick to admit that over the years, countries have spent substantial sums on institutional reforms in the power sector, including management training, improved internal accounting and external auditing, improved boards of directors, financial and operational information and reporting systems, and establishment and strengthening of supervisory and regulatory agencies.

    Whether in South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Togo and the across the continent, there is renewed vigour by the government in those countries to scale up investment in the area of power generation and supply.

    In Rwanda for instance, there are plans to import 30MW of power from Kenya in a bid to address the energy needs of the growing manufacturing sector and bring down power costs.

    Rwanda imports a combined total of 17MW from DR Congo and Uganda annually.

    Importation of power will require Uganda and Rwanda to upgrade the capacity of their power transmission lines from the current 220kV to 400kV like Kenya’s.

    The two countries have started negotiations that are expected to pave the way for power purchase agreements. Thereafter, Rwanda should start receiving power from Kenya by June 2015.

    The 30MW will be almost twice what Rwanda imports from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda imports a combined total of 17MW from DR Congo and Uganda annually. The imports could increase further when the country completes its high voltage power projects.

    However, the importation of power will require Uganda and Rwanda to upgrade the capacity of their power transmission lines from the current 220kV to 400kV like Kenya’s.

    The higher voltage transmission lines, according to analysts, should allow the three countries – which still grapple with energy deficits that have slowed industrial growth in the region – to partly address the problem.

    “Upgrading the transmission lines to 400kV will allow Rwanda to address the current power shortages but also export when there is excess,” said Ntare Karitanyi, chief executive of Energy Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA).

    Before the transmission lines are upgraded, at least $2 billion (Rwf1.3 trillion) will be spent on feasibility studies in Uganda and Rwanda. The two countries are required to source for the funding.

    Rwanda has started construction of the interconnection lines with neighbouring countries. There is a line from Birembo in Rwanda to Mirama Hills in Uganda. These lines will increase the country’s access to cheaper energy sources from the region.

    In another project aimed at boosting energy supply, studies for the transmission line with Tanzania are already complete and will be implemented after the environmental impact assessment is carried out.

    Without its own major power generation plants, the country spends Rwf190 million monthly on importing power, which translates into Rwf2.8 billion annually. Another Rwf40 billion is spent on running the thermal power plants that produce almost half of the energy needs of the country.

    The heavy reliance on thermal power pushes up the country’s energy costs. In Rwanda, consumers are paying $0.22 per kilowatt-hour (KWh), compared with $0.08 to $0.10 in the rest of the region, according to World Bank figures.

    The World Bank said Rwanda experiences the highest number of power outages, with an average of 14 blackouts per month, followed by Burundi and Tanzania, both with 12. Ugandans experience 11 blackouts a month. Kenya’s power grid is more reliable, but still experiences an average of seven blackouts a month.

    The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority said that the country exports power valued at Rwf12 million monthly to Uganda through the Cyanika-Gisoto line. The study is also expected to address the power losses in the two countries.

    Rwanda imports a combined total of 17MW from DR Congo and Uganda annually.

    Importation of power will require Uganda and Rwanda to upgrade the capacity of their power transmission lines from the current 220kV to 400kV like Kenya’s.

    Like Rwanda, the energy sector in Kenya is largely dominated by petroleum and electricity, with wood fuel providing the basic energy needs of the rural communities, urban poor, and the informal sector. An analysis of the national energy shows heavy dependency on wood fuel and other biomass that account for 68% of the total energy consumption (petroleum 22%, electricity 9%, others account for 1%). Electricity access in Kenya is low despite the government’s ambitious target to increase electricity connectivity from the current 15% to at least 65% by the year 2022.

    Kenya plans to spend as much as $15 billion boosting electricity production fourfold over the next 40 months to help accelerate growth in East Africa’s biggest economy, Energy Minister Davis Chirchir said.

    The country plans to produce an additional 5,500 megawatts, mostly from coal, gas and geothermal sources, by 2017, Chirchir said in an interview yesterday in the capital, Nairobi. Added to existing capacity of 1,700 megawatts, that would bring total output to 7,200 megawatts, he said.

    Speaking with Bloomberg recently, Chirchir said needed about $10 billion to $15 billion in investment to reach that target, adding: “We need that power to support double-digit economic growth.”

    In his inaugural speech in office, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, pledged to accelerate annual economic growth to more than 10 percent as part of plan to create more than 1 million jobs a year. The country is preparing to sell its inaugural Eurobond to raise as much as $2 billion by early next year to fund infrastructure development.

    Kenya is talking to suppliers of coal from South Africa and Zimbabwe to fuel a 900-1,000 megawatt plant at Lamu on the coast, for which they are in the process of procuring a developer. The ministry is also talking to Qatari suppliers of liquified natural gas for a 700-800 megawatt plant at Dongo Kundu in Mombasa, according to Chirchir.

    The government plans to use competitive bidding tenders to award contracts for power generation to private companies, Chirchir said. “The criteria for selection will mainly be the tariff at which the companies propose to sell us the power they generate,” he said.

