24-HOUR ELECTRICITY. A DREAM COME TRUE? YESSSSSS!

It is impossible to develop without power and we do not need government to give us electricity because they cannot. One of the things we need to do at this point is find a way to influence the National Assembly to change the Electricity Act of 2005 that governs the generation, transmission and distribution of power and open up the industry to full deregulation. Government intentions to develop the power sector have been good but designed to fail. China built the -Three Gorges Dam- on the Yangtze river at a cost of $22 billion. It generates 22,500MW.

It is on record that Nigeria spent $16 billion in the same world and in the same century that China built its own dam and we did not achieve 1MW of power generation.

What kind of people are we? Do our leaders love this country at all? Power generation and distribution ought to be deregulated the same way that telecommunications was deregulated------- totally.
States, Communities and private companies should generate and distribute power and be allowed to sell any excess power to other communities.

It is a well known fact that the current incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan whom I seek to replace in 2015 said at a forum in 2013 that over 60 million Nigerians already own generators, spending approximately N2 Trillion Naira annually to purchase and maintain them. What he did not tell us was that the use of generators adds over 80 percent extra cost to all goods produced and services rendered in Nigeria.

On the day I am sworn in as President, I will send a bill for total deregulation/liberalization of the power sector to the National Assembly to amend the Electricity ACT OF 2005 and open the space for full-blown competition.

It is interesting that anyone would think that privatization of the power generating and distribution companies can be the solution when government is still part of the power supply chain. Let me explain.

There are four steps to travel before power gets to the consumer. The generating Company, X, for example generates 10MW of power and sells mandatorily to a government Company called NBET (Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading). NBET then gives the power to TCN, (Transmission Company of Nigeria) which is another government agency.
TCN has old and obsolete equipment. The result of this arrangement is that TCN is only able to give 3MW to the DISCOS (Power Distribution Companies). The DISCOS then report to NBET that they only received 3MW and so X gets paid for only 3MW.
It gets more interesting. NBET, being a government organization, it will sooner or later be plagued by corruption which will make it difficult for X company to get paid on time.
Translation: You will need to bribe to get paid.

At this point, the World Bank then steps in with a PRG (Partial Risk Guarantee), an arrangement that says, if NBET is unable to pay you, come to us and we will pay you a portion of what they owe you. The World Bank has a fixed amount of money in the pot of $400 Million dollars. What then happens when the pot runs out?

If you give me the opportunity, I will uproot the NBET, TCN and the World Bank from the power supply chain and have you deal with X company in your backyard which generates the power directly. He will build his own transmission line and get the power to you in your local government area. All power generation and distribution will be localized.
Let me ask a question. Is there a middleman between you and MTN? If not, then why do we need three middlemen in the power supply chain?

Read article titled: Power supply worsens as five transmission lines fail by Stanley Opara (Punch, May 28, 2014)

The only role for government to play is to prevent exploitation of the consumer which the NERC (Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission) is set up to do, very much like the NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission) does for communication.

One major cure to the power problem lies in gas availability to power the IPPs. Question: Which one is easier and cheaper?---- To generate power at the point where the gas is produced and send the power to the National grid or to pipe the gas hundreds of miles to a power station?

The IOCs I understand, would rather flare the associated gas and pay a penalty to the Federal government than spend so much money to refine it to pipe to a power station at a loss.

WRONG POLICIES CREATE PROBLEMS FOR EVERYONE. GOVERNMENT HAS FOR YEARS IMPOSED AN UNREALISTIC PRICE REGIME ON GAS PRODUCERS, INTERNATIONAL OIL COMPANIES (IOCs) SUCH THAT THEY STOPPED DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL GAS FOR LOCAL CONSUMPTION.

A simple cure would just be to encourage the IOCs to generate power at source with the associated gas with forward contracts for power purchase. (Paper presented by Dr. Raphael Awoseyin at the Nigerian Oil and Gas conference in Abuja, 2009, titled: Developing gas and power infrastructure franchises and associated gas as solution).

