Why not enough power (is) available — Engr. Hamza Ibrahim (Former MD, NEPA)

Engineer Hamza Ibrahim, a chartered engineer, spent most of his working life in the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), where he started as pupil engineer in 1969 and rose to the position of managing director, between 1990 and 1999. He is also Barden Dutse, a traditional titleholder in his home state of Jigawa.   […]

Engineer Hamza Ibrahim, a chartered engineer, spent most of his working life in the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), where he started as pupil engineer in 1969 and rose to the position of managing director, between 1990 and 1999. He is also Barden Dutse, a traditional titleholder in his home state of Jigawa.

 

Can you let us into your background? 

I am Kanuri. During the Rabe crisis, my grandfather, Suleiman Mai Dugu and his entourage from Kukawa decided to leave and go to Kano. On their way, they came to Misau. They were in three groups. One group went to Gombe while another group went to Lafian Barebari. 

 

In Nasarawa State? 

Yes. My grandfather’s entourage decided to go to Kano, but they came to Gwaram in Jigawa State, where they met Mallam Lawan, who was the Sarkin Gwaram at the time and an Arabic scholar. They too were Quranic scholars. 

So, Lawan said that as scholars, he would convince them not to proceed to Kano. He promised to give them an area in Gwaram. He actually decided to give them one of the most economic parts of Gwaram, where there is a river from Plateau to Jama’are, and so on. 

It was a fertile land. There is a stream called Injari, which is very close to the town. It can be used for dry season farming for fruits, vegetables and so on. They saw it as an offer they could not reject. That was how they accepted to stay in Gwaram. Mai Dugu was made Mai Unguwar Barebari. 

 

He settled in all these areas? 

Yes – three or four parts, actually. After the death of my grandfather, Alhaji Ibrahim Cindorima took over as the Mai Unguwar Barebari. Till today, we are still heading that part of the town. 

• The making of a Danmasanin Kano
• Why traditional rulers are under siege in the North – Sen. Abdullahi Adamu

 

Where did your title, Barde come from? 

The emir decided to honour me. It is not Gwaram, but Dutse. The title is Badan Dutse. The emir conferred me with the title as recognition for my contributions to Jigawa State. Many towns and villages were connected to the national grid during my period (as MD NEPA). 

About my childhood, I attended Gwaram Elementary School from 1952 to 1956, as well as Birnin-Kudu Senior Primary School, where my classmates were the late Abubakar Rimi, Umaru Musa Zandam and the late Abdulrazaq Kiyawa. There were several others. 

In 1958, one Captain Tranchard Murphy, who was the principal of Kaduna Technical Institute, came to interview us in Kano – three of us – Umaru Zandam, myself and Wali Sule Ahmad from Birnin -Kudu Senior Primary School. Then from Kano, we had Rabiyu Aliyu and one other person. 

 

Tell us about life in Gwaram. With a Kanuri root, are you kind of settled in Gwaram? Do you now feel more of Gwaram than Kanuri? 

No. We completely settled in Gwaram. In fact, unfortunately I could not speak Kanuri, but my father could speak the language. 

After the interview for admission into the Kaduna Technical Institute, we were successful. The institution consisted of a secondary technical school, an engineering school and a commercial school. 

Umaru Zandam, Shaibu Koli and Rabiyu Aliyu went to the technical secondary school, while Suleiman Wali Ahmad and myself went the engineering school. 

In the engineering school we had Bodunrin, David Ologe, Babalola, Babatunde, all from Kwara, the Kabba axis. 

 

All from the North? 

Yes. At that time, the Sir Ahmadu Bello government didn’t care about who you were – Christian or otherwise. These were mostly Yoruba, but he was able to bind the entire North together. 

Also, when the results of the London Institute Honours Certificate came out, which was equivalent to Ordinary National Diploma (OND), we did well and were all given scholarships; ethnicity didn’t matter to the Sir Ahmadu Bello government. 

 

Did you really want to be an engineer, or you were told to do it? 

Having gone to Kaduna Technical Institute for a certificate in Electrical Engineering, which was equivalent to OND, naturally, I would go for engineering. 

