My Community’s Electricity Journey

Although access to stable electricity isn't included in the fundamental human rights, I for one believe it should be, especially in this age and time where almost everything we do and use at home, outside the home, and even at our places of work all requires it to run efficiently. I've always read on the internet about how some nations of the world have stable electricity, but in my own dear country, the reverse is the case because what we have is far from stable; in fact, it can be so frustrating at times to the point where you leave government-supplied electricity and seek out an alternative that can meet your needs whenever you need it.

The state of electricity supply in my community is very bad, and it's really frustrating. This has been the case right from my childhood, and that's why I believe when most people, children and adults alike, see electricity, they'll shout up NEPA, like they've won a lottery. I really believe we deserve better, especially a country like mine that is said to supply electricity to at least three other nations that surround us, but unfortunately that's not so, and I still can't fathom how they'll be supplying other nations electricity when their citizens aren't enjoying it in the first place.

I understand there are a lot of constraints that prevent us from having constant electricity, one of which is the power infrastructure of the electricity gadget or the necessary things that can uphold and stabilize it, and another is the issue of corruption, whereby the necessary equipment is provided, but someone in power illegally sold it or didn't get a quality standard that can last ages, and that's not even to talk about community theft of cables, transformers, and the like. I even experienced the former for almost a year, which led me to seek alternative means to generate electricity for my usage.

Around this time last year, that's August, my entire community was put into total darkness due to the fact that the cable that transports electricity into our community from the next community was stolen, and on two occasions when the community raised funds to repair it, the thieves or perpetrators still found ways to steal again, and that led us to not having electricity for the following eight months, before everyone stood up and ensured the perpetrators were apprehended, and after that our power was restored.

It was during the eight months my community went without electricity that I decided to purchase a generator, since the solar system I was managing at the time couldn't power all of my electricity demand. Talking about the rate we were being charged, I won't say we were charged much, though, because the houses I live in are being charged just a token of about ten thousand naira monthly, or at most twelve thousand naira, and since I live in a rented apartment, I have to split the bill with other tenants and my landlady.

Despite the fact that my community had that electricity disturbance up until four months ago, it's worth noting that I actually like how our electricity is being supplied here in my community, because even if we don't have any issues with a damaged transformer or stolen cable, then our electricity supply is usually at least twenty-two hours daily, which I believe is still great in my opinion. I understand that isn't the case for other communities, but I don't need to judge based on their own experience.

_{All photos are taken and edited on canva application photo library.}