Another major cure to the power problem would entail the government encouraging the proliferation of alternative energy like solar and wind across the country. Germany for example set a target to generate 35% of its energy from solar by 2020. That target was exceeded in early 2014 when solar power began to contribute over 210,000MW to the national grid. This was achieved by introducing a mix of incentives upon which the private sector was able to ride. Wind power already contributes about 30,000MW to help power the German economy.

 Germany with grey skies has a third of the Nigerian land size and a fraction of the sunshine by intensity and length of time in a day and months in a year, yet they are able to achieve these feats which we are better equipped by nature to achieve. One state in Northern Nigeria has the capacity to generate all the solar power Nigeria needs. Government should think policy first before it thinks---Where will we find the money? Money always follows good policies.

Yet another way for us to begin to experience better power supply would be to remove four strong states like Lagos, Rivers, Kano and Ogun from the National grid. We can give them financial resources and give them one year to generate their own power and get off the grid. These four states combined, consume over 80% of power currently generated. The rest of the country will be lifted up immediately.
According to the power allocation formula, Lagos State is supposed to receive 1,000MW from the National grid but Lagos needs 5,000MW to have stable power supply. Kano is supposed to receive 213MW from the National grid but Kano needs 600MW to have stable power supply. This power is supposed to come from an inefficient National Transmission grid and so Kano gets just about 50MW. This is certainly not a way to develop our country.

Panacea to Insecurity in our Nation

INSECURITY:

Where we are:

Boko Haram has seized swathes of territory and kidnapped scores of our children whom they use as human shield. They have hoisted their flags on Nigerian soil and they call our bluff.

Kidnappers have organized themselves into corporations. They have established training schools to train people in the art and many have graduated from their schools. Cults have overtaken our campuses.

Young unemployed graduates have become experts in cyber crime and everyday, they are coming up with new inventions to perfect their acts of criminality.

Armed robbers have moved away from attacking homes. They go in broad daylight to attack Bullion vans and walk into banks with a daring and sophistication unknown 20 years ago.

Baby factories are springing up across the landscape as human trafficking has become one of the quickest ways to become rich.

Militancy has not abated as pipelines are destroyed everyday to steal crude. Foreigners have joined the bandwagon. They come with supertankers to join in the bazaar to steal our crude oil.

Why are we in the Current Situation?

We are where we are for many reasons but I will touch on just a few. Our education system has failed us because it was not  properly implemented. The 6-3-3-4 system was supposed to create artisans and skilled personnel as part of its curriculum. That part was not implemented and so we have a pool of people who are unable to go to higher institutions and are also unable to get jobs at their level without necessary skills. They become feedstock for all the above listed crimes.

Our leadership has a tendency to ignore problems in this country until they become mountains and require surgery. As a matter of fact, ignoring problems appears to be state policy.

Our leadership through the years has embodied the policy of embracing criminals, giving them a pardon and giving them new national assignments. The message to the people is that –it is okay to be a criminal.

Fulani herdsmen and farmers across the country are in constant battle for right of grazing for cattle resulting in incessant killings.

Our Justice administration is too slow. We need to train more judges, build more courts and put a cap on the number of adjournments a case can have to speed up the administration of justice.

Years of operating the patronage system has meant that competent people are not put in charge for us to get best results. We put round pegs in square holes.

The morale of our armed forces has been destroyed by years of corruption, abuse and neglect by their leaders to the extent that a police IG was jailed for stealing money meant for the welfare of the people he should be serving. It does not get worse than that. He may soon obtain his own pardon and run for governor.

PROGNOSIS:

We will continue to linger in this state of insecurity unless we change the old way of doing things.

