by Editorial Staff | Nigeria |
Electricity is one of the most important scientific discoveries and it has practically changed the way we live. Without electricity, many global industries would not exist today, and many economies would crumble. Electricity is the backbone of modern technology and almost every tech invention relies heavily on electricity to function. But many inhabitants of nations still do not have access to electricity including the those within the “giant of Africa”.
In this era with billions of people registered on social networks, people who don’t pay much attention or those living in a bubble may find it surprising that there are still nations where electricity remains a luxury for most inhabitants but the most surprising is that a nation like Nigeria still battles with electricity issues.
Five countries where inhabitants have the lowest access to electricity in the world are South Sudan, Chad, Burundi, Malawi and Liberia, and less than 10 percent of the populations in these countries have access to electricity.
Unfortunately, Nigeria often referred to as the giant of Africa have been struggling to provide its population with electricity and those with access to electricity only get it a few hours/days a week while the rest of the population get nothing. Recent stats on the percentage of the population with access to electricity according to the World Bank were 55 percent of the nation’s population.
55 percent of around 180 million people with access to electricity means around 81 million people live in darkness. That is more than the entire population of Germany or the UK living in darkness. Even those with access to electricity cannot rely on the service providers and blackouts are common. Many industries rely on electricity to operate but with the current situation in the country, they are forced to seek expensive alternatives. Hence, starting up a business is a nightmare for those with limited funds.
Alternatives like power generators need fuel to operate and even if a business owner had funds to use this alternative, constant fuel scarcity is also a threat and presently, there is fuel scarcity in the country. What makes this worse is that Nigeria is one of the top oil producers in the world but apparently the only one with constant fuel scarcities.
Countries like Egypt, South Africa, Morocco and Ghana are Africa countries with large economies and inhabitants in these countries have higher access to electricity than those living in Nigeria, a nation with the largest economy in Africa but only 55 percent have access to electricity.
Ghana in West Africa is at 64 percent, Egypt 100 percent, South Africa 85 percent, Algeria 100 and Morocco 100 percent. In addition, power is not constantly interrupted in these countries. In fact, most people living in Nigeria would find it strange to go a whole week with uninterrupted electricity supply.
Nigeria lost over $400 billion to corruption in 33 years and many within the nation believe that power issues remain because of corrupt government officials and businessmen who want to continually import power generators from China. Importing and distributing power generators is a business that is highly lucrative in Nigeria and those benefiting would hope this remains the same.
The hope now is that things would be different as Nigerians wait to see how far the newly elected government would go to improve the nation and excel where all other leaders have failed. Power issues in Nigeria have reached a point where it’s embarrassing to say the least.
[Stats from the World Bank, 2015]