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OPINION: Nigerian Electricity Lie And The Old Northern Folklore

Published

5 months ago

June 18, 2025

By Israel Adebiyi

There is an old Northern Nigerian folklore titled “Ali and the Angel: Tea Without Sugar.” In this tale, a man named Ali, sensing opportunity in a village too poor to afford sugar, disguised himself as an angel. He claimed he had brought “heavenly sugar” to sweeten their tea. The “sugar,” however, was nothing but ashes from a burnt hut.

Desperate, the villagers bought into the trick. They stirred ashes into their tea and convinced themselves the taste had improved. Some even fell ill. But by the time they realized they had been drinking poison and praising a fraudster, Ali had vanished—along with their money, their health, and their hope.

This story may be folklore, but it mirrors Nigeria’s journey through power sector privatization since 2013.

When the Goodluck Jonathan administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with private Distribution Companies (DISCOs), it was heralded as a turning point. These companies were handed over the reins with clear expectations: to invest massively in infrastructure, provide meters to every Nigerian, improve supply, and run the sector efficiently and transparently.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: The Elephant Must Beware Of The Red Carpet

Twelve years later, Nigerians are still drinking bitter tea—no sugar, no light.

Instead of improvement, we now have a sector that is both privatized and parasitic. Citizens pay for everything—transformers, poles, cables, and meters—yet receive no reliable power in return. In many communities, residents pool money to buy equipment the DISCOs should provide. This defies both logic and law.

Even more disturbing is the fact that government at national and sub-national levels continue to pump public funds into infrastructure for these private firms. Federal and state budgets routinely allocate billions for electrification projects, transformer procurements, and rural access—for a sector that is supposedly privatized.

This is an anomaly that turns logic on its head. In no sane privatization model should the public be the one enabling the private investor to function. The DISCOs were meant to invest, but instead, they have turned the system into a cash cow—earning trillions while hiding behind estimated billing and technical excuses.

Even as darkness deepens, tariffs are being raised, and there is now a push to remove electricity subsidies entirely. This is not reform; it is daylight robbery. You do not fix a leaky roof by tearing off the entire ceiling—you hold the builder accountable.

The President Bola Tinubu administration must act with urgency. A surgical probe is needed into the operations of the DISCOs. Nigerians need to know where the trillions went, why investments were not made, and why, a decade after privatization, over 60% of Nigerians still live in darkness.

It is time to review the MoU. Any DISCO that has failed to meet its obligations must face revocation of license. The government must chart a new course—one that aligns with public interest, not private greed.

Electricity is not just about light; it is about life—health, education, industry, and dignity. As it stands, the system is rigged against the people. It is as though someone promised them sugar, but sold them ashes—and made them pay for the spoon, the cup, and the tea as well.

Until something changes, Nigerians will continue to stir their bitter tea and pretend it’s sweet. But the deception must end. The fraud must be unmasked. The “angel” must be exposed.

Enough of power without light.

News

Film Premiere: Edo In Talks With Embassies To Promote Safe Migration —Agazuma

Published

3 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

The Edo State Government has opened talks with various embassies to establish modalities and strategies aimed at reducing or completely eliminating irregular migration, while promoting safe migration practices.

The Director General (DG) of the Edo State Migration Agency, Lucky Agazuma, disclosed this during the premiere of the film “Cold Dishes” held in Benin City.

He emphasized the need for stakeholders to work together to end the scourge of irregular migration in Nigeria.

Agazuma, who was part of the audience that watched the movie, said the Edo State Government has made remarkable progress in tackling irregular migration.

He noted that the Monday Okpebholo-led administration has continued to deliver good governance to the people of the state.

According to him, the government is creating jobs, regularising teachers’ appointments, improving the educational system, and intensifying public enlightenment campaigns to educate citizens on the dangers of embarking on irregular migration.

He expressed appreciation to the governor for prioritising the issue of irregular migration and for working tirelessly to curb it in the state.

Agazuma described irregular migration as “dangerous and deadly,” and assured that the agency would continue to assist intending travelers on safe and legal travel options.

“We are discussing with embassies in Nigeria to help promote safe migration and ensure Nigeria is a VISA free nation as it will help reduce the process of embarking on illegal migration.

“For the film that has been premiered today, it talks about migration and irregular migration and the dangers surrounding it.
As an agency we are working to check traffickers in the State and we have a government that is accountable to it’s citizens, working to improve their lives”

“The last administration relegated Edo people bringing in consultants to do the job here but the Governor Monday Okpebholo led administration has changed the narrative creating the atmosphere for Edo people to fix Edo themselves,” he said.

