By Dahiru ABDULLAHI

AFTER reading a memo to the Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) signed by the secretary, one Joseph Ajaero, asking members to pray against the success of the power sector reform, it became instantly clear that the enemies of progress are hard at work!

People are dying as a result of unreliable power supply, businesses are closing down all around the nation; as a result, thousands of people are losing their jobs, while our youths roam around looking for jobs in frustration! Crime rate continues to escalate due to the ever-increasing number of “idle hands” (devil’s workshop), etc. Yet, Government’s efforts in revamping the power over the years for the benefit of its over 140 million people continues to fail. Why? Simply because of the leadership of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)!

The leadership is in cahoots with parties that have vested interests in the continued failure of the system due to the personal gains of a few Nigerians in the system!

Why should 140 million Nigerians and residents of Nigeria suffer because of a few union leaders who depend on the monthly check-offs of the 40, 000 PHCN workers? Why should we die from generator fumes, fuel explosions, car accidents with tankers on our roads?

Why should our people die on the operating table in hospitals, from food poisoning due to contaminated food in refrigerators? Why should our school children continue to suffer, strain and even lose their eye-sights from using candles, kerosene lanterns and similar alternatives to electricity to do their homework? Why should we destroy our forests for firewood when we can energise home and cook with electricity instead? Did our Almighty Father bring us into this world and country Nigeria to suffer?

The resounding answer is NO! It is our fellow men such as the leaders of PHCN and their union collaborators who are standing in the way of our progress. They are the ones that will lose if PHCN is closed down and their “straw” for sucking the government largesse runs dry.

They are afraid of losing the millions they are stealing from us all through inflated contracts, revolving supplies, extortion of the masses who they are PAID TO SERVE, ghost workers, extortion of hapless PHCN workers who are forced by their management and union leadership to contribute their hard earned benefits to fight an imaginary enemy who any half-thinking person can tell has shown good faith and concern for the plight of the nation and every PHCN staff!

What manner of creature is Joe Ajaero? Whose side is he really on? What is his real agenda? Who are his sponsors? Who stands to benefit from the status quo? Does he believe his own lies? How can he live with himself in this outright deceit of over 40,000 PHCN workers? Are they blind? Is the nation in darkness because they cannot tell the difference? Why are they afraid to speak out? Who is threatening the individuals in the PHCN and public servants in the power sector that know better? Is it true that their loved ones are at risk of being kidnapped, killed, harassed, raped, victimised, attacked in whatever form if they speak out? Who is sending death threats to people on the side of reform? Why is Prof Nnaji, a world renowned scientist who developed countries have been trying to entice away from Nigeria being unfairly attacked and the nation stands by and watch? Maybe we deserve what we are getting after all from PHCN workers, the PHCN management and union leaders.

Are Nigerians serious? Can we say yes to change for a better life? What are we doing about it? Look at Ghana today….they made a conscious effort to change the leaders at all levels, including their unions. There is no way members of PHCN union can compete with or meet the standards of their counterparts in Africa not to talk of the developed world.

Mr. Abdullahi, a lawyer, writes from Kaduna.