Abuja: A Town of Mixed Blessings
August 2, 2008 by 
Che Oyimnatumba · 1 Comment
As a good number of Nigerians were finding their way out of this world, due to the careless attitude of the government, a new baby girl was added to the population of Nigeria, which makes me question the accuracy of the Nigerian Census data. My wife gave birth to a healthy baby girl, whose birth was not registered in the hospital where she was born. The nurse merely looked up at a wall clock and told me that the baby was born at about 15mins to 5 am on Friday 1st August 2008. I never filled any form to record the birth of my daughter!
Before this entrance, Abuja the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria had witnessed in close successions two unheard of man-made calamities in the 30 years history of the FCT. These causalities are un-ascertained, as Nigeria keeps poor record of birth and death. There are embarrassing figures bantered around.
A house collapsed in Jabi. Despite the repeated calls by those trapped in the collapsed building, the combined team of Nigerian Emergency Agency Management, the Nigerian Police, Civil Defence, Road Safety, Nigerian Fire Service, no life was rescued. These lives were lost not because a building collapsed, but because Nigeria could not rise to the occasion of rescuing trapped citizens.
During the first day of the collapse, the trapped victims, maintained GSM phone contact. But lack of adequate implement for the job, allowed these lives to be wasted. To crown the callous attitude of governmental institutions, Power Holding Company, took light, throwing the whole of Jabi/Utako District into darkness that forced Julius Berger PLC to provide flood light.
In a twist of fate, the good Samaritan Julius Berger PLC was involved in an auto crash on Abuja-Kaduna Road at Gwarimpa Bus Stop on Friday August 1, that lest no fewer than 25 Nigerians crushed to death. We mourn these Nigerians, who were on their way to work in Wuse/other port of duty call, when this unfortunate incident occurred.
We at whichwaynigeria, have maintained, especially on our last piece on Modibbo, that there is need to expand the express roads leading to the city centre rather than wasting 1 billion Naira to plant 1 million trees. We even opined that a fast train tailored in tune with the London Sub, can be constructed to decongest the growing traffic jam in Abuja.
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Natural Gas: To flare or not to flare
June 3, 2008 by JOACHIM EZEJI · Leave a Comment
I am not really enjoying the current debate amongst environmental stakeholders over the flaring of natural gas or otherwise. I have this nauseating feeling that this is uncalled for. It is uncalled for because the government policy on the environment should naturally be binding on all stakeholders. The issue of fixing and unfixing deadlines to gas flaring is risky.
I say so because the issue of stopping or not stopping gas flaring in Nigeria appears to be running on a roller coaster track, with alarming swoops downwards followed by exhilarating zooms upwards, and none of the riders quite sure what is going to happen next.
It is already stale news that Africa possesses abundant natural resources. That the abundance of these natural resources is yet to transit into economic well being to Africans is totally a different discuss. It is a fact that Africa possesses 99% of the world’s chrome resources, 85% of its platinum, 70% of its tantalite, 68% of its cobalt, and 54% of its gold, among other minerals. The continent has significant oil and gas reserves; the extent of which has not been definitely measured. It produces more gem quality diamonds than anywhere else.
The numbers speak for themselves; in 2006, annual FDI rose to a historic high of US$38.8bn, a record growth of 78% from 2004. According to the UN World Investment Report, the serious FDI cash was concentrated in a few industries, notably oil, gas and mining. And six oil- producing countries- Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Equitorial Guinea, Nigeria and Sudan – consumed nearly half of it.
But beyond the economic benefit; is the sheer inability of many African governments to manage the accruing environmental problems associated with exploration and development of these natural resources. Governments seem to be keener on the revenue coming into its purse than the general well being of the host environment.
In South Africa there are some environmental issues that have not really caught the attention of the government but the academia is now pushing it and this is the release of uranium into the atmosphere as well as the volume of tailings that is created with the mining of uranium.
According to Prof. Judith Kinnaird who is also a geologist and lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand it is a serious concern that much uranium is being lost to the environment, through the burning of coal that contains uranium, which according to her should be raised as an issue in intensifying debate on the reintroduction of nuclear energy.
There are many environmental issues that the government in Nigeria is yet to come to terms with in the oil and gas industry. One major environmental issue that the release or the reckless burning of gas into the atmosphere; another is the release of radioactive isotopes and chemicals in the processes of exploration and drilling. Both as well as many others are still continuing.
Despite the serial complaints by all oil producing communities and the global campaign against global warming; is the news that the government is granting further extension to gas flaring in Nigeria’s oil rich Niger Delta. Nobody is doing anything at the moment about any palliative for all those whose health, livelihood and well being is being threatened as a result.
