The poor power supply situation in Ogoja has made owning and running a business a trying venture, writes Jubal Kanayo.
Many who remember the Civil War which stretched from 1967 to 1970 will remember Ogoja as one of the towns in the then Biafra, which was ‘conquered’ by Federal Troops on their way to taking the region and re-uniting it with Nigeria.
Well, after Ogoja fell, it has found it difficult rising from the ashes, literally.
Ogoja is an administrative town, one of the prides of Cross River, but unlike Ikom, Calabar and, even, Obudu (in Obanliku LGA), it has found the going quite tough. The people have four options; join the local government work force, an annex of the ministry in Calabar, jump on the agriculture train or start your own business. The latter option has proved to be more attractive over the years but the poor power supply has robbed it of what little allure it has.
When the Power Holding Company of Nigeria was privatised in September 2013 and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) took its place, Cross River was ceded to a distribution company (DisCo), the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) and Ogoja falls under its Paradise City North area of supply – the other localities in this segment are Ugep, Ikom and Obanliku.
But was there ever a time when the power supply was great?
According to Ubbe Ajiji, who resides in Igoli, the oldest part of town, these days, in a month, the locality can boast of power supply for 3,4 hours.
“A few years ago,it was not like that. Well, a few years ago, it was worse. Well, I would not call it an improvement; this is no improvement.”
For Monday Adie, who runs a dry-cleaning business around Old Barracks Road, the feeling is the same.
“Bros, who dey talk about light na? For Barracks Road here, we dey see light? At least, before, we dey see light once or twice in one week. Now, we no dey even see am. I hear say dem don even disconnect the whole of Barracks’ Road.”
This opinion is the same all over the locality, from Igoli to Abakpa, Ndok to Ishibori, Ekajuk to Ogboja and Egoja-Ndim.
Tales of darkness
But what does this mean for the local economy and businesses? How much do they bleed?
For the MD of JC Electronics, who would not give his name, it is hell operating without power supply.
“We operate as if these people do not exist and we show our feelings when they come for light bills for power they never supplied.
“Like every serious business person, we have to resort to using generators. I sell electronics, light fittings and electrical appliances. When people buy their appliances, besides assuring them that these things work, you need to prove to them that they do. That is where you need light. Should we wait for the light? No. We use our generator.”
For the owner of one of the town’s popular places for household electronics (generators, televisions, refrigerators, stabilizers, power-surge controller etc) Emmy Brazil Commercial Ventures, who simply gave his name as ‘Emma’, the story is not different.
“Some days, we see the light and we wonder what is wrong. Last week, they restored power on Wednesday, let it stay overnight and, sometime during the day it was gone. They restored it again on Thursday.
“But, as we know, this is what they when the moth is about to end. Throughout the month, they leave the while place in darkness and, suddenly, as the month is about to end, there is light for a few hours and the bills come through.”
Go-to confectionery Heavenlies make do just fine without the light.
“This light matter, bros…See, I would prefer not to talk about it. The light is never here and, even when it comes, it is almost useless. The voltage is low and it cannot carry the mixers, ovens or any other major thing we use for business,” said an employee who strictly requested that her name not be in print.
Popular printing house J-Tech has a viable answer for the situation.
“As you can see, we have a huge power generator outside, a Lister [Petter]. The light in this town does not do anything for anyone when we see it.
“If we wait for this light, our businesses will crumble. We have to survive and survive is what we do.
“We have no government jobs and we do not work with humanitarian agencies but, since we must provide services for all these people, we have to use light.”
The huge price
It is common knowledge that the town has, over the last one year, been flooded by humanitarian agencies and their staff who have a project to cater for Cameroonian refugees who have been resettled there but, even at that, very few have the wherewithal to scale-up their services.
A major hotel like The All Star has changed with the times and makes full, profitable use of its generators to attract an elite clientele, while others like Gomara, La Christo, Jovonne Hotel and Akuma Lodge who ration their power-generating hours have had to make do with what is left.