 

Some of you went to the technical school, but you went for engineering; was that your choice? 

Yes; I actually wanted to be an engineer. 

 

What attracted you to engineering at that early age? 

Honestly I just marveled at engineering things. And hearing stories from either the BBC, Hausa Service or something like that really gave me the impression or idea that I should go for engineering. As a child, airplanes and other things like that encouraged you to become an engineer. 

 

So, the Kaduna Technical College, which you attended, later became Kaduna Polytechnic? 

Exactly. 

 

How did you actually win a scholarship to go to England? 

As I told you, Sir Ahmadu Bello didn’t care whether you were Hausa, Fulani or Yoruba; once you were qualified you would be taken. That was why David Ologe from Kabba and me Hamza Ibrahim were awarded scholarships. 

 

What year was this? 

That was 1964, because I finished in 1963 and worked as an assistant technical officer in Jos. 

 

After the OND? 

Yes. As an assistant technical officer, I used to go to poles and power lines. 

 

So you started with the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) in Kaduna? 

I was employed by the Electric Corporation of Nigeria (ECN). And after the school, I came back. 

 

When you won the scholarship and went to England, was it a strange thing to travel at your age? How did you take it? 

It was really very strange. 

 

Was it challenging to get settled? 

Exactly. And there were very few blacks and Africans. 

 

How was the experience generally? How did you cope with the studies and the environment? 

Well, concerning the studies, I was very lucky because I related with some people in the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Hausa Service. I was with a friend of mine from Kaduna, the late Inawu Garba. 

 

Was he in Kaduna with you? 

Yes. May Allah bless him. He used to come and take me to London etc. 

 

From Watford? 

Yes. When I graduated, I joined the BBC as an outside contributor. In the morning news, I would translate from English to Hausa and broadcast to Nigerians. I met the late Professor Ayagi there. 

Ibrahim Ayagi? 

Yes; as well as Mallam Muhammad Ibrahim and the late Ciroma Keffi, and several others. 

 

These were all northern Nigerians working in the BBC, Hausa Service? 

Yes. 

 

As an engineer, did you fit into reading Hausa news? 

You also broadcast the normal news in the morning. If somebody, for one reason or another couldn’t come to deliver the news at that very time, I replaced him and broadcast the thing. At one time, actually, the head of the Hausa Service, David Warren, said he was impressed. 

 

How long did you stay in London? 

From 1964 to 1969; I actually finished in 1968. For a few months, I stayed with the BBC as an outside contributor or broadcaster. 

 

Did you think of change of career? 

Not at all. 

 

Tell us about your career when you came back. By then you were a chartered engineer. I think you came back to NEPA as it was known… 

Yes. The Niger Dams Authority and the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria merged. I think that was in 1972. When I came as a pupil engineer, I worked at Afam power station in Lagos. It was in 1973 that I moved to Jos as a mains engineer. At that time, the distribution network was on 3.3 kv. I upgraded it from 3.3 kv to 11 kv. It was actually there that I got married. 

It was after Jos that I went to Kano as a district engineer. And from Kano, I moved to Maiduguri. In Maiduguri I had one of my very difficult situations because there was no grid connection at that time. It was just a power station with small generators here and there, that we were able to synchronise together and feed the town. 

It was later that we got grid connection extended and installed 2×45 MVA transformers and provided another injunction substation to feed the town. At that time they had a very stable power supply instead of these small generators, which we had. 

 

Was there a period in Nigeria, you can say there was stable power supply, even in certain cities? 

Well, we had a very difficult situation. As you know, we had paucity of funds from 1990 to 1997. We had only a total budgetary allocation of $109 million for all those years. For seven years we had only $109.5 million. 

 

Was the budget in dollars? 

If you take 1994 for example, we had N142 million as budget. And at a prevailing exchange rate of N22 per dollar, it came to just $6.45 million for the whole year. And we had cash collection of N5.5 billion. 

Another issue is that you cannot even get the N142 million. You must sign an agreement with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated. It was a loan at 7 per cent interest. You can see that it was a very difficult situation. 

At a certain time, when the World Bank came and saw the difficult situation we were in, they said NEPA workers were really magicians! They didn’t see how we were able to provide a semblance of power system stability with such meager financial resources. And the tariff was N1 per u kilowatt hour. 

