In the Grip of Generator- Generated Deaths

Obi Amanda and his two elder brothers had just finished having dinner and were preparing to sleep. “Initially, we thought of putting off the generator but because the heat was much and the room was very stuffy, we decided to leave it on at least for us to have some air from the fan.   […]

Obi Amanda and his two elder brothers had just finished having dinner and were preparing to sleep. “Initially, we thought of putting off the generator but because the heat was much and the room was very stuffy, we decided to leave it on at least for us to have some air from the fan.  

“Since we were all sleepy and could fall asleep at any time, we decided to put the small generator in the toilet while we carefully positioned the exhaust close to the window. But all of a sudden, I woke up with my nostril blocked and I could hardly breathe. Upon close examination, I discovered that the entire room was filled with smoke and my two brothers were lying motionless on the bed. I tried to shout but I couldn’t – that was all I could remember, the next thing I saw was myself in a hospital,” he recounted.

Obi was lucky enough to tell the sad story while his two brothers, Nnamdi and Efe, paid dearly with their lives as they were reported to have been choked to death by the fumes that emanated from the medium size generating set.

If Obi’s case is pathetic, then Omowunmi Adisa, a resident of Kubwa, in the nation’s capital city, is even more horrendous. According to neighbors’ and eye witness’ accounts, Omowunmi had put on his small Tiger generator, also known in local parlance as “I better pass my neighbour” and, apparently in order to prevent it from being stolen, placed it close to his windows and slept off.

“When I did not notice any sign of activity in his room, I became suspicious because he was an early riser and would normally have woken up around 6 am; but on this particular morning, it was 8:30 am and his car was still parked outside with his door firmly locked.

“Thereafter, I called other people and we forced the door open. We found Adisa’s lifeless body lying on his bed,” said Wole Fadairo, a neighbor who lives in the same compound with Late Omowunmi.

It was almost a similar story in Katsina State where a 20-year-old bride, Fadila Abdulkadir, lost her own life to generator fumes immediately after her wedding ceremony last month in the state capital.

Her husband, Sani Abdullahi, confirmed to our correspondent that Fadila died after inhaling generator fumes while taking bath to prepare for a get-together party. He said the generator was put in the toilet to be away from fire places in the house.

Further investigation on generator-related deaths in the state revealed that a serving House of Assembly member, Bature Iliyasu Dan Alhaji, representing Batsari state constituency, was also one of the major victims. He became one while attempting to put a generator at his residence as a result of power outage that bedevilled his constituency over a period of time.

The legislator died a week later at orthopedic hospital in Kano after obtaining first degree burns all over his body, leaving behind two wives and ten children while his whole apartment was razed down by the fire.

The worst case was the one that involved a family of four. An engineering staff of the Federal Medical Centre in Katsina, Ayuba Mahammed, died while attempting to re-fuel his small generator to provide alternative power supply in his two-bedroom flat. His pregnant wife, Hadiza Ayuba, and two children, Mohammed (5) and Safiya (3), all died and their entire house razed down. These were among many other unreported incidences of generator-related deaths in Katsina where lives and properties worth millions of naira were also lost to such menace.

A story is also told of three family members who were found dead by their neighbors in Morogbo, a settlement in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State. Not quite long after the death of 13 members of a family of the Obile Community in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of   Imo State were reportedly chocked to death from generator fumes was announced, another family of six in Benin City, Edo State capital, had fallen victim of the same incident. Victims of the Obile incident included eight children, two pregnant women and three men. Among them were one Ethelbert John, his wife, maid and four children.

An eye witness account said that the victims were watching television at night and slept off while the generator was on. They were later found dead in the morning. An autopsy conducted and released to the officials of the State Ministry of Health linked the death to carbon monoxide arising from generator fumes. A similar incident was recorded in Obowo Local Government Area of Imo State in 2007 in which eight persons lost their lives.

On December 30, 2008, 12 persons were suffocated overnight in one family after inhaling carbon monoxide fumes from a generator set. The incident occurred at Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State. Four survivors were found in a state of coma. Villagers had to break into the house when they discovered that no member of the family came out in the morning to do the usual chores. Neighbours said the family left its power generating set on because there was no public power supply.

