Power outage grounds SMEs in Maiduguri

I spend N8,000 daily to fuel my generator – Campus bizman   Recently, Boko Haram insurgents destroyed two more 330kvolt towers near Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, plunging the town into total darkness. It appears there is no reprieve for residents as the situation persists.   Residents of Maiduguri have been without electricity for barely […]

• I spend N8,000 daily to fuel my generator – Campus bizman

 

Recently, Boko Haram insurgents destroyed two more 330kvolt towers near Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, plunging the town into total darkness. It appears there is no reprieve for residents as the situation persists.

 

Residents of Maiduguri have been without electricity for barely four months after Boko Haram insurgents blew up supply lines from the national grid. This has worsened economic growth, reduced leisure time, as well as heightened criminality and insecurity to daily lives and businesses.

Maiduguri is a strategic city in terms of businesses due to its location. It shares borders with three countries: Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic; they all depend on goods and services from Nigeria. So its importance cannot be overemphasized. Unfortunately, the city has been bedevilled by insecurity for more than a decade; and it appears there is no end in sight any time soon.

Bana Bukar, 35, a fashion designer, lamented that power outages in the state capital had severely impacted negatively on the social and economic lives of the people. He pointed out that as a Muslims are preparing for Sallah, he could not meet the demands of his customers as a result of blackouts.

“We can’t use our machines to work, and this has slowed down our pace. We have more than a dozen sewing machines but we can only use five. Lack of light is seriously affecting our business. Our business is not going smoothly like before; it is bad.

“Our challenges are numerous. Sallah is fast approaching and we cannot meet the demands of our clients due to blackout. Since last Monday, we started sleeping in the shop because only few of my workers can use manual machines to work. We are hoping that power would be restored as soon as possible. Sincerely, things are getting bad,’’ Bukar lamented.

The story was not different when our correspondent visited the University of Maiduguri to see the impact of blackout on students and businesses on the campus. It was observed that dozens of students gathered under trees in front of a provision shop opposite the institution’s central mosque. They were seen in groups with electronic devices of different kinds – torchlight, rechargeable lamps, phones, laptops and others.

When the owner of the shop, Mallam Shuiabu Abdullahi, came out to see our correspondent, he quickly asked, “Do you want to charge your phone? Just go ahead and look for a space for yourself or ask someone to help you.’’

Responding to inquiries by Daily Trust Saturday, he said, “Blackout has affected everything around us, not only our business. Things are difficult, so I felt for these students and decided to help in my little way. If you come here in the evening, this place will be filled to capacity.

“To be able to retain our customers I spend N8,000 daily to power my generator. The weather is hot now, and there is Ramadam as well. When it is time for us to break our fast, customers need cold drinks. All our profits go into buying diesel. It is extremely difficult to sustain the business. I think government should do everything within its reach to ensure that power is restored,’’ Mallam Abdullahi said.

It was further gathered that as a result of the electricity situation in Maiduguri and its environs, small scale businesses are virtually collapsing as many business owners cannot run on generating sets.

The situation has also affected unemployed youths, students, housewives, businessmen and professionals, thereby increasing crime rate in the city.

An analyst, Ba Jiddah Ajayi, said the power situation had weakened the purchasing power of the people and increased poverty.

“The economic impact is enormous as all businesses now depend on power generators that use petrol and gas, which prices are fluctuating. This ultimately adds to the cost of operations, which usually gets transferred to consumers.

“With this, prices definitely get higher and further introduce economic hardship. And the weather is also harsh. While the situation is to the advantage of generator mechanics, it is an economic setback to the already poor citizens.

“Households are forced to power generators; which implies increase in expenditures without a corresponding increase in income. This also adversely affects low income earners. In summary, the cost of most things will rise, which translates to inflation as all economic agents have to pay more while income pattern gets leaner,’’ Ajayi said.

The chairman of the Borno Emirates Concerned Citizens Forum, Zanna Hassan Boguma, however, noted that the military were doing their best to restore peace in the state, but their major problem is lack of synergy and the right strategy. He, therefore, said there was the need to re-strategise on their operations in order to achieve the needed results.

“The attack on electricity towers has really affected the residents of Maiduguri. Electricity helps a lot of businesses. Now, small businesses are suffering. And the people are suffering this period of fasting. The people need electricity to do a lot of things.

“We are appealing to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the federal government to come to the aid of Borno and do something fast so that we have a lasting solution to this problem. I thought the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC) already promised that gas turbines would be established in Maiduguri. The town has been without electricity for four months; therefore, we are appealing to them to do something about it.

“We have experienced harsh weather for many years because we are at the Sahel region, but lack of electricity is our major challenge now. If there is electricity, the hardship that people are going through, especially in this month of Ramadan would be reduced.

“We are appealing to them to change their strategy and come out with proactive measures that will end this war,’’ Zanna said.