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NATIONALIZATION OF THE POWER SECTOR IS THE ONLY SOLUTION TO DARKNESS

The Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE) and the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) calls on workers, market men and women, students, trade unionists, artisans, activists, well meaning organizations, communities who have been resisting crazy bill to unite in common interests and begin to demand the renationalization of the power sector because privatization has failed woefully. CARE and SPN are oppose to the privatization of the power sector, responsible to the shameful collapse of industries that is now museum or tourist centres due to the policies of feeding the fat cats.

Since the privatization of the sector sold at a bottom price of $400 million, an industry that worth more than $3 trillion, power supply hasn't improved. The Generating and Distributing Companies have successfully continue to drill billions of Naira from the poor masses through issuing crazy bills. For five years now the power industry have been privatized. Power generation has remain in stale-ment without any meaningful improvement. In fact, it is between 2000 to 4000 megawatts. And now it is worst that in many communities who hardly see light and at the end of the month are forced to pay as high as N10000, N12000, N15000 which is the least.

While the GENCOS and DISCOS are running a super-rich agenda, making profit through crazy billings. It's plan to subsequently increase electricity tariff to 65% which is equivalent to N65 per kilowatts. The excuse given by these private companies generating billions of naira from the exploitative billing and supplying darkness is that, the cost of running the power industry is expensive. But the truth must be told. These private companies who bought the power sector at a cheaper price, hasn't been able to boost of bursting the megawatts to at least 8000 for a start talking of 80000 megawatts to power an economy like Nigeria that should be industrial.


The plan to increase tariff by the GENCOS and DISCOS is to further exploit the poor working class. It is to continue making more profit while megawatts remain where it is. This has always being the nature of capitalism. While this is not enough, recent statistics points that more than 63% percent of Nigerians don't have access to electricity due to the privatization exercise the Buhari led APC regime is also guilty of. Also, a lot of industries have relocated their Industrial Machines to neighbouring countries like Ghana, Togo etc to continue production. In addition to this, with the billions of naira raked from poor communities who are forced to pay crazy bills, hardly these private companies supply six hours electricity.

As a matter of fact, since 1999 till date the capitalist politicians of APC, PDP, APGA etc have continually deep hand into the public treasury to bail these private companies. More than N11 trillion naira have been invested to revive the power sector. Yet Nigeria still suffers darkness. Under the Buhari led All Progressive Congress (APC)  administration more than One Trillion Naira have been given as bail out fund to these super-rich private exploiters. The Buhari government who claim to fight corruption that the APC Titans used to woo the poor masses, says this administration meant well for the politico-economy structure of Nigeria. Thus, this so-called incorruptible regime have successfully for four consecutive time given bail out fund to the Distributing Companies.

The last bail out fund which this regime handed over to all the Eko Distribution Companies was N38 billion naira to boost megawatts and equally metre all household was all to put more money to the private business pocket. According to 27 September, 2017 Guardian Newspaper the latest  bailout fund is more than four consecutive bailouts the Federal government has granted so far since the privatization of the power sector November, 2013. Despite the series of truckload of bailout fund dolled out by the federal government to these private organizations, the electricity condition hasn't improved and as a result undermining the claim by the Minister of Power, Housing and Work (Babatunde Fashola) who said the 7000 megawatts power generation will help to guarantee stable electricity. But green isn't red in reality.

Interestingly, while this will be a laudable approach or relief in the side of the government.  The Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE)  and the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) think the otherwise. CARE and SPN believe that the series of bail out funds to the Eko Distribution Companies is to make them super-rich. If the Buhari regime claims to fight corruption as current reality has demonstrated it's incapability. It is for it to renationalize the power sector. However, CARE and SPN want the poor working masses to understand even if the Buhari regime smuggle it's way back into power in 2019 election, the Buhari led APC administration is incapacitated to implement any pro-mass oriented program because it's run a capitalist agenda.

For more than two years since 2015 the Buhari regime used "Change" to deceive us the poor masses. Living condition has been terribly worst for working class families. The 18000 Minimum Wage has remain where it is. In fact, it weightless to feed many poor homes due to the butchering rise of inflation caused by system of capitalism. Cost of living has gone up including consumables items by one thousand percent addition. The power sector which is one major sector in the economy, an industry that can boost other industries effectively when there is stable power supply. Due to the privatization exercise sustained by the guilty regime of Buhari, have further added to the increase of unemployment in the past twenty four months.