The above instances are just but a few out of the numerous cases of hapless Nigerians who have lost their lives from the poisonous fumes that emanate from generators. Over the years, many citizens have died from generator fumes, while immense properties have been destroyed.

The deaths highlight the worsening power crisis in Africa’s top oil producer, where the near collapse of the national grid is

 

 forcing homes and businesses to turn to portable generators. Much of Nigeria has no main power for weeks at a time. The capacity of the world’s eighth biggest oil exporter has plunged to about 1,000 megawatts from 3,000 a year ago.

 The near collapse of the nation’s power sector has consequently forced many to seek solace in generating plants. According to an Abuja-based businessman who operates a frozen food outlet in Utako market, “the generator is perhaps the most apt metaphor for a nation that has learnt to survive on permanent life support.

“How else can anyone explain our addiction to emergency arrangements in place of enduring solutions that even more modest nations have come to take for granted? He asked.

“In order to meet the constant demands of my teeming customers, I maintain two 5.5KVA generators to boost power supply for my refrigerators. It is really that bad,” he lamented.

A typical visit to major markets in Abuja, such as Wuse and Utako markets, reveals an avalanche of generating sets of various sizes spewing out deadly smoke for traders and their customers alike.

Concerned about the immense danger posed by carbon monoxide inhalation, traders in Wuse and Utako markets have appealed to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to restore electricity supply to these markets.

They also called on the Federal Government and the Federal Capital Development Authority to rescue them from death as a result of inhaling fumes from generators.

 While speaking to Sunday Trust, some of the traders, who claimed to have been using generators for close to six  years, complained  that constant inhalation of fumes emitted by generators had made them to develop eye problems, hearing defects and constant headache.

There are a lot of generators in operation and on sale in Utako market, said Abdulkareem Gambo, a tarder in the market. “So you can imagine the amount of fumes being spewed out by these generators,” he noted.

 Josephine Unegbu, another trader at Wuse market, said the problem of epileptic power supply in the market was negatively affecting their social and family life.

“Most times, if your handset rings, you may not hear it; when you have an urgent call that requires your attention, you may miss it as a result of the loud noise from the generators,” Unegbu lamented.

Generator fumes, according to experts, contain poisonous gases such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. In an interview with Sunday Trust, Dr. Emmanuel  Ukeh  of Providence Clinics, Karu, said that “carbon monoxide is a colourless and odourless but poisonous gas, produced when fuel containing carbon is burned  where there is little oxygen. The gas is poisonous when inhaled because it attacks hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying substance in the red blood cells). The hemoglobin, thus, would not be able to take oxygen from the air. Cells and tissues therefore would die due to lack of oxygen.”

The doctor urged Nigerians to be wary of the harmful effects of the carbon mono oxide that comes from the generating sets. He said the way to avoid death through this is “to always make sure that generators are kept in a well-ventilated place away from the windows and rooms in order to avoid suffocation. Besides, he noted, whenever you buy a new generator, it is always stated in the safety notice that the machine should be kept away from windows and rooms to avoid suffocation.

Similarly, an Abuja-based environmentalist, Kenneth Odumakin, also warned of the harmful effects of the poisonous fumes being emitted by generators. “Global warming heats up the earth as a result of the presence of too many greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, as well as petroleum burned to generate electricity. The greenhouse gases have been trapping so much heat and light from the sun, and threaten the habitation of the earth by plants and animals,” he said.

“Efforts to address issues of urban air quality and global warming must involve combined emission controls, and not just the ‘quick-fix’ measure of reducing air pollution by controlling nitrogen oxide emissions,” he suggested.

Attempts to elicit official comments from the Federal Ministry of Environment met with a brick wall as the media officer was not available. However, an official of the ministry, who spoke to Sunday Trust on condition of anonymity explained that “a study carried out in some Nigerian cities has shown that carbon monoxide contributes to a high level of pollution of the environment.