 

You talked of 5 million; was the low tariff the reason for the poor connection? 

No; it was not a poor connection. However, the tariff should have been increased several times. In fact, whenever we applied, the government would say it was social service. 

But if it was social service, the shortfall, that is the amount the government was subsidising for the people, should have been paid to NEPA so that it would be able to reinforce its system. 

Just like now, that’s why it is most surprising that for a privatised entity, as I understand, trillions of naira is pumped into the distribution companies. You will be surprised that even at that time we were not given any subsidy. 

 

So, even in the early period, electricity companies never had enough funds for a stable power system in the country. Is that what you are saying? 

Of course. At that time, there was a sort of embargo on foreign loans. 

 

But we had the oil boom when the issue of money was immaterial. How about that? 

We were using our internally generated revenue to sustain ourselves. And we even had what we called 13th month salary. So, with all the financial constraints, we were able to take care of our members of staff. 

 

But you could not take care of stable power supply for the country? 

In 1992, we had no single system collapse. Also, in 1996, we didn’t have any system collapse. So you can see that NEPA workers were trying very hard under severe constraints, but people didn’t appreciate this. 

 

Not having a system collapse didn’t mean having stable power. It means there is no total breakdown as we have now, do you agree with me? 

Yes, especially where you have some problems in the system. 

 

We still had load shedding and all that? 

Of course, naturally, the power wasn’t sufficient to take care of all residential, commercial and industrial customers. From time to time, definitely, we did; we were not giving 24-hour power supply. 

 

As an engineer, you went all over the country; and finally, you became the managing director of the NEPA in 1990. I assume this is more of a political appointment than engineering. How did it happen? 

It couldn’t have been political. I told you that I started as an assistant technical officer. I didn’t miss any grade as an engineer. 

 

So, you rose through the ranks to that position? 

In fact, I was the first deputy managing director and the last one; then managing director. I am a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, as well as the Nigerian Society of Engineers. So I was absolutely qualified to head that office. I am a registered engineer. 

 

Was the appointment made by the head of state? 

Yes. 

 

Were you surprised? How did it come about? Did they just call you to say the president wanted to see you? 

Well, unfortunately, something happened. There was a fire incident and a subsequent investigation etc, and for one reason or another, my boss got retired and I took over from him. He is a great gentleman, a first class person, we relate well up till today. 

 

How did you get the call for such big appointment; how were you invited? 

I was actually on Umra abroad when the fire incident happened. When I came back, I became the managing director under a difficult situation. 

I was appointed as an acting managing director and subsequently made the managing director. I managed the power sector in very turbulent periods. 

We had some radical staff who called themselves Workers Welfare Association. 

The official union, somehow they were pushed away. Those radicals took over the control of even the management of the organisation in some places. From various stations, they came to Egbin power station and agitated. They said they would go on strike and shut down the system until we increased their salaries and allowances. At that time, there was an embargo on increment of salaries and allowances etc. It was a difficult decision. 

I thought of what we would do under that circumstance since we could not allow the system to be shut down at that particular period. There was political crisis, so a decision must be taken. I and the executive director of finance, Mouftah Baba Ahmed, decided to do something. We had to see those radical workers. At that time, there were “area boys” all over the place creating commotion, but at the middle of the night I decided to go to the station. 

The executive director, generation and transmission, Ben Cabin, an engineer, was a bit down, but I decided to go through his house because it would not be fair to go to his station, more or less behind him. 

On the way, my driver said we could not go like that because the situation was very dangerous. He said we may be attacked, so he suggested that we should go with some military men or police. I said we were not going with anybody and we would go together. As a managing director I could not go to my workers with military or police escort. I decided to go like that. 

 

Were you able to resolve the problem? 

We went there in the middle of the night and held a meeting. We increased the salaries and gave them some hazard and several other allowances. 

They said our offer was in the interim because they felt they would like to have the salary of the then Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) workers. At the gate we had a Nigerian Gas Company station, where the operator would just switch on the valve to feed gas into the station, and his salary was much higher than that of the workers. 