    Kenyatta said in September the country plans to become more reliant on coal-fired, geothermal and natural-gas generation to lower costs by as much as six-fold. Of the total 5,500 megawatts that will be added, only 24 megawatts will be sourced from hydropower, according to the Energy Ministry.

    The state wants to reduce the industrial cost of power to $0.09 per kilowatt hour from the current $0.15, Chirchir said.

    Currently, Ghana’s installed capacity for power generation is estimated at 1,960 megawatts (from hydro and thermal sources) growing at about 10 per cent annually. In the medium to long term, an additional 2000 megawatts will be needed in order to catch up with demand.

    Unfortunately, efforts to increase supply have been hampered by limited fuel supply due to rising costs of light crude oil and unstable rainfall patterns affecting hydro-generation. This is further compounded by irregular supply of gas from Nigeria which renders thermal plants such as the Asogli Power Plant – which provides 180 megawatts of gas-run power – non-operational.

    Ghana is estimated to spend about $1bn annually on light crude oil for power generation, resulting in an uncompetitive private sector characterised by high cost of production, high price of goods and services and low patronage of deliverables.

    In Botswana, its success story is worth commending, as the state-owned electricity utility Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) formed by government decree in 1970 to expand and develop electrical power potential in the country, has made a good job of it thus far.

    In the view of Mr. Alero Danjuma, an energy expert, the power crisis is taking a heavy toll on economic growth and productivity across Africa.

    To mitigate the crisis, Danjuma holds the view and very strongly too that Africa needs to harness larger-scale and more cost-effective energy sources in order to reduce energy system costs by US$2 billion and carbon dioxide emissions by 70 million tons annually.

    “With increased utility efficiency and regional power trade in play, power costs would fall and full cost recovery tariffs could become affordable in much of Africa. This will make utilities more creditworthy and help sustain the flow of external finance to the sector, which is essential to close the huge financing gap.”

  • Floods overrun Abuja-Lokoja road

    Floods overrun Abuja-Lokoja road

    Floods have taken over the Lokoja-Abuja road- the major access to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) – the seat of power.

    The River Niger has overflowed its banks, submerging the road and many homes. The floods caused a chaotic traffic on the road, with vehicles forming long queues on both sides.

    The queue at the Lokoja end of the road has extended to Obajana village, about 15 kilometres drive to the Lokoja city centre. Many passengers are stranded

    The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is expected to close the road today.

    In a statement yesterday by deputy corps public education officer Mr. Bisi Kazeem, the FRSC said: “FRSC intends blocking the Lokoja-Abuja highway as water level rises andthe road becomes impassable.

    “Motorists are advised to completely avoid the route and ply alternative routes.”

    Mr Isaac Martins, the head of Operations of the State Sector Command of the FRSC said the problem was more serious with the small cars, adding that it takes officials and youths assisting them an average of 20 minutes to help a car out of the water.

    “ Vehicles are moving but they are moving slowly. That is just the situation at hand now,’’ Martins said.

    He urged motorists to use alternative roads, pending when the flood would be over.

    Also in Kogi State, the Nigeria Red Cross Society said yesterday that it had deployed three boats in the riverine areas of Ibaji Local Government to rescue trapped flood victims taking refuge on tree tops.

    Mr Mustafa Allah-Dey, the chairman of the state branch of the Red Cross, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja that the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) released the boats for the rescue operation.

    Allah-Dey said that men of the Navy and officials of NEMA, SEMA and the state Ministry of Environment were also involved in the operation, adding that many of the victims were said to be in life-threatening situations.

    To him, the people should be blamed for their predicament, adding that they failed to heed several warnings to quit their homes to avoid being trapped.

    The chairman said he did not have the figure of the exact number of people trapped and that no report of casualties had been received.

    He only described the situation in Ibaji as “very terrible”.

    In Makurdi, the Benue State capital, the billion naira farm belonging to former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Audu Ogbeh was submerged by floods.

    The water overflowing from River Benue which has caused havoc in Makurdi, ravaged Efugo Farm and home of the political chieftain, in Terwase Agbadu.

    The Agbadu settlement is on the Makurdi-Gboko road. The farm and the house are not far away from the bank of the river.

    Yesterday’s flood covered a two-kilometre stretch, overrunning homes and farms.

    The floods also affected the Living Faith Church, Benue Links, Federal Mass Transit Park, Kucha Utebe and parts of Benue Brewery’s factory.

    Many residents hurriedly moved into camps provided by Benue State government. There was panic, following rumours that more water would be released from Lagdo Dam in Cameroun, which is the cause of the flooding.

    The Executive Secretary, Benue State Emergency Management Agency(SEMA),Mr Adikpo Agbatse, said the situation was beyond the capability of the state. He advised those still living close to River Benue to relocate.

    Efugo Farms has poultry, piggery, livestock feeds section and a massive rice plantation. A close aide of Ogbeh, who pleaded anonymity, put the value of the farm at over N2 billion.

    The farm covers 10 kilometres. It has pigs, chickens and hatch eggs valued at over N50 million. All were destroyed. The floods washed away many birds.

    Ogbeh, who is based in Abuja, could not be reached last night.