“Today, the amount of carbon monoxide in the environment, such as carbon dioxide, methane and chlorofluorocarbon, has increased and is a major contributor to global warming. The development has also resulted in desertification, pollution, flooding, erosion, changes in weather conditions and predictions across the world,” the official said.

Another medical doctor, Dr Abubakar Iman, while explaining on the harmful medical and environmental consequences of inhaling generator fumes, said that “some of the greenhouse gases can cause cancer, birth defects, respiratory problems, brain and nerve damage, lung injuries and inflammation of the eyes. The increasing incidence of cancers may not be unconnected with the effect of global warming.”

The high rate of epileptic power supply in the country has further heightened the over dependence on generators by a cross section of Nigerians. For instance, Bello Yahaya, a local barber in Karu, on the fringes of the Abuja, told Sunday Trust that “without generators, I would have packed up long time ago. How can I run a barbing salon without a stand-by generator? It is impossible because there have been a number of instances when I have had to run my generator for the whole day.

“Consequently, this has increased the charges too. Ordinarily, I charge N100 for (one person’s) hair cut but with the use of generator coupled with the fact that I have o buy fuel, I have had to increase my charges to as high as N250 per hair cut.”

Aside from using generators for commercial purposes, individuals too seem to have joined the band wagon as almost every house in the country has a generating set as a viable alternative to the epileptic power supply from the PHCN. Despite the cost, many people, including the poor, struggle daily to buy generators to provide light for their households. In some areas, some people buy two or more generators. One will serve the night while another will be used in the day time. Some houses are not even connected to the public power due to loss of confidence on the public power supplier.

Investigation by this medium also reveals that heavy duty generators such as Mikano and others whose use were hitherto confined to factories and industries are fast being converted into private uses. One of the residents of Citec Estate in Abuja testified to this in an interview with Sunday Trust. “I had to go for a bigger generator like this Mikano because I don’t want to be disappointed,” he said. “This type of generator has the tendency to power my three-bedroom duplex for 24 hours nonstop without stopping at intervals to refuel.”

The cost also determines the affordability of the generating sets among the people with low incomes. Market survey conducted by Sunday Trust shows that 1kva generator, which is about the smallest in the country, sells for about N14,000 while the 2.2kva and 2.5kva go for between N22,000 and N35,000. These are what many people on the lower rung of the socio-economic ladder go for.

Some in the ‘working class’ prefer the 3.5kva to 5.5kva generators, which sells for between N60, 000 and N75, 000, depending on the maker. These generators can power a three-bedroom apartment, including refrigerator, television and micro-wave.

The fast growing addiction by Nigerians to their generators has also triggered off a huge economic implication for the users of generators who spend fortunes in maintaining and fuelling them. Joel Adigun, a resident of Kubwa in Abuja, told this medium that, “on the average, I spend nothing less than N6,000 monthly to maintain my generator. This includes buying fuel, engine oil and regular servicing at the mechanics.

“I am not the only one using generator in my house. Everybody in the compound has generator. The generators make a huge noise when they are in use, particularly at night. It is high time the Federal Government addressed the power crisis because of the risks involved,” he added.

 It is not only individuals that are involved in the rush for generators as a source of power, companies, institutions, small-scale businesses and even government ministries and agencies are not left out. Some companies have resorted to the provision of their private source of electricity. Even most offices of the PHCN that are meant to coordinate the generation of electricity in the country have generators attached to their offices.

The dependence on generators by companies has done incalculable harm to the nation’s economy. It has raised over head cost astronomically. This has also forced many companies to fold up in the last few years.

For instance, according to one report, over 200 of about 400 industrial establishments in Kano had closed down as at May 2008. They were forced to fold up due to lack of power. As a result, about 500,000 workers were retrenched. Several others have closed down in other parts of the country.

Efforts by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his successor, President Umaru Yar’adua, have failed to resolve the power crisis. The $16 billion reportedly spent by the former has been described as a waste. It had no serious impact on power generation and could not be properly accounted for, despite the probe by the Ndudi Godwin Elumelu-led House of Representatives Committee on Power and Steel. The report of the findings by the committee is still generating furore in the House of Representatives, as some forces allegedly stalled a proper debate on it. While that politics goes on, the rate of generator-related deaths continues to rise in the country.

