By Dele Sobowale

“$7bn: intervention Fund pledged by President Barack Obama for the upgrade of power supply in sub-Saharan Africa”, PUNCH, July 2, 2013.

The announcement by the US President to provide an intervention fund worth $7 billion to seven countries in Africa, including Nigeria, should be regarded as a major embarrassment to this country and a vote of no confidence in our ability to solve the power problem by ourselves.

President Obasanjo and Governor Lyel Imoke withdrew $13-16 billion from 2003 to 2007 promising to deliver 10,000MW of power by 2007. Yet, we are stuck with less than 4,000MW guaranteed power supply and there is no clue regarding what happened to the funds drawn down.

Why should we again go and accept the US taxpayers’ money and drop it down the same rat hole into which our own disappeared? Why not call Obasanjo and Imoke to a public hearing and ask them what happened to our money? It is certainly more honourable than collecting another US hand-out which will certainly be embezzled.

It is really difficult to understand why Obama is really offering the assistance which we don’t need and will probably waste. We have enough money of our own – if Jonathan will stop corruption at the federal level.

For the last two months, less than 2500MW had been delivered each day on account of system failure we are told; but in reality because of problems experienced with gas supply – just as in 1995. In my thick file on the power sector, on no less than forty-five occasions had gas supply been used as the excuse by the Ministry of Power, in the last twelve years to excuse failure to supply up to 4,000MW to Nigeria.

Half of those excuses were offered between 2007 and today. It is bad enough that one, only one, airport in Japan receives 4,000MW of uninterrupted power supply; everyone in government should hang his head in shame that the largest country in Africa can’t even manage to do what one airport in Japan does without sweat.

The real tragedy of Abati’s response to Ezekwesili, which is the official position, is associated with the self-indictment when, indeed, a credible government could have acquitted itself with the truth. Ezekwesili, like anybody else, familiar with economics, knows that external reserves are never static; they remain dynamic. Furthermore, Nigeria’s external reserves today are higher than when she left Obasanjo’s government. So, the question of what was done with $43 billion does not arise at all.

In fact, the present administration had increased the reserves because crude oil prices had stayed over 100% of the levels they were in 2006. All Abati had to do was to publish the figures on May 29, 2007 and today and Jonathan’s government would have been vindicated.

The lesson everyone should learn from that altercation is simple. “This is the punishment of a liar: he is not believed even when he speaks the truth”, according to the Babylon Talmud. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 127). GEJ’s government lost a battle it should have won hands down because it lacks credibility.

A few weeks ago, the Vice-President of Nigeria, Architect Nanadi Sambo, announced that power generation will soon hit 20,000MW. Based on his profession, Sambo, knows better than anyone else that buildings are instruments for living. But, they become living hells without adequate power supply.

To start with, Sambo failed to tell us when the 20,000MW is to be expected. He also failed to tell us who would be held responsible for delivering the 20000MW since government, for the thousandth time, is privatizing. Propaganda does not come more badly packaged than that. But, “help” came for the VP soon enough. The Minister of Power, a professor, promised 10,000MW by December this year – a mere six months away.

He is the second professor to head the Ministry; the former, after making the usual empty promises, was sacked for reasons which need not delay us here. It was good riddance. The surprising thing is, given the frequent and persistent system failure which we have been experiencing lately, the government actually expects Nigerians and the international community to believe that hogwash.

At any rate, promise of 10,000MW power delivery is not original to this government. That vow was first made by Engineer Lyel Imoke, now Cross River State governor, when he was Minister for Power under Obasanjo. Raising the national output to 10,000MW by 2007 was the excuse for raiding the Excess Crude Oil account to the tune of $13-16 billion by Obasanjo’s administration. Till today, Nigerians have not received 10,000MW; not even 5,000MW power supply and no explanation about what happened to their money.

Still not finished with telling fibs about power, the Minister of Information, announced what could be the award winner, this year, among the government’s false pronouncements on power. He was reported to have announced recently that the average Nigerian enjoys eighteen hours of power supply NOW. The Minister either does not know what average means or cannot count to eighteen.

It is merely impossible for Nigerians to receive 18 hours of power supply when less than 4000MW is available for distribution. And now, less than 3000MW has been made available for more than two months. Will the vandalisation of gas pipelines stop by December to make 10,000MW possible? The rumour-mongering officials did not inform us.

Finally, the President, during his interview with Christiana Annanpour of CNN, having been thoroughly deceived by his officials, proclaimed to a highly skeptical foreign journalist that “most of Nigerians now enjoy regular power supply”. The look of contempt on Annanpour’s face, which brought tears to my eyes, said everything in her mind because she never asks a question to which she does not already know the answer.

Without a generator working furiously, I would not have been able to watch the interview. The next day, every member who came to my club was asked about power supply to their areas and Jonathan’s claim. The overwhelming majority were livid with rage that the President of Nigeria, another Ph. D holder, could so disgrace Nigeria by making a claim which can be easily refuted.

So, there we have it; a spokesman with doctorate degree, a professor, a graduate Minister and the President of Nigeria are all trying to convince us, against the evidence we have in our homes and work places, that great improvements are being made on power generation and distribution. These lies hurt too much to laugh; but Nigerians have suffered the insult too long to cry anymore. The question is: when will it stop, Mr President?