okay, so i came up here today hoping to write about something lighthearted, you know, like how the rain won't stop even though there used to be something called "August Break" when we were younger (maybe we should take all this environmental talk a lil more seriously), and how tiger woods deserves what he got when he forgot for a moment he was a black man, and black men are full of testosterone which the average tepid white woman cannot handle (no racism intended) or even about the very stupid hostage rescue job carried out by the phillipino police some days ago, which left 9 people dead at the end of the dramatic/mission impossible style rescue. i daresay, for once and maybe never again, that i am proud of the nigerian police in comparison to what i saw of the phillipines. even i was doing a much better job with my mouth while watching the thing on television during lunch break at work.
but interesting as all those almost-topics may sound, the news story that interests me most is the one emanating from nigeria. as always, as if we are not plagued enough already, someone somewhere has to trigger something dramatic. so just today, my colleague came into work and was telling me how she heard that we all just survived a near strike action by tanker drivers. as you all know, and as i wrote copiously about in an earlier post, nigerians just go to bed one night all happy and glad, and just wake to the realization that they can't go work the next day. just as i was rejoicing, a friend called me to say if i had heard the good news. NEPA has gone on strike, shutting down all electricity nationwide.
okay, for the sake of you peeps who've been away for so long that the word NEPA doesn't ring a bell or that live under a rock on mars, this is nigeria's only electricity supplier, transmitter, distributor etcetera. basically, we rely solely on their actions (or in this case, inactions) to have any form of electricity anywhere. on a good day, when the rains are not forthcoming and the water tables are low, we are supplied a wholesome 3 hours of electricity a day and this has helped nigeria become one of the world's leading markets for personally generated electricity, and has also helped cement our trade ties with china's ever growing generator manufacturing market. but its not all doom and gloom folks!, cos when the rain is in full swing though, we are sometimes blessed with up to 6 full uninterrupted hours of power in our homes! wow... you're in awe, i know.
well, so you can imagine how heartbroken we all suddenly are to hear that this very useful government agency has decided to go on strike. i'm sure our first collective thoughts were, "o my goodness, whatever are we going to do now? how do we survive?!". right. er...same way we always survived when they were NOT on strike i.e. without electricity?. seriously, all the way home, i kept asking people how they felt that there was a strike in the power sector, and the closest i got was a very uninterested, "which NEPA?"...after which the guy proceeds to talk about how chelsea will lift the premiership cup. nigerians never cease to amuse me.
truth is, i think that it is sad that 50 years on, nigeria is still grappling with the basics of human living. we are still campaigning with promises of providing free water, education for all, free healthcare, good roads, stable electricity. all of the things that every tax paying citizen of the developed world has come to expect as a given being a representation of the money that he pays to the government every month in tax. i cannot begin to think of the impact of this strike on small businesses like the photocopying, cybercafe, ice block seller kinda person. and they pay levies and charges to government too. i really can't help but feel that my tax is unjustified, and i am being cheated out of my hard earned money by the government.
the government of this country has failed. i feel that above anything, the existing political class should hang their heads in shame, at the level of rot that they have led us to, 50 years on. i strongly believe that everyone who has led this country, should publicly apologize to all citizens as part of our 50th anniversary celebration, and waive all their future entitlements in penance for the irreparable wrong they have inflicted on the collective destiny of this country that held so much promise. which takes me back to the audacity that Mr. IBB has to even walk around in broad daylight, without getting lynched...but thats over-flogged.
enough said, its election year again in 2011, please please whatever you do, whether or not you feel it will count, do go out there and vote for anyone else except the PDP. We must collectively grind this monster to a halt and save this nation from any further slide down the slope of eventual destruction. i do hope someone in government has a shred of integrity left and will heed the advice on making a public apology to nigerians...but hang on a second, there will probably be no electricity to catch that on television. darn.
peace out peeps...
but interesting as all those almost-topics may sound, the news story that interests me most is the one emanating from nigeria. as always, as if we are not plagued enough already, someone somewhere has to trigger something dramatic. so just today, my colleague came into work and was telling me how she heard that we all just survived a near strike action by tanker drivers. as you all know, and as i wrote copiously about in an earlier post, nigerians just go to bed one night all happy and glad, and just wake to the realization that they can't go work the next day. just as i was rejoicing, a friend called me to say if i had heard the good news. NEPA has gone on strike, shutting down all electricity nationwide.
okay, for the sake of you peeps who've been away for so long that the word NEPA doesn't ring a bell or that live under a rock on mars, this is nigeria's only electricity supplier, transmitter, distributor etcetera. basically, we rely solely on their actions (or in this case, inactions) to have any form of electricity anywhere. on a good day, when the rains are not forthcoming and the water tables are low, we are supplied a wholesome 3 hours of electricity a day and this has helped nigeria become one of the world's leading markets for personally generated electricity, and has also helped cement our trade ties with china's ever growing generator manufacturing market. but its not all doom and gloom folks!, cos when the rain is in full swing though, we are sometimes blessed with up to 6 full uninterrupted hours of power in our homes! wow... you're in awe, i know.
well, so you can imagine how heartbroken we all suddenly are to hear that this very useful government agency has decided to go on strike. i'm sure our first collective thoughts were, "o my goodness, whatever are we going to do now? how do we survive?!". right. er...same way we always survived when they were NOT on strike i.e. without electricity?. seriously, all the way home, i kept asking people how they felt that there was a strike in the power sector, and the closest i got was a very uninterested, "which NEPA?"...after which the guy proceeds to talk about how chelsea will lift the premiership cup. nigerians never cease to amuse me.
truth is, i think that it is sad that 50 years on, nigeria is still grappling with the basics of human living. we are still campaigning with promises of providing free water, education for all, free healthcare, good roads, stable electricity. all of the things that every tax paying citizen of the developed world has come to expect as a given being a representation of the money that he pays to the government every month in tax. i cannot begin to think of the impact of this strike on small businesses like the photocopying, cybercafe, ice block seller kinda person. and they pay levies and charges to government too. i really can't help but feel that my tax is unjustified, and i am being cheated out of my hard earned money by the government.
the government of this country has failed. i feel that above anything, the existing political class should hang their heads in shame, at the level of rot that they have led us to, 50 years on. i strongly believe that everyone who has led this country, should publicly apologize to all citizens as part of our 50th anniversary celebration, and waive all their future entitlements in penance for the irreparable wrong they have inflicted on the collective destiny of this country that held so much promise. which takes me back to the audacity that Mr. IBB has to even walk around in broad daylight, without getting lynched...but thats over-flogged.
enough said, its election year again in 2011, please please whatever you do, whether or not you feel it will count, do go out there and vote for anyone else except the PDP. We must collectively grind this monster to a halt and save this nation from any further slide down the slope of eventual destruction. i do hope someone in government has a shred of integrity left and will heed the advice on making a public apology to nigerians...but hang on a second, there will probably be no electricity to catch that on television. darn.
peace out peeps...
Comments
I hope we vote right in 2011