(With report from Lawal Ibrahim in Katsina). forcing homes and businesses to turn to portable generators. Much of Nigeria has no main power for weeks at a time. The capacity of the world’s eighth biggest oil exporter has plunged to about 1,000 megawatts from 3,000 a year ago.

 The near collapse of the nation’s power sector has consequently forced many to seek solace in generating plants. According to an Abuja-based businessman who operates a frozen food outlet in Utako market, “the generator is perhaps the most apt metaphor for a nation that has learnt to survive on permanent life support.

“How else can anyone explain our addiction to emergency arrangements in place of enduring solutions that even more modest nations have come to take for granted? He asked.

“In order to meet the constant demands of my teeming customers, I maintain two 5.5KVA generators to boost power supply for my refrigerators. It is really that bad,” he lamented.

A typical visit to major markets in Abuja, such as Wuse and Utako markets, reveals an avalanche of generating sets of various sizes spewing out deadly smoke for traders and their customers alike.

Concerned about the immense danger posed by carbon monoxide inhalation, traders in Wuse and Utako markets have appealed to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to restore electricity supply to these markets.

They also called on the Federal Government and the Federal Capital Development Authority to rescue them from death as a result of inhaling fumes from generators.

 While speaking to Sunday Trust, some of the traders, who claimed to have been using generators for close to six  years, complained  that constant inhalation of fumes emitted by generators had made them to develop eye problems, hearing defects and constant headache.

There are a lot of generators in operation and on sale in Utako market, said Abdulkareem Gambo, a tarder in the market. “So you can imagine the amount of fumes being spewed out by these generators,” he noted.

 Josephine Unegbu, another trader at Wuse market, said the problem of epileptic power supply in the market was negatively affecting their social and family life.

“Most times, if your handset rings, you may not hear it; when you have an urgent call that requires your attention, you may miss it as a result of the loud noise from the generators,” Unegbu lamented.

Generator fumes, according to experts, contain poisonous gases such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. In an interview with Sunday Trust, Dr. Emmanuel  Ukeh  of Providence Clinics, Karu, said that “carbon monoxide is a colourless and odourless but poisonous gas, produced when fuel containing carbon is burned  where there is little oxygen. The gas is poisonous when inhaled because it attacks hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying substance in the red blood cells). The hemoglobin, thus, would not be able to take oxygen from the air. Cells and tissues therefore would die due to lack of oxygen.”

The doctor urged Nigerians to be wary of the harmful effects of the carbon mono oxide that comes from the generating sets. He said the way to avoid death through this is “to always make sure that generators are kept in a well-ventilated place away from the windows and rooms in order to avoid suffocation. Besides, he noted, whenever you buy a new generator, it is always stated in the safety notice that the machine should be kept away from windows and rooms to avoid suffocation.

Similarly, an Abuja-based environmentalist, Kenneth Odumakin, also warned of the harmful effects of the poisonous fumes being emitted by generators. “Global warming heats up the earth as a result of the presence of too many greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, as well as petroleum burned to generate electricity. The greenhouse gases have been trapping so much heat and light from the sun, and threaten the habitation of the earth by plants and animals,” he said.

“Efforts to address issues of urban air quality and global warming must involve combined emission controls, and not just the ‘quick-fix’ measure of reducing air pollution by controlling nitrogen oxide emissions,” he suggested.

Attempts to elicit official comments from the Federal Ministry of Environment met with a brick wall as the media officer was not available. However, an official of the ministry, who spoke to Sunday Trust on condition of anonymity explained that “a study carried out in some Nigerian cities has shown that carbon monoxide contributes to a high level of pollution of the environment.

“Today, the amount of carbon monoxide in the environment, such as carbon dioxide, methane and chlorofluorocarbon, has increased and is a major contributor to global warming. The development has also resulted in desertification, pollution, flooding, erosion, changes in weather conditions and predictions across the world,” the official said.

