By Ikenna Asomba
Over the last 16 years, it has been tales of woes for thousands of residents residing in Gbaji-Seme axis, a border community in Badagry West Local Government Development Area of Lagos State, as they have been living without electricity, following a rainstorm that struck the community felling most of the electric poles and cables.

Since 1999, when that devastating rainstorm wreaked havoc, the community with 30 villages and a population of over 100, 000 people have continued to live in absolute darkness, even as countless promises made by successive administrations at the local, state and federal levels to fix the problem have gone unfulfilled.

Some of the protesting youths marching to Seme Border

Visibly angered that their community have now become a mecca of a sort for politicians coming to canvass for votes ahead of the 2015 polls, the irate youths numbering over 500, Weekend, shut-down commercial and vehicular activities for several hours along the Gbaji-Seme Border Expressway, to send home their plights to the Lagos State Government and the Federal Government.

Protesting under the umbrella of Gbaji-Seme Border Youth Initiative, GSBYI, the youths however, threatened to boycott the March 28 and April 11 polls, if the power problem in their communities is not urgently addressed.

Chanting solidarity songs, they carried various placards bearing inscriptions such as ‘For over 16 years, we have been sleeping in darkness,’ ‘Give us electricity before election,’ ‘We won’t vote if you don’t give us light,’ ‘The Federal and State Government generate the highest revenue from these axis,’ ‘International Border without light,’ ‘We sleep, wake inside darkness for 16 years,’ ‘No more promise, give us light,’ among others.

According to them, the protest became imperative as past attempts to draw the attention of the LCDA, State and Federal Governments, through writing have fallen on deaf hears, leaving them to dehumanising conditions. This is also as they bemoaned the humongous bills spent on fuelling power generating sets at their homes and business places.

When Vanguard visited the area dotted with shanty houses, many with thatched roofs of raffia palm leaves, most of the electric polls and cables were fallen and their cables vandalized. The transformers, as well as the street lights along the highway were already rusted, owing to years of neglect.

It was also gathered that bar, restaurant and hotel operators who are still in business, move as far as Benin Republic to get iced-blocks to cool their drinks, sachet and table waters.

This situation, Vanguard learned had forced the prices of essential commodities in the area to rise. For instance, our correspondent who wanted to quench his taste after the protest bought a bottle of plastic coke that ordinarily sells for N100 at N150, while a bottle of malt that sells for between N100 and N120 was sold to him at N170 in a restaurant in the community.

Vanguard gathered that some of the affected communities are Aivoji, Oglogbo, Gbethrome, Asakpo, Boglo, Fanuvi, Yard, Ashipanu, Kenwewemeh, Pengbo, Bapo, Azangbeme, Aketegbo, Wesere-Topa, Hovemeto, Tota, Shito, Gbegbome, Petimeh, Falola, Ozinigbo, Kparada, Akpato, Whaigbemeh, Akoro-Koji, Ogorin-Beach, Thosivi and Yenawa.

Also other affected institutions in the community are the Nigeria Police Force Divisional Headquarters, Seme Border, the quarters of all the law enforcement agencies operating at the Seme-Border post, new generation banks such as Zenith Bank, First Bank, Union Bank, UBA, Skye Bank; petrol stations such as Conoil, Forte oil, Oando oil, MRS oil, Total, Addidas oil, Timmynat oil, Agbeke oil, Atok oil; as well as hotels such as Seaview, Dieu Merci, Jitax, PJ, Bendel, Esolaye among others.

Speaking during the protest, the former President, Lagos State University Student Union Government (LASU-SUG) and Coordinator of GSBYI, Comrade Badaru Abdul-Basit said: “This is an international border that generates the highest revenue to the Lagos State Government and the Federal Government. This is the only international border across the world that has remained in total darkness for over 16 years. This is the only international border that has no good roads, no schools, no hospital, no pipe-borne water.

A protester standing by the transformer abandoned for 16 yrs

“If not for the grace and mercy of God, we would all have died of this devastating neglect. For us, today is the turning point. If the Lagos State Government and the Federal Government of Nigeria fail to provide us with electricity, on or before March 28, we are going to mobilise all the youths in all the 30 communities making this area to boycott the coming elections. We hereby say enough is enough to these endless years of waiting on unfulfilled promises. We have persevered enough over these last 16 years without electricity.”

Similarly, Semako Josu, who runs a Photo/Video Editing suit, in the community said: “If not for God’s grace, my business would have gone down because of this total blackout in this community. Aside what I spend on petrol at home, I spend over N2, 000 daily to fuel my power generating set in my business place. When you sum this up in a year, I, alone spend over N698, 000 on fuel to keep my business running. It is worrisome that we have been subjected to this level of neglect over these years.”

According to Innocent Ikechukwu, who lamented the situation, he said “the endless wait for electricity have forced several residents to migrate to other communities. If nothing is done to address this problem urgently, on election day, these self-serving politicians would see no one coming-out to queue to vote for them.”

“The age-long lack of electricity in this community has no doubt, scared prospective investors from coming here to set-up companies and firms. That is why you see so many youths, even graduates who are jobless here. What is more worrisome to us is that the federal government generates billion of naira daily from this border, but there is little or nothing to show for it in terms of development,” said another aggrieved youth, Comrade Bukoh Mauton, in an emotion-laden voice.

For Wale Babalola, another resident, the neglect of the area by successive administrations have left some of the youths with no other option than to go into smuggling business.

Abdullahi Issa, a driver, residing in the community for over 12 years expressed regret coming into the community to build his house. “For over 12 years now that I have built my house in this community, I have never set my eyes on electric light. I never knew this is the problem residents here have been facing. Infact, I regret ever coming into this community,” he said.