REMEDY:

Nigeria needs to build a brand new security architecture. We need an integrated Homeland Security that gets information and data from all security agencies and is able to use the information to analyze where new threats are, where they might be coming from next and recommend quick ways to nip the issues in the bud. Electronic surveillance and new technology and research will be carried out by the Homeland Security to keep us safe. The old bureaucracy that has characterized our security system will become a thing of the past. Lazy security reports that only tend to demonize opposition will give way to modern techniques of threat assessment. This is the 21^st century and we must think like we are actually in the 21^st century. The opposition is not the enemy. The Governor is not the state and the President is not the country. All of us, citizens of this nation are equal stakeholders in project Nigeria.

Grassroots approach to CONFLICT resolution is a road worth pursuing. If the Niger Delta militancy was resolved through a grassroots approach, there is no reason why the Boko Haram insurgency cannot be resolved in the same way. There are people whom they trust to negotiate on their behalf. Read article titled. (How to get our girls back by Mama Boko Haram), in the Nation newspaper of June 24^th, 2014.

One more puzzle in solving problems of insecurity is individual responsibility. We must as a nation begin to watch out for and report suspicious behavior and we should be able to do this anonymously.

 I understand that one of the biggest fears people have about reporting crime is their personal safety because they do not trust that the people they are reporting to might not be complicit in the crime. To this end, the creation of an emergency 911 system will be uppermost in my plans to address insecurity in the land.

We are in 2014. We must rise to the security challenges of these times with technology. British society rose to the challenge of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) with technology. In today’s Britain, cameras can tell your story from the moment you arrive in the country until the day you depart.

To solve the immediate problem of our girls in captivity I would grant full, unconditional and unequivocal amnesty to Boko Haram. We need peace to develop this country. That would be my priority. The British government with all its might eventually had to negotiate with the IRA. The Israeli government with all their might also had to negotiate with the PLO. Even the United States, the most powerful nation on earth had to negotiate with Iran in 1981 to set the American hostages free and in recent months, they negotiated with the Taliban to set one American soldier free. My name is Michael Ovienmhada. If you desire change in 2015, then, I am your man----the face of Change. We can build a country which works for everyone and not just for the few. God bless you and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

                Professor Attahiru Jega. Excellence at Work!

All the political parties had been invited to the annual lecture organized by the Sociology department of the prestigious University of Lagos. The theme was the 2015 elections and Professor Attahiru Jega was Guest speaker of the day. As you would expect, the arrogant identical twins, the PDP and the APC did not show up. They were busy with more important things. Many of the other parties were there including my party, the Citizens Popular Party (CPP). For 120 minutes, the erudite Professor and head umpire of the Independent Electoral Commission captivated the audience with his honesty, delivery, forthrightness and plans and preparations to make 2015 a world acclaimed election. Clearly, he is a square peg in a square hole and all thanks must go to the President and Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for a great choice. I am impressed and all Nigerians ought to join hands with the Professor to help make 2015 a great success. I am therefore imploring all Nigerians to go out and register and please make sure to take your friends with you. The only way we can make 2015 count for our future is through participation. God bless you all and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Happy days are Coming

 HAPPY DAYS ARE COMING

The time has come when we must strive to build a great society that works for all of us; where every child has an equal chance to be educated, no child goes to school hungry, where every young man and woman who needs a job can find one, the sick do not go untreated for lack of money and everyone has the right to the pursuit of happiness.

At the dawn of democratic rule in 1999, many Nigerians at home and abroad heaved a sigh of relief. With one voice, we had said to ourselves, “Nigeria can be great again.”

Alas, we spoke and we hoped too soon. It has been 15 years since the 4^th Republic was birthed. The questions we must now all ask ourselves are as follows:

·         Are we better off now than we were 15 years ago?

·         Are we safer or more hopeful now than we were 15 years ago?

·         Are we able to feed our families better now than we did 15 years ago?

·         Are our roads better now than they were 15 years ago?

·         Are our schools better now than they were 15 years ago?

·         Are the nations’ hospitals better now than they were 15 years ago?

·         Are our leaders less corrupt now than they were 15 years ago?

·         Are we enjoying better electricity now than we did 15 years ago?

·         Are we able to live better with our salaries now than we did 15 years ago?