While the privatization of the power sector, which is not also unconnected to the collapsed of major industries like the Mining industry, where a lot of manufacturing industries situated at Mile 2/Oshodi Industrial Areas, Ikeja, Apapa etc is largely responsible to the widening gap of unemployment. Punch Newspaper (7/1/2018) reported that between January to September, 2017 4. 07 million Nigerian men and women who are up-to the age of working had been added to the 65% percent of Nigerians who don't have jobs. As a matter of fact, many of these industries hardly produce due to the cost of running production. This for many of them is expensive which in the other hand had thrown millions of people in the street to drink their sweat to survive.

This is a glaring fact that privatization and in addition the various bail out fund the Federal government has been giving since 1999 hasn't improved any thing. What it has successfully done is to enrich both the Eko Distribution Companies and the corrupt APC, PDP politicians and their partners in crime, looting public treasury in the name of investment. One worst example is the casualization of electricity workers. More than 70% percent of the work force in the sector are all casuals. Many of the equipment used are outdated. In fact, a lot of these workers work under tedious condition and are not adequately paid well. These private companies drilling poor working class communities with crazy bills prefer to put the lives of workers in danger because they place priority in their profit.

The Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity and Socialist Party of Nigeria want the poor masses to know that Nigeria has what it takes to generate at least 80000 megawatts for a start in order to boost the economy for industries to be running, jobs to be created than witnessing the flooding of imported items. However, the Nigerian so-called progressive and politicians who are dogs in the palace prefer to implement neo-liberal policies of deregulation, commercialization and privatization of the economy to further enrich their cohort in crime. For them, government only have one responsibility to loot public treasury. Revamping the power sector is nationalising it under democratic control of workers and the poor masses.

RESISTANCE AND BUILDING A FORMIDABLE FORTRESS
Almost five years the electricity industry had been privatized by the corrupt capitalist politicians. The Eko Distribution Companies lack the capacity to increase megawatts. What these criminal corporate institutions have continue to do is to issue gargantuan crazy exploitative bill forced into the throat of poor working class communities. Even when Nigerian Electricity Regulatary Commission (NERC) on their part pretends to be at the corner of the mass like repented convict. CARE which is a broad platform wanting to build a formidable force with activists and genuine fighters, want us the masses to know that it is only an organized mass movement and resistance that can end the ongoing exploitation.

Emphatically, the water had been tested with mass resistance demanding for both prepaid metre and for regular power supply in pass months. Realistically, between the space of this privatization. A lot of communities like in Ajegunle, Ajao Estate, Surulere, Agege, Mushin, Oshodi, Ifako-Ijaye, Iyana-Ipaja etc have shown resistance, organizing themselves with protest and campaign to demand for adequate funding in the power sector. In spite of this, the government uses public resources to survive the DISCOS at the expense of the mass.

Fundamentally, in salvaging the power sector, and in not mismatching content and purpose in our demand. CARE and SPN want Nigerians to see the need why we must begin to organize ourselves and not stop organizing with protest and campaign in our various streets, neighbourhood to resist crazy bills, disconnection, demand for prepaid metre, democratic right of electricity workers to unionise, N56000 minimum wage, end to casualization and ultimately the nationalization of the power supply to be well manage and control democratically by the electricity workers and the consumers compare to what we have currently through a socialist program and principle.

Without this the power industry will remain where it is and get worse under the capitalist arrangement. And despite also mentioning this alongside where both spontaneous struggles and organized campaigns are ranging like storm in different communities in Nigeria. The three labour centres must wake up and wash it eyes to politically join the resistance on the street for the electricity industry to be taken over from the looters and super-rich capitalist thieffery corporate organizations whose major interest is to make profit. Putting this before the table of the NLC, TUC and ULC who have closed doors in industrial strikes and rallies to demand what is street is clamouring for. It is to weld the struggle against what has been responsible to the death of electricity in Nigeria.

By
Copyright @Fidel Davy

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