By Eze Onyekpere

VARIOUS international  human rights standards recognise a right to an adequate standard of living. These include the standards setting Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

A good part of adequacy is defined in these standards to include health, food, clothing and housing. The concept of adequate standard of living and its measurement is not stagnant. It is subject to continuous improvements as technology develops, human knowledge increases and more resources become available to society.

What was considered adequate in the 1950s may not measure up to today’s standards. It is therefore within this context that the obligation of the state, to either directly provide electricity to its citizens or provide the right enabling framework for non state actors to do so should be understood.

Essentially, electricity is vital to the maintenance of the security and the welfare of the people which is the primary purpose of government. Most of the provisions of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy in the 1999 Constitution will be difficult to fulfill without access to electricity.

Inadequate housing

From the housing perspective, the issue of habitability which is one of the cardinal parameters of adequate housing recognised in international jurisprudence includes the health principles of housing which recognises the need for adequate space, protection from cold, damp, heat, rain, other threats to health, structural hazards, disease vectors, etc. It further recognises housing as the environmental factor most frequently associated with disease conditions in epidemiological analysis.

Thus, inadequate and deficient housing and living conditions are invariably associated with higher mortality and morbidity rates. The issue of availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure which is central to adequate housing posits that a house must contain certain facilities for the health, security, comfort and nutrition of its occupants.

Thus, all beneficiaries of the right to adequate housing must have sustainable access to safe drinking water, energy for cooking, heating, lighting, sanitation and washing facilities, means of food storage, refuse disposal, site drainage and emergency services.

These requirements of adequacy and modern day life may not be met without access to electric energy. If electric energy is absent, the implication is that most of these services will not be available or will be available at the rudimentary stages.

To maintain an adequate standard of living, one has to work and earn an income. Virtually, every known trade has a component that demands the use of electric energy. From big service and production concerns, to the fashion designer and tailor, vulcaniser, barber, hairdresser, to the pepper grinder, electricity is an indispensable input to create wealth and add value.

Almost every vehicle needs a battery and batteries are electrically recharged when they run down. National development plans recognise power as the most important infrastructure requirement for moving the private sector forward and goes on to state that Nigeria’s power system is so inadequate that it has held back economic progress and social well-being.

Stemming rural-urban drift

To stem rural urban drift, accessible electricity will encourage people to stay back in the rural areas since they will enjoy a near equivalent status with urban dwellers.