Ademola Adeeko: President Jonathan And His 4,000 Mega Lies

President Jonathan And His 4,000 Mega Lies

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Ruminating sometimes on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I can’t help but laugh until my ribs ache. This is not an attempt to make a mockery of the man or his office, it’s just that I have found a very good way of pocketing my anger towards his administration just so I can remain in good health. Since his assumption of the office of President to this present day, his numerous lies must have accumulated into 4000 Mega Watts if converted to electricity or probably that’s what he means any time the chants of “we are generating 4000 MW of electricity” comes up in the dailies, electronic media and his new found love; social media.
But really, of what use is the knowledge of the amount of Mega Watts generated to us? Normally, we ought to be less concerned about how electricity is generated let alone how much we have been able to generate monthly. But the reverse is the case here. The issue of power generation has become a household topic of debates in every Nigerian home. From the normal “low water level” situation in Kainji dam to the regular explosions of power transformers on our streets, Nigerians are well versed in these theories. If truly 4000 Mega Watts have been generated, then where the hell are they? Meanwhile, the story continues.
Recently, Mr President went on another lying spree on CNN to excitedly announce to the whole world how the power situation has greatly improved and how Nigerians are so happy and grateful to his administration. One would wonder where that picture emanated from.
Hmmmm! Bingo!! I got it!!! His special adviser on new media, Mr Reno Omokri must have submitted his concluded twitter survey which was compiled by sampling a few tweets from what seemed like a social media opinion poll to the President’s table, who in turn, hurriedly arranged an interview with Christiane Amanpour of CNN and then tried to force the fallacy down our throats forgetting that CNN isn’t NTA. With the help of social media, the lies of Mr President were exposed as Vlad Duthiers quickly compiled a video interview where the ordinary men on the streets, without shame, remorse or fear, let the cat out of the bag. They screamed at the top of their voices the true situation of power in the country. Now, tell me who got served?
Let’s forget about the military era since that now amounts to stale gist. From the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 till this very present regime, billions of Naira have been sunk in bottomless pits with no improvements to show, yet the promises seem to be endless. Last year, I can remember vividly, the FG said 2012 will mark the end of epileptic power supply. That promise seemed forthcoming as there was an improvement in the power situation under Prof. Barth Nnaji. Infact, I was already composing a song of praise for Mr. President, when all of a sudden the man with the midas touch resigned from office without reasonable explanations. I quickly returned my notepad back to its place as power improvement returned to its usual decline as if Barth Nnaji removed his ‘improvement fuse’. The situation was getting more terrible as there was nobody to take his place immediately. I lost hope when members of the cabal otherwise known as the ‘interest groups’ swooped on the ministry. At that point, I realized the light at the end of the tunnel has also been put off.
Now the cake on the icing (or shall I say another empty promise): the new minister of power has vowed to end epileptic power supply before the end of this year. Are you really suggesting that I shouldn’t laugh again? Come on, give me a break!
If the President wants to work, let him do so. But lying to our faces is the height of disrespect! We don’t care about how many Mega Watts are being generated, just put an end to our miseries. Coming on air tomarket the transformation agenda which happens to be a failed one not because failure is inevitable but because it was designed to fail, is intolerable. The President should divert the energy he exerts on forcing lies down our throats to force the power situation to improve. The amount of money he spends on campaigns to help sell his 4000 Mega Lies and also smear his critics, should be converted to achieving the much acclaimed but invisible 4000 Mega Watts. What we need is light not lies! Nigerians are growing deaf as the roaring of different sizes of generators have taken over the silence and calm of the nights. Respiratory illnesses are on the rise as Carbon-II-Oxide has replaced Oxygen. Small scale businesses are closing shops as the chances of staying in business is being determined by the amount of petrol/diesel they can afford. Large scale businesses have to maintain their profit by demanding consumers pay more as their businesses run mainly on petrol/diesel.
It is not rocket science to pinpoint that fixing the power conundrum will signal a crash in the prices of goods and services and also a decrease in respiratory ailments. I really hope this thoughts will cross the minds of our leaders. But until then, the struggle continues.
Ever wondered why Nokia designed phones with torchlights or why the chinese phone manufacturers always add an extra battery to their phones? Think deep! I have to go now as I really need to conserve my battery. It appears my boss is ready to switch off his noisy generator as today marks the 7th day of zero wattage supply to my office!!!
The writer is on Twitter as @OccupyNaija