The technology of gas capture and storage should at this moment be impressive to the government. I say so because stopping gas flaring through gas capture and/or storage is imperative towards preventing the release into the atmosphere of gas so produced.
Gas from oil exploration is, of course, a key contributor to climate change, and the single biggest industrial source of gas emission is the burning of fossil fuels to exploit oil and produce energy.
The technology of gas capture and storage should be welcomed as a Best Environmental Practical Option. Already in Saskatchawan Canada, a carbon-capture and storage demo-plant has been built. This was a direct follow-up of the unsettling announcement by the United States Department of Energy of what was officially termed a restructuring of its futureGen Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project.
With the support of the Canadian Federal Government, the Saskatchawan Province undertook a C$4billion CCS demonstration project. CCS is directed at preventing the release into the atmosphere of CO2 produced by the industry.
Globally, fossil fuel account for some 33% of all carbon dioxide emissions caused by human activities. And, among fossil fuels, the biggest producer of such emission is coal. A single large power plant can generate 8million tons of carbon dioxide every year.
The idea of CCS, which if successfully adopted, would allow coal-fired power stations to remain in operation- and even for new ones to be built. This, in turn, would keep the coal mining as well as oil exploration industries in business. The alternative would be the phasing out of coal-fueled electricity generation and, with it, the phasing out of coal-mining and oil exploration worldwide.
A coal-fuelled power station with CCS could have 80% to 85% fewer emissions than one without CCS. With CCS, the carbon dioxide would be captured before it could be released into the air, and the sequested.
Sequestration would involve conveying the carbon dioxide, whether in gaseous, liquid, or supercritical form, by pipeline and/or road tanker and/or ship, through storage sites, to a location where it could be securely stored. The catch is that this sequestration has to endure for a very long time, indeed, - at least centuries, if not millennia.
And it must never be able to leak out in large quantities over a short period, for if it were to do so, it could cause large-scale suffocation. In theory- and, currently, in limited practice – the carbon dioxide can be injected into permeable geological formations, surrounded by impermeable rocks, such as deep saline formations, exhausted oil and gas reservoirs, unminable coal seams, and even abandoned coal mines etc.
The Federal Government and the National Assembly committees on Oil and Gas can explore the CCS option as well as many others and implant same into the prevailing policy in order to protect the environment and safeguard public health, livelihoods and general wellbeing.
| 2.5 |
Darkness in Abia, Imo States Decoded.
April 9, 2008 by Che Oyimnatumba · Leave a Comment
At a stopover in Umuahia on course of the on the spot assessment of the construction sites, to see progress of work and justification of the huge sums of money sunk into the power sector, the leader of the House of Reps. Committee on Power and Steel, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu said that out of N15.5 billion naira earmarked for the Alaoji-Owerri transmission line, N11.4bilion has been paid out to contractors handling the project without realising the proposed 600 mega watts.
Hon. Elumelu further stated that his committee has commenced investigation on the Alaoji-Owerri project and Alaoji-Calabar transmission line project which has gulped N6 billion without commensurate work at site.
Awaiting Court of Appeal Governor of Abia, Theodore Ahamefula Orji enjoined the House committee to be thorough and expose all individuals and companies involved in any corrupt practice with regards to the project. Govenor T.A.Orji was the secretary to the State Government during the tenure of ex-governor Orji Uzor Kalu under whose administration these contracts were awarded.
| 2.5 |
Inaccurate Figure of Expenditure on the Nigeria Power Sector
February 19, 2008 by OCI · Leave a Comment
Mr Somolu begged to differ on the accuracy of pronouncement made by President Yar’Adua when Dr Oby Ezekwesili came calling sometime ago.
Whether it was with sense of duty and purpose as an apostle of ‘due process’ or something else we will not know yet but the day ahead will be revealing. He decided to craft a minority report on the $10B brandished by Yar’Adua, not forgetting that days later the Speaker Bankole made it up to $16B.
Mr Somolu avers in his memo;
- SSAP/PSR/NIPP/200.00/378, to the Chief Economic Adviser entitled:
“Inaccurate Figure of Expenditure on the Nigeria Power Sector”.
“Please recall that on Monday 14th January, 2008 Mr. President received a delegation from GE [General Electric] and you made a presentation. On page 7 of that presentation titled: ‘Market Opportunity and Recent Activity’ (copy attached) you indicated that 10 billion USD has been spent since 2000 in the power sector but only limited improvement was achieved.
“As a member of the NEPA Technical Board (2000-2001), and having been closely associated with the power sector almost on a continuous basis since then, the figures that are available to me do not approximate anywhere near 10 billion USD. Attachment ‘A’ to this letter, a tabulation of all funds released to NEPA/PHCH from 2000 to August 2007 indicates only N268.9b (=2.2b USD). Attachment ‘B’ tabulating all monies released to the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) shows a total of N360.7b (=2.96b USD). The total of A and B is N629.6b (=5.16b USD at an exchange rate of N122 to one USD).
