Strike or sabotage?

In yet another devious distraction from the on-going arduous task of reviving the nation’s ailing power sector, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) plans mob action street protests over the refusal of the Federal Government to reduce the electricity tariff. In January, the labour body heedlessly adopted populist posturing in response to the settled issue of […]

In yet another devious distraction from the on-going arduous task of reviving the nation’s ailing power sector, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) plans mob action street protests over the refusal of the Federal Government to reduce the electricity tariff. In January, the labour body heedlessly adopted populist posturing in response to the settled issue of privatization of the power sector as the surest solution to decades of diminishing capacity amid gross mismanagement. Most Nigerians have since then accepted and complied with the new tariff.
This diversionary ploy is now widely regarded as a self-serving survivalist strategy of the Ayuba Wabba-led NLC executive that emerged from discredited elections and is still desperately gasping for legitimacy and acceptance in a factionalized congress. The incessant recourse to strike threats offer no sensible options related to the technical and economic realities necessitating the new tariff. No wonder one of the foremost informed groups in organized labour, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) dissociated itself from the populist pranks of NLC/TUC that ignored the glaring gains of power sector reforms now and in future as well as the incentives and innovations built into the new tariff.
It is a matter of serious concern that on the frivolous basis of tenure-protection, the  Ayuba Wabba-led NLC callously sacrificed the national interest in the evolution and progressive increase in the capacity of the all-important power sector by its eagerness to "shut Nigeria down" with national strikes that can only make a bad situation worse.
Industry experts have expressed concern that the threat by the NLC to shut down the DISCOs and GENCOs over tariff hike would impact negatively on the power sector and the nation’s economy with more severe consequences than the new tariff. Legal practitioners emphatically declared that the subject of change in tariff was not a matter for labour agitation as price determination is a product of market forces and the price of electricity, like any other product, reflects its cost of production.
Moreover, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has shown sensitivity to customer anxiety over the recent increase in electricity tariffs by embarking on interactive enlightenment and consultative parleys with consumers and other stakeholders prior to operating the new tariff and after. The main points are that the increase reflects just what is necessary for critical improvement of our electricity infrastructure after decades of neglect and will help to mitigate the negative cash flow and revenue shortfalls that have bedeviled the sector since the handover of the assets to private operators. This has hindered the ability of the generators to increase power supply, constrained the wheeling capacity of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and limited the ability of DisCos to procure and install urgently needed meters, extend distribution networks and provide improved customer service options. Even with the increased tariffs, the cost of self-generated power, between N45 to N70 per Khw, is still significantly more than the cost of grid supplied power, they affirmed.
On the other hand, the ability of the operators to generate a credible cash flow will provide them with access to financing for investment in distribution, generation and transmission infrastructure, reducing the cost of electricity supply and distribution and ultimately lowering tariffs for electricity customers, a projection consistent with similar electricity reforms all over the world. Of course, all over the world also customers must own the responsibility of paying for power that they consume and dissuading or helping in policing those who engage in electricity theft.
They will need to avoid playing into the hands of owners of businesses thriving from the moribund power sector and their hirelings whose troubled tenures are propped up by populist protests that only harm our economy, as a nation, and our quality of life, as individuals. Nigeria’s growth has been crippled by decades-old deficiencies in the power sector. Old grievances against the system should not be transferred to operators who have put their investments at risk and are working hard to inject capital and entrepreneurial expertise into turning around the sector.
Private sector-driven efficiency and realistic market prices are already giving the sector a new lease of life. Unknown to many in and outside labour circles, with the purchase of majority ownership, full ownership and under concession agreements, the new operators transferred $2.4 billion to the Federal Government, of which an estimated N7.7 Billion was paid to the electricity labour unions, based on its legacy relationship with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). Labour will surely be better off genuinely guided by the statutory objective of a trade union under the Trade Unions Act, which is to negotiate the terms and conditions of employment of workers. It is time to move away from threats, intimidation and the pursuit of gratuitous goals and join hands in moving the power sector forward.
Kanu wrote from Yedseram Street, Maitama, Abuja