Trapped in “PHCN privatization”

“There is no better time to take stock as it will soon be five years, since November 2013, that PHCN/NEPA was privatized.” – Idowu Oyebanjo, BusinessDay 31 August 2018, pg 10.

The above quote was sourced from the article “Reversal of Power Sector Privatization.” It’s over five years that the Power Holding Corporation of Nigeria (PHCN) was privatized. Since 2013, more than four million electricity consumers are yet to get prepaid meters. While about sixty percent of the population have access to epileptic power supply. Many Nigerians including this writer share same sentiment with Idowu Oyebanjo that the time is ripe for an appraisal of the “PHCN privatization.” This is absolutely necessary because over N1.0 trillion has been paid by the federal government (FG) since 2013 to electricity generating companies (GENCOs) and electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) without much to show for it.
Recently, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Minister for Power, Works and Housing acknowledged at a dialogue in Abuja that there were problems in the power sector, but reminded his audience that it wasn’t the FG’s problem if citizens in the country do not have electricity (see PUNCH Newspaper of 13 December 2018).This writer admires Fashola for his cleverness. But the minister still needs to polish his tact and diplomacy as a public officer especially when addressing Nigerians on public policy issues. It’s from taxpayers’ money that all elected and appointed public officers draw their salaries. The All Progressive Congress (APC), a political party which Fashola belongs, promised Nigerians that by 2019 they would ensure generation of 10,000 Megawatts of electricity.
At the time the promise was made, Fashola was mindful of the fact that his ministry wasn’t responsible for the supply of transformer anymore. So, if Fashola’s role is regulatory, oversight and policy formulation as alluded to by him, then he should be bold to suggest a stocktaking of the privatized PHCN to the Federal Executive Council. For how long will Nigerians manage a privatized institution that cannot deliver on its mandate within stipulated timelines in the last five years? Or, is Fashola one of those in the government who believe that there is no alternative to any public policy? With profound respect, there are always alternatives to any policy. Whenever there is an opportunity to have a national discourse on any policy issue, there must be consistent consideration of alternatives. To say that “there is no going back from the ‘kwashiorkor’ arrangement referred to as “PHCN Privatization” will not be fair to the citizens of this country. This is because the concept of choices and options is always at the heart of policy scholarship in civilized society.
In Nigeria, it’s very rare for policy formulators and implementers to accept that a policy has failed and that such a policy needs to be reviewed or changed. Should Nigerians and their businesses perish before those in authority would accept that the policy on PHCN privatization be reviewed? This writer has observed that policies of government fail when there is a misalignment of interests among public policy formulators, implementers, and the general public. In other words, policy of government fails when its content is not conterminous with national interests. Although, some have argued that most policies are good and that implementation has been the problem. This is debatable.
At this stage of our national life, one cannot but come to an understanding of various government decisions that the nation requires a fundamental restructuring to accelerate economic growth and development so that life could be more meaningful to Nigerians. Elected and appointed public officers in authority sleep and wake up pretending that all is well with Nigeria. Or, that all will be well as long as they remain perpetually in office. Truth is, all is not well with the country now. We all know that DISCOs and GENCOs are no more state institutions but funded with government resources. So one keeps wondering what Fashola’s ministry is regulating and overseeing in the midst of squalor in the power sector coupled with excruciating pain to electricity consumers in the country. If the private businessmen who own DISCOs and GENCOs are indifferent to the sufferings of their clients, should the regulator and policy decision makers also, pretend they are deaf and dumb? It is the display of tact and sensitivity to consumers’ challenges by policy decision makers that suggests that the country has a responsible government. When those things do not exist, one is tempted to conclude that either somebody is not doing his/her work for which there should be a sanction if ours were to be a civilized society. Or, we may begin to smell the rat of a “regulatory capture,” a term deployed by a Professor of international relations to explain a situation where regulators operate at the behest of those they are to regulate statutorily.
As Nigeria is known for corruption and underdeveloped ethical standard of business conduct, it is bound to face some challenges when privatizing state-owned enterprises. That is why this writer is not inspired by Atiku Abubakar, the People Democratic Party Presidential candidate’s promise that he would privatize the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) if elected as president in 2019. This promise may look attractive but cannot be taken seriously because of grand corruption in the polity. It’s corruption in the society that has disabled Nigerians from benefiting from the privatization of the nation’s power sector.
Although, policy consistency has always been advocated by this columnist, but that does not mean that the methodology and processes of privatizing government-owned assets should not be reviewed when the strategic goal is not achieved in a time frame. There is no doubt that all is not well with the power sector reform in Nigeria. The privatization of the power sector with all intent and purpose is to enable Nigeria provide electricity for its US$ 409 billion economy. It’s time to take stock of the “PHCN Privatization.” Recently, a BusinessDay columnist’s suggested in his tweeter handle that the entire arrangement should be decentralized with mini-grids at local, state and federal levels. If not, the nation will be oscillating from darkness to darkness for years to come.

MA Johnson