National development as a concept finds expression in virtually every facet of our national lives as a nation-state. The Nigerian socio-political system therefore becomes the centre-piece of development agenda carried out by government in the interest of the entire citizenry. Privatization therefore as an appendage of government policy becomes crucial in any development thinking especially as it relates to power sector and how the same impacts on the welfare of the people.
The researcher is of the view that privatization of Nigeria’s power sector and national development are two sides of the same coin. This is strictly because of one singular reason that the agenda of privatizing any sector into private trends is to avoid the ills perpetrated by the public sector including, among other things, corruption, waste, mismanagement, ineptitude and lack of will power to control public resources in the interest of public goods. These appears to be the major reasons for privatization in Nigeria. However, one striking contradiction is that Nigeria has found it difficult to move on her road to development inspite of huge sums of money dished out from the tax-payer’s money for developmental purposes. The question is: who is actually responsible for this state of affairs? Again, can this scenario impede or retard developmental efforts in Nigeria? These and many other questions form part of the discussion to water-down the concept of national development as it relates to the PHCN in Nigeria.
The contention in this study his that privatization in Nigeria does not necessarily translate into national development. Privatization and its twin policies of deregulation and liberalization are worked out in favour of a few comprador bourgeoisie class. They include the powers that be namely, government, cronies and acolytes, state machineries and top bureaucrats respectively. These are major obstacles to Nigeria’s growth, development and sustainability (The News, 2008).
These agents of government have literally high-jacked the goodwill and aspirations of public policies and converted the same into private initiatives in favour of themselves, business associates, their family and friends at both home and abroad (Erunke, 2007). The afore-going does not by any standard guarantee accountability, transparency and probity in the scheme of things. There is therefore no survival and smooth journey to nationhood. Of particular interest to this study is the probe exercise on the defunct Obasanjo administration which has given a startling economic development is still far from being realistic.
Conversely, the first public hearing on allegations of mismanagement of power funds in 2008 during President Umar Musa Yar’Adua’s administration according to the then Minister of State for Energy (Power), Hajia Balarabe Ibarahim was quoted as saying that about $13.2 billion was expended by the Obasanjo administration between 1999 and 2007, both at the commencement and terminal stages of his rulership (The News, 2008). Public testimonies accruing to this deliberations revealed that power contracts award was treated as a bazaar by the past government.
Thus contracts were not only awarded without observance of due process, but that most of the contractors pocketed huge sums of money without executing projects for which the funds were meant to serve (AIT News, 2008). It is also interesting to note that the chief execute was also directly involved in the award of contracts without necessarily involving the Ministry of Power and Steel. There were also contractors who have not bothered to visit the various sites of their contracts, but have collected billions as mobilization fees (Oluokun, et al., 2008).
An example is the N1 trillion National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) facility embarked upon by the Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with the states and local councils in 2005 (Amaechi, 2005). To a large extent, the project involves the construction of new power stations, mostly in the South-South zone. The gas power plant is therefore to be managed by the Niger-Delta Power Holding Company Plc (NDPHC) including those of Calabar in Cross River state, Egbema in River state, Sepele in Delta state, respectively (The News, 2008).
Going by the instance given above, the researcher is of the opinion that there must have been an act of sabotage by those at the helm of affairs including state chief executives of most states in the country. A clear case is the former Minister of Power and Steel, Mr Lyel Imoke.
Olotu (2008) rightly points out that collaboration and sabotage is so effective so much so that:
… with Obsanjo and Imoke in control, the National Integrated Power Project contracts were handed over to their friends and associates like candies at children’s party. Over 300 contracts were approved, while 340 payments were made (2008:66).
The aforementioned to the researcher is a negation of civilized practices, due process and the principles of transparency and accountability. This to a very significance extent does not promote national development. In a similar development, Abdullahi (2008) wrote that:
… Nigerians were stunned to learn at the public hearing that despite the payment of about N257 billion, (an equipment of $2.10 billion) to contractors, work has not commenced on most of the project sites. Contractors and supposed supervisors of different projects openly contradicted each other on the existence of certain projects, the contract sum and the extent of work (2008:67).
The episode as captured above is in exhaustive in the explanation of the level of backwardness, underdevelopment, misery, poverty and degradation in which the entire Nigerian state has been plunged into. There is no gain saying that these ugly practices has the potential of disrupting the plans, policy targets, aspirations, contents and flavour of Nigerian’s dreams towards a highly industrialized political entity. There is no doubt that in the midst of epileptic power supply.
Major infant industries will suffer, hospitals will close down and the equipment kept fallow for lack of power supply; Nigerian youths will further romans with crime and social vices for lack of employment opportunity where there no companies to absurb the work force; high level of exploitation will reign supreme as imported mini power generators are sold at exorbitant rates by few importers from China and Japan; many homes are left in stark darkness while Nigerians cannot relief stress at home after a hard day’s job in the office. All these are parallel and does not tally with national development, growth and sustainability.
National development must not be tailored to few rich individuals. National development must be a holistic and universes concept capable of steering the collective interests of the people without which it is impossible to want to present the on-going affairs of the Nigerian state as democratic in line with group aspirations (Obasi, 2005).