They said they were working under a very hazardous environment and their salaries were low compared with what the NNPC paid. They said they deserved better salary. 

We negotiated and increased their salaries and gave them some additional allowances, noting that there was an embargo by the government. When I came, I felt I was really in trouble. But God so kind, the government, without going into details, approved it. 

Another issue is that all the banks were on strike and we needed to take care of some critical sectors of the power system. We got a helicopter. We had three helicopters that patrolled the lines. If there was any fault on the lines, they would fly and find out what the problem was. We called one of the helicopters to Marina. Once the “area boys” saw the helicopter coming down, they all ran away, thinking it was a military or police operation. 

 

Bags of money? 

Yes. They flew to Oshogbo national control centre. We told them that VIPs were coming. They thought it was probably military or police people, or something. 

When the helicopter landed, they came and saw some bags coming out. We told them that it was their salaries and they were very happy. That was the need for loyalty. If you look after your members of staff, definitely they will be very loyal to the organisation. 

We did several other things like that and throughout my period, there was no strike. 

Another thing is that we employed some workers, about 400 northerners at that critical period. What we did was to carry out staff statistics of the whole organisation. We had 36,000 workers. While some states had 3,000 workers, some had 2,000, some 1,500, but my state, Jigawa, had only 200 or 300 workers. So, people should not really complain if you got 10 from Jigawa, 30 from Kano or 40 from the North. So we asked people, only electrical and mechanical engineers (graduates) to come for employment. 

Some of the managers said they should look into generation and transmission sectors to see where we could slot in these people. Now, they have grown in the system and are holding very strategic positions in the power sector. We did it smoothly and there was no uproar because people saw our reason. 

 

From your vantage point as a former managing director of the NEPA, where did we get it wrong, such that the country of about 250 million people has found itself with only 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts? 

I think it is lack of foresight and imagination. There is no vision without power. That’s why we had Vision 2010 etc. 

 

Were you a member? 

Yes. 

 

So we did not have the capacity to achieve the vision? 

Of course. But Nigerian engineers are the best, I dare say, in the world. There was a time a team from the World Bank came to us and wanted to study or give us advice on how to improve the power system and etc. 

Some of them were just members of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, while we had Fellows in NEPA. We had doctors, so we were to teach them and not them teaching us. 

So, all they did was just to ask and we told them. They wrote what we told them and submitted their report. We have first-class engineers anywhere in the world. Nigerian engineers are up to the task. There is no commitment from those who should commit themselves to ensure that we have Mambila. How many years have you been speaking on Mambila? 

Salihi Ilyasu, an engineer, was the consultant. When I was managing director, I went to him and asked for a report about it, but he said I should not ask him, explaining that he had exhausted all his copies. It was one story or another, one propaganda or another. If they wanted to build Mambila, they would have built it by now, but instead, at this point we have this Lagos-Calabar stuff. 

 

The coastal highway? 

Yes. So, I will appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to think of Mambila. I am not saying they should stop the coastal highway, but they should also think about Mambila and the gas pipeline. They should extend the gas pipeline to Abuja, Kaduna and Kano so that we would be able to build some power stations to improve the stability of the grid and be able to supply all our customers. 

It is a pity that South Africa, though they have a problem now, could generate about 50,000 megawatts and we are still saying 4,000/5,000 megawatts. 

If we had the commitment we should be able to find funds. It is only when you have stable power supply that you can industrialise and even become something in the comity of nations. There are so many people walking about in the streets without anything to do. This is another issue we must be very careful of. We should really think of getting power all over the place and industrialise so that we can have small businesses here and there for people to get work and get something to eat. 

Once they are engaged, you will not have banditry and kidnapping. We must declare a state of emergency in the power sector and invest heavily because when you have power you have everything. That’s the element of civilisation. 

 

What do you think of the privatisation of the power sector? 

I think it was done in a hurry. Now, we are saying we don’t have the means of metering customers. And the major aspect of their business is to meter, bill and get revenue. 

 

How much are they injecting into private entities now? 

You are in a better position to know because you have been writing about it. But the federal government subsidises the distribution companies, so one would ask if this level of subsidy is loan. I told you that as a managing director I had to sign loans with the MOFI( Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated). 

