By Austin Isikhuemen
Oloye Adebayo Adelabu, the current Nigerian Honourable Minister of Power, is a first class graduate of accounting. His first major foray into the public space, after a long spell in consulting and banking, was as Deputy Governor Operations, Central Bank of Nigeria. That was where our paths crossed.
He contested to become governor of his beloved Oyo State and lost to Governor Makinde.
This was more due to the baggage of the man he was to have succeeded than his own sterling qualities and impressive investments and the massive employment opportunities he has provided Oyo people.
When he was announced and cleared as Minister of the Federal Republic by the Tinubu government, I had thought he would naturally be assigned finance portfolio.
It was a surprise of sorts when ‘Bayo was announced minister for power! I had fears for him. He was being appointed to a ministry that nearly unravelled Barrister Babatunde Fashola’s acclaimed performance.
The SAN had said that a serious government can turn the power situation around in a mere six months. When he had the chance, like Egbon Bola Ige, he found that there were insurmountable checkpoints erected by forces beyond his control. My fear was based on these experiences that left the generator suppliers a happier lot each time our power hope got dashed.
Enter the finance virtuoso, without spanners, pliers, voltmeters and unfamiliar with transformers and RMU’s.
Leaving the cosy rooms of computers, massive paper files, currency vaults and monetary policy decision making to a saboteur-infested power sector must have been daunting for the first class Ife graduate. I did not feel his pulse nor talk to him about this new challenge he was about to face when we met at Challenge area in Ibadan. But knowing ‘Bayo, a never-say-die man who sees obstacles as stepping stones, he must have seen this as another opportunity to serve, this time nationally.
That the Power Minister, Adelabu, has taken the bull by the horns and chosen to prove his mettle when others struggled is obvious in his results so far. I still recall when, at a CBN Operations Department conference in Abeokuta, he talked of results being the real deal rather than efforts. A conference I was sent to so as to take the flack my organisation head expected but I instead became a friend of the most important man at the event.
So, I have been watching Honourable Minister ‘Bayo Adelabu and the power sector reforms and performance closely, without talking to him. The power sector is so easy to assess and give a performance score. Your refrigerator performance is a measure.
The frequency of grocery shopping by madam can give an indication. So is how well you sleep without the nuisance of neighbours’ generators noise at night.
These days, barber shops charge different rates depending on whether they are on grid power supply or petrol/diesel-powered generators. Even the hair dressers and launderers will tell you how well ‘NEPA’ is doing as it hits their profitability and what they charge their customers.
I was away to Edo for three weeks recently and returned to meet the stuff in my refrigerator all frozen and in excellent state.
As a ”bachelor” in Lagos, I first defrosted the meat just to be sure it did not go bad and then get frozen again. Then I talked to my neighbour who confirmed that power has been very stable as it was before I travelled.
He stated that it was always restored after a few minutes whenever outage occurred infrequently and that sometimes for four days there is never a single outage! I returned last Sunday and today is Friday and the situation has been the same.
It is the above that necessitated my seating down at my keyboard to pen this piece. This is a piece born out of my own experience. It could be different for you depending on where you live and work.
In my Benin home, there has been improvement too though rationing is the order of the day. Three hours on, three hours off. So you are, at least, sure of when the power will be available and can schedule your chores appropriately. It was not always like that.
Now, we expect BEDC in Edo State to step up like their mate (EKEDC) and make outages the exception rather than the rule. After all, Ossiomo power plant has taken a massive load off BEDC.
Almost all Government buildings, offices, street lights, stadium etc. are now all powered by Ossiomo supply freeing that power distribution company from that load.
So has the well-to-do who have opted for off-grid solar installations to power their homes, streets and businesses.
Back to ‘Bayo Adelabu. The Honourable Minister’s efforts are yielding fruits. The courageous stratification of consumers taking ability-to-pay considerations into the equation is working.
But the rates should be such that do not kill the businesses they power, for that will be counterproductive. This is raining season and the hydro-electric dams are reasonably well supplied and that positively affects generation. The challenge will be to do all that needs to be done to sustain the current improvement and incrementally increase supply.
To achieve a step change desired by Nigerians, new power plants and other energy sources such as massive solar farms, even nuclear, need to come on board to cover the massive gap in energy supply and alleviate its negative impact on productivity in our nation.
So is the distribution system that requires massive upgrade. This is not beyond Minister ‘Bayo, the Parakoyi of Ibadanland and grandson of the great Pekelemensi.
He has the brains and grit to get us out of the power shame that has outlived many a power minister. This spot of progress and island of performance should be celebrated in spite of the unpalatable imbroglio going on in Rivers, the shenanigans in Edo and the hunger in the land. Kudos Oloye ‘Bayo.
[…] Adelabu and Incremental Power Stability, Giving Credit Where DueHe also added that the solar project would reduce the reliance of the recipient institutions on the grid.Adelabu equally called on the University of Abuja authorities to ensure adequate, regular maintenance and protection of the grid.“We want to replicate what we have here in other institutions. We believe that this will be sustainable. We need the support and co-operation of the beneficiary institutions for it to work and provide the needed service to the students and the university community at large. We will hand over the responsibility and sustainability to the management of the university and I believe you are more than capable of sustaining the project. We need your cooperation so that we can replicate it in other locations. With this, we are sure that all the hues and cry about the high cost of energy in these institutions will come to an end.“You cannot have a sound education without electricity. This is why we have prioritised this one that is located in the Federal Capital. The administration of President Tinubu loves education and also believes that it is the bedrock of economic growth and industrial development. This is one of the benefits of our democracy”, Adelabu said as he was taken round and shown all the components of the solar energy project.He announced that the project would be commissioned by President Tinubu himself in December.The Acting Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Aisha Sani Maikudi, while welcoming the Minister, informed him that the issue of electricity was a major challenge to the institution and the solar project would be a major relief to the entire university community.“This visit means a lot to us, as we have been looking forward to it. As you, know electricity is very critical to us. The cost of running our generators is so high because of the high cost of diesel. I often get calls and text messages from our students that there is no light. […]