Vandalisation of PHCN equipment and installations for re-circulation accounts for at least 30% of blackout experienced in Nigeria today. PHCN has embarked on a massive campaign against the activities of vandals who perpetrate this heinous acts and cash rewards to those who watch over PHCN installations to apprehend suspects for possible prosecution in the law courts. Also eight 4-wheel Isuzu patrol vehicles fitted with communication equipment has been given to the Police Anti Vandalism Task-Force. A cash cheque of N5.58 million was also presented to the Inspector General of Police for paying allowances and honorarium to members of the task-force. The poor state of our electrical generating plants across the country, the long decline in capital investment in the industry and the shortage of funds to rehabilitate broken-down plants to undertake turn around maintenance, is the paramount spectre of vandalisation (Tanweer, 1999; Usman 2003, Zubairu, 2002).
Hardly any day, week or month passes without the ugly face of vandalism being visited on the nation’s already embattled electricity network. Media reports on this are as frightening. This menace is another dilemma in the legion of problems and constraints facing the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) vested the with mandate to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in the country. The wanton destruction this is infliction on the entire network system aside the untold drain on scarce financial resources is better imagined. It is a nightmare to say the least. Enormous resources have been lost to the callous acts of vandalism which have since become a social problem in the country. Several areas and communities have suffered contrived power failures in the wake of vandalisation of PHCN equipment.
The sequences of such heinous crimes are devastating indeed. In addition to the huge economic loss the country suffers, while the damage in terms of both material and human resources is unquantifiable.
However, vandalism is the product of a complex society such as ours. The craze for material things and the desperate desire to get rich quick in a bid to win the material rat race push people to commit all sorts of offences including vandalisation. Well meaning Nigerians and the press have at various times spoken out on this ugly phenomenon that is not only peculiar to PHCN but also to other vital public utilities. Yet, it is as bad that this is evading meaningful solution. Sadly, vital components of the Nation’s electricity industry continue to be vandalized and stolen by hoodlums and their faceless sponsors (Wikipedia, 2004).
The ugly phenomenon has no doubt compounded our development problems as the nation continues to witness retarded growth through mindless pillage in the hands of the culprits. Most of the items so carted away require huge but scarce foreign exchange to procure. Consequently, the helpless electricity consumers are left to suffer prolonged period of darkness until the authority manages to come to the rescue at a much greater cost (NEPA Review September, 2003:57, Hartman, 1978).
As an important index for socio-economic development and growth, electricity occupies a central place in modern societies and economies. Everything must therefore be done to ensure that the system is safeguarded against willful damage. The current war against vandalisation which the federal government in its wisdom is involved, is appropriate in order to influence a change of attitude in our society. We commend the quick response and patriotic commitment of the president to route the vandals. This position raises hopes that with the co-operation and support of all well meaning Nigerians, the nation will soon reap the benefits, which will translate into significant reliability in power supply (NCP, 2003).
Nigeria certainly has a choice to deal with vandalisation and theft of equipment since much of the nation’s growth will depend on the sustainance of the electricity industry, the backbone of any nation’s economy and industrial leap forward (NCP, 2003). Let us consider a profile of vandalisation power installation in Nigeria in recent times viz: