Solar lights: Beautifying and securing Yobe’s emerging capital city

During the day, the twin batteries hanging on  poles absorb solar light from the sun, while at night; the twin bulb sitting on wings of the poles illuminate the streets and guide motorists as they zoom fast to their various destinations. Not only that, experts say Damaturu’s solar light exposes threats to the residents of […]

During the day, the twin batteries hanging on  poles absorb solar light from the sun, while at night; the twin bulb sitting on wings of the poles illuminate the streets and guide motorists as they zoom fast to their various destinations.

Not only that, experts say Damaturu’s solar light exposes threats to the residents of the city and keeps criminals at bay because security operatives find it easy to monitor movements of people and vehicles when streets are fully lit.

From 2007 when the first set of solar poles were erected across the four major streets of Damaturu, the trend has become the vogue in town as the governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, has discovered the comparative advantage of utilizing the enormous solar energy endowed in the state.

For now, major streets including Potiskum road, Gashua road, Gujba road and Maiduguri road have been adorned with the solar lights. Gradually, solar poles and panels have taken over the streets from electric powered street lights that hitherto hardly lit the roads due to persistent power failure.

“The coming of the solar light is to our advantage,” Habibu Yusuf, a petty trader along Nasarawa street observed. “We display our goods at night without using bush lamps,” he added.

Jummai Isma’il, a food vendor along Potiskum road, equally acknowledged the presence of solar lights. “I sell food in the open at night and the light which is part of urban renewal programme has impacted positively on my trade,” she said.

Initially, successive administrations had tried maintaining the old method of generating power for the streets by putting dedicated power generating sets with little success; probably that was what prompted the incumbent administration to embrace the solar light option with passion.

While inspecting road projects in Damaturu metropolis last year, Governor Gaidam said solar street lights would also be installed to cover the whole of the 18.6km Damaturu inner ring road in order to make it more accessible and safe to motorists at night.

“My dream is to make Damaturu a modest model city within the shortest time. We hope to install solar lights which would make the city safe, beautiful and more accessible to motorists”, Gaidam said.

During the presentation of the 2010 budget of the state earlier this year, Gaidam said other places including informal schools also known as tsangaya or makarantar allo where children are taught how to recite the Holy Qur’an will be provided with solar lights.

“We realise that the solar light option is reliable and needs little attention as against the cumbersome conventional option. We have made provision in our budget to install them in Damaturu,” the governor said.

Speaking further on the overriding wisdom behind the introduction of solar lights in the state capital, Commissioner for Transport and Energy, Alhaji Muhammad Dakasku, said government looked at the alternative sources of energy including the conventional electricity and came to the conclusion that the solar light is the best.

“Though it has high installation cost, in the long run, it is maintenance free because it doesn’t need running cost for fuel or charges to be paid to the PHCN and other minor-minor things,” the commissioner said.

Dakasku said apart from beautifying cities, solar street lights facilitate effective security and surveillance at night. “Men of the underworld don’t want places to be lit-up and that is exactly what the solar light does,” he said.  He said in the city centre, a total of 509 poles were installed even though there are many that have been knocked down by careless motorists.

Dakasku said for the 18.6km inner ring road, a total of 675 poles were installed, adding that adequate measures have been put in place to reduce knock down and vandalization syndrome.

He said the contract for the installation of lights in the ring-road was awarded in 2009 at the total cost of N958 million and the work has been completed.  “The contractor had written to us indicating willingness to hand over the project for commissioning,” the commissioner said.

According to Dakasku, “vandalization is a very serious issue of concern to us and looking at the careless manner motorists knock that the poles which are very expensive to procure and install, we initiated a bill and the law has been passed by the Yobe State House of Assembly.”

“The law has stipulated some consequences for any motorist who knocks down the poles,” the commissioner said.

He added that a unit has also been created in the ministry which is charged with the responsibility of going round the streets to ensure the safety of the poles. “In fact, these days, we hardly have any complain of vandalization,” Dakasku said.

Dakasku said plans are under way to replicate the solar light projects in other major towns in the state. “The governor is now awarding contracts for roads and drainages and we have gone far in that direction. When the road constructions in Potiskum, Gashua, Nguru and Gaidam are done, then, street lights would be provided to make the roads complete,” he said.

Senator Godswin Abana, chairman of Tandro Systems Ltd, the company that handled the Damaturu ring road solar lights projects said before the commencement of installation,a study was carried out on why similar projects failed in other places.

“In some places, we realised that the solar lights hardly stand the test of time and we investigated the problem. We discovered that LEB panels and lamp are the best around the world and we went for them,” the senator said.

He said while the poles used for the recent Damaturu project were fabricated in Nigeria, other components of the solar system were imported from Europe and the USA. “On the average, the panel we imported will work for 15 years while the bulb will be alive for at least three years before replacement. I believe this is a worthwhile investment,” he said.

He said the bulbs consume just about 38 watts when compared with other bulbs that need 50 watts and above. “The illumination of solar light stands out from ordinary bulbs,” Senator Abana said.

Residents of Damaturu  haveexpressed confidence in the solar option and called on government to find a way of generating it for artisans like tailors, barbers, carpenters, grinding machine operators among others.

“We see the solar light as a bonus to humanity from God. The panels tap the energy during the day and the bulbs naturally lit themselves at night…this is very interestings.” Usman Mohammed, a panel beater in Damaturu observed.

“We believe government has the where withal to harness it very well to greater advantage,” he added.