 

From your experience in the power sector, do you see any sign that $16 billion has been spent? 

I don’t know, so I will not comment on that. I don’t know how it was spent; whether it was spent or not. 

 

Are there no signs in terms of infrastructure? 

I left there since 1999. 

 

From your experience in the power sector, is there any physical evidence? 

Of course there were some projects. There were 10 power stations, which to my mind, they wanted to privatise. And if they were privatised, they should use the money for building power stations in Abuja, Kano and Kaduna, since such stations were built in the South. 

 

Why didn’t we think of using a sustainable energy source like solar? Was it ever part of the vision of providing electricity? 

Well, renewable energy is the in-thing now. And with advances in technology, we can generate enormous power through solar. Before now, people thought that solar was just for houses and small things, but we can really use it at a very massive scale. People were saying that even in the Sahara, if you can have such a system – mirror reflectors impinging on a small area – you can generate power. It is possible. 

 

Why wasn’t it part of the national plan? Was it because the technology was backward at the time you were in charge? 

Well, if we have gas, why can’t you use it? Instead, we are flaring it up; isn’t it? So, for a country that is flaring up its gas supply, there’s no need to even start thinking of solar. 

If we can use our gas supply, I would suggest that governors in gas-producing areas, probably as a national plan, can generate enough power to feed their states without connecting to the national grid. So, it is available; we can do that. 

Even wind can be put to good use in the North. You know that wind doesn’t come all the time, but with battery storage, you can take care of any difficulty in connecting such systems to the grid. 

 

But many have tried and failed. There are equipment lying around without power; do we blame the engineers or government? 

I told you that in Nigeria, we have the best engineers you can get anywhere; really qualified. 

 

Why haven’t we been able to deliver on power since we have such engineers? 

As an engineer, just like a driver, if you are not given a car to drive, or you are given a rickety one, however good you are, what do you do? So, it is not the engineers but the people of the country who will decide that they really want electricity. The engineers are up to it, they will deliver. 

 

Let’s talk about your private life. You mentioned in passing that you got married while you were in Jos, just after graduation. How is family life for you? 

Alhamdulillah, I have four females and one boy, and they have all finished from school. 

 

What have you been doing since you retired in 1999? 

Not much, really because I am now getting to 80. All I do now is to go for golf. The golf course is my office. I have some few things. I am a board member in a transmission company; that’s all. 

I just want to rest because when you had over 35 years in the power industry under very difficult situations, you need to rest. Even now, you jerk when you see power fluctuating. 

Alhamdulillah, I am fine. I can eat, dress up and go wherever I want. So I am happy. I always thank Allah for his mercies and keeping me healthy and showering his blessings on me. 

 

But a lot of people who retire find that they need to do something, maybe set up a consultancy firm or go into farming, things like that; are you not doing any of these? 

Well, candidly speaking, I have a very big farm at Gora and another one in Kaduna. I also have another farm in my town, Gwaram. But it is not easy, as you have to be there. It somehow keeps me busy. 

 

You are a traditional titleholder and one of Jigawa elders; what are the elders and traditional rulers doing? 

In what condition are traditional institutions? There are crises everywhere. You have reported them in your papers. 

There is the need to give traditional rulers some elements of recognition and powers to take care of people under them. If you don’t regard them as anything as politicians do, the system is being ruined. 

Look at what is happening in Kano, Sokoto, Katsina and several other places. We have destroyed ourselves. These are the people we would call upon because they know everybody. I think they can help to bring some sanity to the system. 

 

Do you still go to Gwaram? 

I do from time to time. 

 

Do you still travel out of the country? 

No. But I go for Umrah during Ramadan. I go there and pray. 

 

What about medical trips abroad and things like that? 

I am a bit healthy, but I go outside from time to time. 

 

Where is your favourite destination? 

Well, I go to the United Kingdom because that is where I studied, then Saudi Arabia. I think I was in the United States only two times. 

 

Apart from golf, what else do you do for leisure? 

Reading Daily Trust, watching Trust TV, the CNN and other things. I pray in the morning, read the Holy Quran and thank God for his mercies.