for the immediate sack of Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Raji
Fashola, over his recent assertion that lack of adequate electricity
in Nigeria cannot be responsible for the country's slow-paced economy.
Fashola had in a recent meeting with civil society groups to review
the contents and implications of Power Sector Recovery Programme
(PSRP) initiated by the Federal Government with support from the World
Bank, claimed that the inadequate supply of electricity power does not
contribute to the slow paced industrialization.
The group said Fashola's comment was not only a pathetic assertion but
also a cruel and criminal justification of the conscious
de-industrialisation policy of the hawks in our ruling class.
Debo Adeniran, Executive Chairman, CACOL, in a statement noted that
Nigeria had committed a huge investment into the power sector yet
there was no commensurate out-put. Contemporary African nations like
Ghana, Angola and South Africa spent much less on power sector yet
their citizens enjoy un-interrupted power supply.
According to him, "This is the reason why these countries are
preferred destination points for direct foreign investment. Yet, our
ruling class indulges in ludicrous justifications on why we cannot
take elusive flight to become industrialised nation. Industrialisation
is advanced economic phase in civilization which requires higher
apprehension than the semi-feudal, lumpen-market trader economic
culture that the ruling elite are foisting on the country. No wonder
the easy resort to uncouth social stratification and political climate
in Nigeria.
"The other critical issue is that in Nigeria, neo-liberal financial
institutions like the World Bank are imposing economic systems on us
that stultify growth by ensuring that the vast Nigerian market remains
a perpetual dumping ground for finished industrial goods from foreign
western countries. Tragically, triple Minister Fashola who strongly
adheres to the neo-liberal schemes of these financial agencies that
are fully beneficial to foreign industrial nations but injurious to
our ailing economy. The policy that government has no business in
business, in providing social infrastructural facilities like health,
pipe-borne water, education, roads, etc for its people.
"Fashola does not only regurgitate this neo-liberal ideological
platitudes, he put them into full blown practice while he served as
Governor in Lagos State, he commercialized all public infrastructure,
hospitals, schools, roads with toll gates just as he is planning to
bring same on federal roads with the so-called public-private sector
partnership.Thus, his lame claim and deliberate castration of the
power sector from taking off is just in total sync with his character
of serving foreign master while Nigeria bleeds. Nigeria warehouse
different types of consumer goods and industrial ones from countries
with lesser human and material resources like Japan, China, India,
Brazil, and from Asia!
"The Minister claims that the power generating companies GENCO
produces 7000 megawatts of electricity while the distribution
companies DISCOS distributes 5000 megawatts leaving an unused 2000
megawatts supply of electricity which could have been used for our
industrialisation. Sometimes when one lies through both side of
his/her mouth, many times only empty airs would be constructed as
words. The reality is that if there are sufficient generation and
distribution, why is most of our communities still battling with
epileptic power supplies? The naked reality is that many of Nigeria
industries have folded up or wound down their operations because of
the high cost of operations occasioned by the fact that they have to
independently provide their power supplies. Many of these companies
have relocated to neighbouring countries like Ghana even Togo.
"The statement credited to the Minister clearly vindicates of position
that President Muhammed Buhari ought to sack him for his cluelessness,
ineffectiveness and overall poor performance in the three ministries
he superintend over. Fashola should be replaced a person who will be
effective, creative and sensitive to the sensibilities of patriotic
Nigerians and who demonstrate a firm commitment to address the deficit
in the country's power supply."
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