Another medical doctor, Dr Abubakar Iman, while explaining on the harmful medical and environmental consequences of inhaling generator fumes, said that “some of the greenhouse gases can cause cancer, birth defects, respiratory problems, brain and nerve damage, lung injuries and inflammation of the eyes. The increasing incidence of cancers may not be unconnected with the effect of global warming.”

The high rate of epileptic power supply in the country has further heightened the over dependence on generators by a cross section of Nigerians. For instance, Bello Yahaya, a local barber in Karu, on the fringes of the Abuja, told Sunday Trust that “without generators, I would have packed up long time ago. How can I run a barbing salon without a stand-by generator? It is impossible because there have been a number of instances when I have had to run my generator for the whole day.

“Consequently, this has increased the charges too. Ordinarily, I charge N100 for (one person’s) hair cut but with the use of generator coupled with the fact that I have o buy fuel, I have had to increase my charges to as high as N250 per hair cut.”

Aside from using generators for commercial purposes, individuals too seem to have joined the band wagon as almost every house in the country has a generating set as a viable alternative to the epileptic power supply from the PHCN. Despite the cost, many people, including the poor, struggle daily to buy generators to provide light for their households. In some areas, some people buy two or more generators. One will serve the night while another will be used in the day time. Some houses are not even connected to the public power due to loss of confidence on the public power supplier.

Investigation by this medium also reveals that heavy duty generators such as Mikano and others whose use were hitherto confined to factories and industries are fast being converted into private uses. One of the residents of Citec Estate in Abuja testified to this in an interview with Sunday Trust. “I had to go for a bigger generator like this Mikano because I don’t want to be disappointed,” he said. “This type of generator has the tendency to power my three-bedroom duplex for 24 hours nonstop without stopping at intervals to refuel.”

The cost also determines the affordability of the generating sets among the people with low incomes. Market survey conducted by Sunday Trust shows that 1kva generator, which is about the smallest in the country, sells for about N14,000 while the 2.2kva and 2.5kva go for between N22,000 and N35,000. These are what many people on the lower rung of the socio-economic ladder go for.

Some in the ‘working class’ prefer the 3.5kva to 5.5kva generators, which sells for between N60, 000 and N75, 000, depending on the maker. These generators can power a three-bedroom apartment, including refrigerator, television and micro-wave.

The fast growing addiction by Nigerians to their generators has also triggered off a huge economic implication for the users of generators who spend fortunes in maintaining and fuelling them. Joel Adigun, a resident of Kubwa in Abuja, told this medium that, “on the average, I spend nothing less than N6,000 monthly to maintain my generator. This includes buying fuel, engine oil and regular servicing at the mechanics.

“I am not the only one using generator in my house. Everybody in the compound has generator. The generators make a huge noise when they are in use, particularly at night. It is high time the Federal Government addressed the power crisis because of the risks involved,” he added.

 It is not only individuals that are involved in the rush for generators as a source of power, companies, institutions, small-scale businesses and even government ministries and agencies are not left out. Some companies have resorted to the provision of their private source of electricity. Even most offices of the PHCN that are meant to coordinate the generation of electricity in the country have generators attached to their offices.

The dependence on generators by companies has done incalculable harm to the nation’s economy. It has raised over head cost astronomically. This has also forced many companies to fold up in the last few years.

For instance, according to one report, over 200 of about 400 industrial establishments in Kano had closed down as at May 2008. They were forced to fold up due to lack of power. As a result, about 500,000 workers were retrenched. Several others have closed down in other parts of the country.

Efforts by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his successor, President Umaru Yar’adua, have failed to resolve the power crisis. The $16 billion reportedly spent by the former has been described as a waste. It had no serious impact on power generation and could not be properly accounted for, despite the probe by the Ndudi Godwin Elumelu-led House of Representatives Committee on Power and Steel. The report of the findings by the committee is still generating furore in the House of Representatives, as some forces allegedly stalled a proper debate on it. While that politics goes on, the rate of generator-related deaths continues to rise in the country.

(With report from Lawal Ibrahim in Katsina).