The Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
has blamed his successors for the problems in the country’s power
sector, saying they often abandoned the sector and failed to continue
his works.
Obasanjo
said this yesterday at a programme tagged ‘First Green Legacy Moment
with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Leadership and Human Security in
Africa’, which held in Abeokuta.
He identified lack of political will by Nigerian leaders as part of the problems facing the country, warning that power should not be privatised to friends.
He identified lack of political will by Nigerian leaders as part of the problems facing the country, warning that power should not be privatised to friends.
“Part of our
problems is lack of political will on the part of the leaders.What does
a leader understands about development, any leader worth its salt
should know that power is very important. It is the driver of all
development be it social, economic, and even political.
“When I was
military head of state, I developed the Jebba dam, I developed Shirroro,
I started Egbin. Shagari came and completed Egbin and commissioned
Jebba and Shirroro.
“Between Shagari in 1983, until I came back in 1999, there was no single dime invested in power generation. If anything, the ones that were there were allowed to go down.
“Between Shagari in 1983, until I came back in 1999, there was no single dime invested in power generation. If anything, the ones that were there were allowed to go down.
“A country like Nigeria must be adding not less than two thousand mega watts if we are to be moving on the path of development.
“If you will remember, when I came back in 1999, my first Minister of Power was late Bola Ige. I won’t say Bola didn’t know what he was doing and he said publicly that he would fix the power problems in six months.
“If you will remember, when I came back in 1999, my first Minister of Power was late Bola Ige. I won’t say Bola didn’t know what he was doing and he said publicly that he would fix the power problems in six months.
“After one
year, Bola with his capacity couldn’t fathom what was wrong with power.
It was riddled with corruption. Then we had no money, people have
forgotten that in 1999/2000, the price of crude oil was US $9 per
barrel. So, I wanted the oil companies; Mobil, Total and they wouldn’t
go along.
“When we
started having money, we started the National Integrated Power Plant .
When we said the money we had should be invested in power, my successor
didn’t understand, he stopped it.
“If for almost 20 years we did not achieve anything in power generation, then we may not be able to get it again.
“If for almost 20 years we did not achieve anything in power generation, then we may not be able to get it again.
“Let me give
you an example: the population of South Africa is 55 million and they
generate 45,000 megawatts. Our population today is about 180 million
people and could not generate 4,000 megawatts. And South Africa is an
industrialising country and not an industrialised nation.
“For us to
say that we are industrialising country, we must be generating much more
than what South Africa is generating, say 100,000 mega watts. What year
will Nigeria get there if we are adding 2,000 mega watts each year? For
us to get to 100, 000 mega watts, I leave the mathematics to you. It
sounds very discouraging but that is the reality”, the former president
said.
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