“From the above expenditure, the technical board raised the available and functioning generation capacity of NEPA from under 2,000MW in 1999/2000 to over 4,000MW by December, 2001. This included the brand new power station Afam, V, 276MW and complete replacement of 12 turbine units (units 3-14) at the Delta Power Station, total capacity 300MW. All of these are still functioning and contributing power and energy into the national grid, limited only by gas shortage. It also includes the brand new Omotosho, Papalanto, and Geregu power stations, part paid for under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) and partly from FGN funding to NEPA/PHCN.
“Under the National Integrated Power Project, all the projects are works in progress including all the transmission lines and distribution expansions so their effects could not be felt now. But all the turbines, at least 18 are within the country already. Some power station constructions are in progress because letters of credit for various sums which are part of the above expenditure have been established.
“Against the above background, the caption in your presentation to GE delegation, ‘$10 billion spent since 2000 but only limited improvement in power supply’ is obviously misleading.
“My intention here is to draw your attention to this glaring error in figures so as not to embarrass government when it gets to the public domain and journalists start quoting it as true position of events. May I therefore suggest that wider consultations be made before figures of sensitive nature are released.
“However, if you require additional information or further clarifications in respect of the figures, please feel free to contact me.
“Please accept the assurances of my best wishes.”
Courtesy: Thisday
We are yet to see the end of this. The many reversals we have seen in recent times may have been built upon faulty premises.
We need to know who is telling the truth and who is not and most importantly we need accurate figures.
| 1.5 |
Total Eclipse of PHCN
February 19, 2008 by OCI · Leave a Comment
Could this be the turning point on our journey towards regular power supply in the country?
So much lip-service have been paid to the epileptic power supply that is being witnessed in the country which have worsened in the last decade. It is on record that the Obasanjo administration did not help matters having squandered upto $16B on the power sector alone.
We are still waiting for President Yar’Adua as usual to make up his mind on what to do with power and energy; it is not enough brandishing ‘declaration of emergency’ nor disclosing how much was wasted by the last administration. The worst is doing nothing about what needs to be done, which is the case now. Something needs to be done not just now but urgently.
With the events of yesterday, maybe ’something is about to happen’; here we go:
PHCN throws VP, FCT Minister into darkness …. Champion
- AN international conference on road safety held in Abuja and attended by dignitaries, including Vice President Goodluck Jonathan was yesterday disrupted by power outage which threw the entire venue to darkness.
- The five minutes power failure occurred midway into the speech by Interior Minister, Maj.-Gen. Godwin Abbe leaving participants in shock.Reacting,
- Jonathan described the nation’s epileptic power supply as a national embarrassment. …. The vice-president sought for the understanding and support of Nigerians as the administration mapped out strategies to confront the power problem and other developmental challenges.
Who is embarrassing who? The truth is that nothing have been explained to us other than the revelation of how much was wasted; moreover no one is being questioned. So, where do we hinge our support on?
While, the VP was looking for a Mallam to buy candles from in Sheraton, President Yar’Adua was feed up with an Aide that have decided to differ in opinion. Thisday captures it, thus;
Yar’Adua Fires Aide over $10bn Power Sector Row …. Thisday
- President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has fired his Senior Special Assistant on Power Sector Reform and Co-ordinator on National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), Mr. Foluseke Somolu.
- The sack is understood to be a reaction to Somolu’s stand on the reported $10 billion “wasted” by the Olusegun Obasanjo government on the power sector.Somolu, who also served the previous government in a similar capacity, had written a memo to the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, in which he disputed the $10 billion figure stated by this government as the amount spent on power sector between 2000 and 2007 without “achieving much results”
- …….Somolu had argued that the total amount released to NEPA/PHCN during the period was US$2.2 billion, while a total of US$2.96 billion was released to the NIPP, bringing the grand total to US$5.16 billion – which tallies with the figure given by Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, a former minister in Obasanjo’s cabinet.
One wonders who is telling the truth here. This is where the ‘honourables’ in the National Assembly should come in an help us unravel the truth.
Whatever happens, Mr Somolu have spoken his mind without thinking of the consequences; if he has indeed spoken the truth, he will be vindicated and will forever remain the true son of his father and Nigeria.
It is only when the truth is told by those entrusted with our common destiny that we can begin to reap the benefits of living in a modern world (Nigeria) where power supply will not be epileptic and the people will live without fear of Eclipses.
For now, bring on the candles………..
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