·         Are the nation’s refineries producing more now than they did 15 years ago?

·         Is the Naira stronger now than it was 15 years ago?

·         Is the unemployment situation better now than it was 15 years ago?

·         Is the housing situation better now than it was 15 years ago?

·         Is our economy more diversified now than it was 15 years ago?

·         Are we importing less food now than we did 15 years ago?

These are the 15 questions for 15 years of PDP and APC (all previous names remaining valid), in the saddle.  There are many more.

If we cannot answer a resounding ‘YES’ to at least one of the above questions, then what are we willing to do about it?

Can we trust the PDP that has been ruling this country for 15 years to continue in the saddle?

 APC has absorbed many of the leaders of the PDP into their fold: the same people who got us into this mess in the first place.

Can we trust the APC to lead us for the next 4 years?  8?  16?

TO BE OR NOT TO BE------THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS THE QUESTION. (Hamlet, by Shakespeare)

As we can all see already--------the PDP and APC are two sides of the same coin. They are identical twins, two clear and present evils.

Senator Rand Paul of the United States said at a recent Republican event and I quote----“It isn’t good enough to pick the lesser of two evils. We must elect men and women of principle and conviction and action who will lead us back to greatness.”

To echo the words of General Charles De Gaulle of France------------

                                                                       NEITHER APC NOR PDP

                                                                       NEITHER NORTH NOR SOUTH

                                                                       NOR EAST NOR WEST

                                                                       NOR CHRISTIAN NOR MUSLIM

                                                                       NIGERIA IS ABOVE THEM ALL

                                                      WE, THE PEOPLE MUST TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!!!

Or in the words of the great Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana: “We face neither East nor West.  We face forward!”-------- Nigeria must face forward!!

The future is neither PDP nor APC.  The future is AWAY from the PDP and the APC.  It is in a third force, a party of the people by the people for the people!!!

Remember: we have tried in the past (eg, June 12) but our hopes were frustrated. The way we have not tried is the way I want to point us to: Everyone must be mobilized in the struggle to take Nigeria back—and move it forward—towards restoring prosperity to the land.  We, the people can come together to build that third force. We have the brains and we have the numbers. All we require now is the will.

Do you have the courage to walk the walk for yourself?

I know how you feel. I feel the same way too under the burden of repeated betrayal and broken promises.  You feel beaten down, cheated, neglected and dumped on.  Not knowing what to do, whom to trust, or if there will ever be a way out.

There is. 

Nigeria can be a beautiful place because we, the people are beautiful.

Nigeria can be a prosperous country because we, the people are hard working.

Nigeria can earn the respect of the world because we, the people, have a proud history-----

We are descendants of Oba Ewuare the Great of Benin (Ogidigan) whose empire stretched as far as present day Ghana; the great Nri Kingdom of Igbo land which established a center of learning, commerce and religion while espousing the concept of One God, “Chukwu Okike”.  An Igbo empire not spread by guns or bullets but by knowledge which at its peak was comparable to Rome or Mecca in influence; We come from a great line of great people such as Uthman dan Fodio, whose conquests covered present day Northern Nigeria up to Ilorin; Queen Amina of Zazzau, who came closest to establishing an empire the size of present day Nigeria; King Jaja of Opobo, who said ‘NO’ to the British; Oba Akitoye of Lagos, who dared the cabal of his day by abolishing slavery, was overthrown by the cabal and regained his throne; King Perekule of Bonny, the Tor Tiv, Etsu Nupe, Nana of Itsekiri land, Obong of Calabar, Alafin of Oyo, Oni of Ife, Afonja of Ilorin.

We are brothers and sisters and offspring of the great Herbert Macauley, Zik of Africa, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Sir Tafawa Balewa, Dappa Biriye, Sir Udo Udoma (a Nigerian who became Chief Justice in Uganda), the indomitable Chief Obafemi  Awolowo, S.L Akintola, J.S Tarka, Prof Eyo Ita, Prof Chike Obi (foremost  mathematician of his era), Prof Chinua Achebe, Odumegwu Ojukwu, J.T. Aguiyi Ironsi, Adekunle Fajuyi, Murtala Mohammed, Shehu Musa Yar’dua and M.K.O Abiola, the hero of June 12.