Agazuma further revealed that the agency has continued to rescue Edo indigenes from the hands of traffickers, including those who have been held in captivity for years in their search for greener pastures.

He called on citizens to shun irregular migration and ensure that they only travel through legal means to avoid falling prey to traffickers.

“Our work and focus as an agency is bringing the world to Edo. The administration of Monday Okpebholo is bringing good governance to Edo and in the long run eliminating irregular migration.”

A lead actor in the premiered film “Cold Dishes” and an Edo indigene, Osas Ighodalo, also expressed appreciation to Okpebholo for creating an enabling environment for the entertainment industry to thrive.

“Edo State is taking the lead in the fight against irregular migration and the government has continued to support all efforts to eliminate the scourge. I thank the Edo State government and the migration agency for standing with our returnees and rehabilitating them. The film is a call on all Stakeholders to do more,” she said.

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Forceful Entering Into State-owned Property In Edo Risks Jail

Published

3 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has signed law prescribing 10 years Imprisonment for anyone who violently or forcefully enters into state-owned property.

The governor also assented to, law prescribing five years imprisonment for anyone who is involved in an unauthorized sale or transfer of government property without the governor’s consent.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, and made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Benin.

Itua in the statement quoted the governor as emphasizing that the “new legal framework is a clear demonstration of his administration’s zero tolerance for corruption, impunity, and misuse of government property.”

The governor’s CPS said the law also prescribed stringent penalty for professionals who aid or abet illegal land transactions involving state property.

The statement partly reads: “The Edo State Public Property Protection Law, 2025, establishes the Edo State Public Property Protection Committee, a statutory body mandated to oversee, safeguard, and recover all public properties belonging to the State. The law empowers the committee to prevent unauthorized occupation, vandalism, encroachment, alienation, or destruction of public assets.

“Under the new law, the committee shall have the authority to identify, inspect, seal, and recover encroached public properties, investigate disputes, and collaborate with law enforcement agencies to ensure strict compliance. It also empowers the committee to initiate legal actions through the Ministry of Justice against any individual or entity found in contravention of the provisions of the law.

“Public assets belong to the people of Edo State, not individuals. This law ensures that no one, no matter how highly placed, can appropriate public property for private gain,” he said.

“The law prescribes stringent penalties for violations. Unauthorized sale or transfer of government property without the governor’s consent now attracts a five-year prison term, while violent or forceful entry into state-owned property could lead to up to ten years’ imprisonment, depending on the severity of the offence.

“Professionals who aid or abet illegal land transactions involving state property will also face sanctions, including prosecution and referral to their professional bodies for disciplinary action.

“Additionally, false petitions or fraudulent claims relating to government lands will attract severe penalties to deter abuse of process.”

News

Immigration Seizes Senator Natasha’s Passport At Airport

Published

3 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP/Kogi Central) has cried out that Nigerian immigration officers seized her passport at an airport, preventing her from travelling abroad.

Over the weekend, Akpoti-Uduaghan celebrated her second anniversary in the Senate by commissioning projects in Kogi Central.

The lawmaker went live on Instagram at the airport as she questioned immigration officials over the alleged confiscation of her passport.

In a video obtained on Tuesday, she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of giving the order for her passport to be seized.

She described the action as an unlawful restriction of her movement and a gross violation of her fundamental rights.

“Hello, fellow Nigerians. I’m Senator Natasha. Having completed my second year in office, I decided to take a week off. I’m at the airport here, and my passport has been withheld again,” she said in the video.

“This same thing happened before when I was stopped from travelling even though I had committed no offence, and there was no court order restricting me. The last time this happened, the officer in charge told me that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling because he claimed that each time I go abroad, I ‘spoil the image of the country’ by granting interviews to international media.”

According to the senator, it was only after the intervention of a certain influential person that her passport was released the last time such an incident occurred.

“Godswill Akpabio has instructed the Controller General of Customs to withhold my passport. This is wrong,” the lawmaker said.

She claimed that President Bola Tinubu had instructed the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, to withdraw all cases in the court filed by the Federal Government against her.

My invitation to Akpabio, other colleagues procedural, not personal, Natasha clarifies
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s passport was later released by the immigration officials.

The Kogi legislator was involved in a high-profile dispute with Akpabio in February over seat reallocation in the Senate, which escalated into her six-month suspension, effective March 6, 2025.

She, however, resumed her duties on September 24, 2025.