You turn me up like NEPA
Nigerians are struggling with grid collapses, poor electricity supply and rising generator prices
Good morning, Big Brains. If you don’t wake up to the coolest newsletter in the world, a.k.a The Big Daily, tomorrow, it’s because the coolest writer in the world, a.k.a me, will be taking a 24-hour break to tend to some adulty things. See you bright and early on Thursday!
- Margaret
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Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigerian generator dealers face low sales as generator prices rise drastically
Abia state government partners with federal government on airport construction project
Rwandan president contests in elections for the fourth time
The Big Deal
Nigerian generator dealers face low sales as generator prices rise drastically
Like every other Nigerian, we get why Miss Tems said, “You turn me up like NEPA”. Besides the obvious pun, electricity is so unstable in Nigeria, even a glimpse of it gets everyone excited. It is the inconsistency that has forced many Nigerians to purchase alternative sources of electricity. Generator, which is the people’s fave, is now slowly becoming a luxury appliance that everyday Nigerians can no longer afford.
Generator dealers, who were once the “It guys” of the appliance business world, are now struggling to find customers who can afford to buy what they’re selling.
An 11 kilovolts (kV) generator that was sold for ₦450,000 six months ago now costs between ₦700,000 and ₦750,000. Similarly, an 8kV SUMEC generator that was ₦300,000 earlier this year is now priced at ₦630,000. Even the small-capacity generators known as I better pass my neighbour now cost between ₦130,000 and ₦140,000.
Most Nigerians are losing interest in purchasing the “big gens'' they'd typically have chosen to power their freezers and refrigerators. Because the only thing they wish was as heavy as the capacities of these generators are their pockets.
Why is this a big deal?
Nigeria has been thrown into total blackout four times in 2024 alone as a result of collapsing national power grids. Five times, if we’re adding the Labour strike that led to hours-long power outage. This shows that Nigerians have needed generators more this year than they ever have.
Mr Bunkoye, a middle-aged man who runs a business in Lagos, describes how these blackouts have impacted his business.
“I feel like I’m running at a loss. These NEPA people are doing whatever they want. You can’t even run your business depending on them. We just bought a generator for over ₦600,000, and the business does not even make half of that monthly but we must keep the business running somehow.”
The National Bureau of Statistics recently revealed that the inflation rate has risen from 33.95% to 34.19% . So you may notice more increase in the prices of these generators.
Abia state government partners with federal government on airport construction project
When you think airports, you think Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport or Murtala Muhammed Airport but it looks like that is about to change… for good.
The Abia State Government has confirmed its partnership with the Federal Government on the construction of an airport in the south-eastern state.
Governor Alex Otti didn’t provide many specifics, so we don’t know for sure if it’s going to be an international or local airport. But he mentioned that the project will commence soon, and the federal government will make an official announcement in the coming days.
How it started…
On May 23, the Abia state government announced that the Federal Government had approved the development of an airstrip for the state. But the state government requested nicely that the Federal Government upscale the airstrip into a full-fledged airport which they agreed to.
How it’s going…
A Federal Government team from the Ministry of Aviation, including representatives from various aviation agencies such as the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), have already visited Abia State to inspect the proposed site for the new airport so the project is in motion already.
The state government revealed that if everything goes according to plan, a runway and terminal building should be completed within the next year. The details are still unfolding but The Big Daily is watching closely.
Rwandan president contests in elections for the fourth time
If you can’t promise your boss a 90% success rate for every task you take on, you need to learn a thing or two from Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
The president, who is in his 24th-year of rulership, is currently contesting for presidency for the fourth time and notable political analysts in Rwanda believe that the fourth time will be a charm. If it’s true that history repeats itself, there’s nothing stopping the 66-year-old president from winning again.
Since becoming president in 2000, he has dominated every election, winning over 90% of the total vote each time. In 2017, he won 99% of the total votes even though the election was criticised by human rights groups.
Kagame has been accused of not allowing real opposition and targeting his critics, even those abroad. In the current election, he’s facing the only two oppositions allowed to run as other candidates have been barred by the state-run electoral commission.
The two opposition candidates, Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party and independent Philippe Mpayimana, both ran in the 2017 election, where they collectively won just 1% of the total vote. But like the main character of every action movie, they are still determined.
We can’t say we understand how President Kagame has never won below 90% of votes but he has grown Rwanda’s economy to a notable extent in his three decades of being president.
This Week’s Big Question
“If you could instantly master any skill or hobby without any effort, what would you choose and how would you use it to change your life?”
Ray’s response - “I’ll learn how to speak Yoruba so I can finally understand what my favourite songs are really about.”
You can also share your response here and if it’s as interesting as Ray’s response, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
Nigerians Can Now Obtain UAE Visas: The Federal Government has reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) allowing Nigerian passport holders to obtain visas for travel to the UAE starting on July 15, 2024.
Judge Dismisses Trump Classified Documents Case: A Florida judge appointed by Donald Trump has dismissed the criminal case against the former president regarding mishandling top-secret documents, citing improper appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith.
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