We are brothers and sisters and friends and admirers of living heroes like Prof. Wole Soyinka and the uncelebrated Col. Abubakar Umar. These are men who have always stood to be counted on the side of truth and on the side of the people.

 We can revive that ---CAN DO SPIRIT-----It is who we are!!!!

It was Margaret Mead who said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

THERE IS NO FREIGHT TRAIN, THERE IS NO ARMORED TANK AND THERE IS NO FORCE ON EARTH THAT CAN WITHSTAND THE POWER OF AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME AND THE WILL OF A PEOPLE WHO ARE READY TO STAND THEIR GROUND.

The time has come for us--- the neglected, abandoned and under-nourished child---- the young energetic unemployed youth----- the frail and old but homeless elder----- the battered, the abused and under-appreciated woman----the decimated middle class-----the great long-suffering people of Nigeria to take our destiny into our own hands. We can do it and I will tell you how, if you will come on a journey with me.

 The first step in taking action must mean that we think differently.

 For many years, we have blamed our leaders as if we, the people hold no blame. We clap our hands and sing when a Minister, leader or Governor from our part of the country steals and we complain that he is being persecuted when he is being prosecuted because he is “our son”.

 If Nigeria is going to change, we the people must take responsibility and change the way we think and see issues. As 2015 beckons, we must seize the moment to make an attitudinal change toward building a stronger, character driven nation of which all of us can be proud.

But, most of all, we must work together in a new spirit of co-operation for our survival and progress.

In a book titled: The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson, the author states inter alia that species that have made progress on earth are usually those that co-operate, the ones who unite to survive---Ants, Bees, Termites and People. Nigeria is like a boat in troubled waters. We must co-operate to steer it to safety. Unemployment ravages the land. Hunger decimates the populace. Terrorism incapacitates the nation. Corruption hampers the future. Will you fold your hands, turn your head and look the other way?

We have played in the junior leagues for 54 years. It is time to move to the senior league where big boys play---- the G7. However, the failed politicians and their failed methods along with our bad attitude as the followership cannot lead us there. 

Nigeria needs a leader with a big vision and big ideas to put Nigeria to work and harness the good of the land. We’ve got the land, we’ve got the climate and we’ve got the population.

What we need is a FOREMAN who is not afraid to toil for his country and for history. Nigeria needs a man or woman who understands the challenges facing Nigerians from all walks of life; has the capacity to engage and has the compassion and skills necessary to help improve our everyday lives. In 2015, you must vote like your future depends on it. It does!

The task ahead is daunting and I do not ask that you be not afraid. All I ask is that we must not allow fear to paralyze us from taking action.

When I tell people I am running for President, I hear disbelief, trepidation and sheer fright, but I want to leave you with these words from the Poet, Marianne Williamson:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous

Actually, who are you not to be?--------------

My name is Michael O. Ovienmhada and I am running to be the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2015. If you give me your vote, I will work tirelessly and transparently for you--- EVERY DAY AND EVERY NIGHT TO RE- BUILD CHARACTER, HELP SECURE GREATER PEACE AND BRING PROSPERITY TO THE LAND.

I am well aware of the issues and challenges of the times we live in but I am also aware of the dangers of doing nothing about it and that is why I believe that we must this time, work together to---RESTORE NIGERIA AND TRAVEL TO A PLACE OF PLENTY AND A PLACE OF PRIDE AMONGST NATIONS OF THE EARTH. DO NOT DESPAIR. IF THERE IS HOPE FOR A TREE THAT IS CUT DOWN AT THE SOUND OF RAIN, THEN, THERE IS YET HOPE FOR NIGERIA. I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU--------------  HAPPY DAYS ARE COMING.

God bless you and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

omeekey@hotmail.com