Their verdict: the cost of running their generators almost 24 hours is not worth it, unless organisations are willing to pay the cost of the running the generator for the duration of their programme; it is one of the perks.
But, who bears the brunt of the high cost of doing business?
For Janet Ene, a humanitarian worker, the poor power supply only combined with other factors to make things worse.
“If you want a cold bag of ‘pure’ water, you have to pay N180 or N200 for whole-sale. This is a far-cry from what it used to be.
“Most times, after rejoicing that the light has been restored, it cannot carry the appliances you have; not even a closet fridge.”
Ene is just like many residents of Ogoja. There is no central water supply system, just boreholes, but they have to be consumed cautiously, as the sources cannot be wholly trusted.
For the owners of Blessed Brothers who have maintained the process of their water ‘bags’ at N100, it comes at a huge price.
The business, owned by the Omang family has been around for a while and they are not yet willing to sacrifice profit for the many who patronise them…yet.
“We considered it for a while but, then, we decided to keep faith with our customers. This does not mean that we do not fill the pinch. I mean, consider the cost of fuel for the size of generator we have, the bore-hole, the water-purifier and other things and you will know that, once you cannot rely on the power supply, you have two options; make your way or fold up.
“We chose to make our way.”
“I am sure you use a generator in your house and you have seen how the price of fuel fluctuates. In the end, the price of getting the business done – transportation,cost of fuelling and cost of rent, especially – has to be factored into whatever you are selling.
“Let’s not even talk about the local government dues and other things which we pay,” added J.C Electronics.
In Heavenlies’ bakery,everything runs on the power-plant and the cost of diesel “has not been a joke”, a source told Quick News Africa.
A loaf of their very popular bread,named after the bakery, sells for N350.
“It didn’t used to be that way but the cost of doing business is considered.Even at that,we do not make profit.”
“Bros, my gen has gone bad many times and I have to fix it. The light cannot even carry the pressing iron when they restore it. So, whether there is light or not, the gen is the one I use.
“This means more cost for me but I need to keep the customers or fold up but, if I fold up, what can I do? There are no jobs in this town. This is how we survive,” said Monday the owner of the laundry service.
Who is to blame?
As far as the power situation in the country is concerned, there is only one person to blame; the government. But the government ceded the say-so to privately-owned distribution companies (DisCos),of whom are not keeping to their end of the bargain, from the looks of it.
While the situation in Ogoja mirrors that in thousands of localities across the country, many have opined that it could be the grid the town was assigned to and, perhaps, if it were assigned to the same grid as Calabar, the ‘Old Lady’ would see more power supply.
But a visit to the DisCo’s office along Yala Road proved that the staff was in need of answers as well.
An authoritative source who did not want to be named disclosed that, although the locales earlier mentioned belonged in the same grouping, Obudu enjoyed better light supply, while Ikom and Ogoja seem to have got the shorter end of the stick.
“The transmission station which supplies power to Ogoja, Ugep, Obudu and Ikom is in Ababkaliki and, for some reason (we do not know),they supply the light whenever they wish.
“But, for Obudu, it is close to Benue State and, most times, augments its power supply from there.
“Ikom and Ogoja suffer the same fate, because there is no transmission station in Ogoja.
“But there are plans by the Federal Government to build a transmission station in Gariki or so we heard. As we are in Ogoja Office, we do not have the power to improve or worsen the light situation. So, until the government does this, I am sorry, the situation will subsist.
“It is not a pleasant one, but this is where we are, my brother,” disclosed the source.
Meanwhile, the Cross River State government has a number of ventures – especially the cocoa processing plant in Ikom and the rice processing mill in Yala – which will depend on electricity when they are finished.
Since their locations are seemingly forsaken by the DisCo in charge, their source of power is a question many expected the state government to have answered before embarking on the project.
If it does happen that they will have an independent power supply plan, then it comes to what J.C Electronics said earlier.
“The cost of doing business will have to be factored in” and, as a result, their services may end up not being affordable to the indigent communities around them.
