Forgotten Dairies
And God Said ‘Let There Be Light’, Nigeria Must Have Been on Mute -By Adeyemi Temitope Sanya
So yes, we joke because Nigerians will always find humor, even in hardship. But beneath the jokes is a hard truth: A country that cannot guarantee power cannot build industries, cannot scale businesses, and cannot compete with the rest of the world.
Let’s be honest, if Nigeria was present when The Bible recorded creation, we might have heard: “Let there be light, except in that one place.” Because what we’re dealing with is not just poor electricity. It’s a national paradox.
Nigeria generates an average of 3,500 to 5,000 megawatts of electricity for over 200 million people. For context, South Africa, with about 60 million people, generates over 40,000 megawatts. That gap is not just wide, it tells a story.
According to the World Bank, over 85 million Nigerians still have no access to grid electricity. Those who do? We’ve reduced power supply to a celebration. “Up NEPA!” has become a reflex, not because things are working, but because we’ve gotten used to managing dysfunction.
Meanwhile, businesses are quietly suffocating. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria reports that manufacturers spend up to 40% of their operating costs on alternative power, mostly diesel. With fuel prices now above ₦600 per litre, many businesses are not just struggling, they’re folding.
It’s a vicious cycle: No stable power → higher costs → higher prices → weaker purchasing power → slower economy.
And somehow, we’re told to be patient. Patient for what exactly? Because right now, electricity in Nigeria behaves like a situationship: no consistency, no commitment, just vibes and disappointment.
The painful irony is this: Nigeria has an installed capacity of about 13,000 MW, yet struggles to deliver even 5,000 MW. Not because the light doesn’t exist but because it can’t get to the people. Weak transmission, gas constraints, poor maintenance, inefficiencies. The issues are known.
We’re not in the dark because we lack answers. We’re in the dark because nothing is being fixed fast enough.
So yes, we joke because Nigerians will always find humor, even in hardship. But beneath the jokes is a hard truth: A country that cannot guarantee power cannot build industries, cannot scale businesses, and cannot compete with the rest of the world.
At this point, generators have become housemates. Inverters are now part of the family. Candles are emergency backups to backups. That’s not innovation. That’s survival.
So maybe Nigeria wasn’t left out when light was created. Maybe we just haven’t figured out how to keep it on.