By Anthony Ubani
Something is broken. Not just the grid. Not just the transformers. Not just the wires that snake across this country like tired veins. Something deeper is broken. Leadership.
In the heat of this season, when fans blow hot air and nights offer no relief, millions of Nigerians are not just sweating, they are enduring a daily reminder of a failed promise.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made a bold commitment: 24-hour power supply before the 2023 elections. He went further. He said if he fails, Nigerians should not vote for him again. That was not a casual statement. That was a contract. Today, that contract lies in ruins.
The Numbers Do Not Lie
Let us strip away the politics and face the facts. Nigeria, a country of over 220 million people, struggles to generate between 3,500MW and 5,000MW of electricity on most days. Let that sink in.
South Africa, with about 60 million people, generates over 40,000MW (even with its own challenges). Egypt produces over 50,000MW. Even Ghana, a country Nigeria often overlooks, generates 5,000MW+ for a population of about 33 million, roughly the same power Nigeria produces for almost seven times the population.
This is not a gap. This is a collapse. Per capita, Nigeria produces less than 25 watts per person. Ghana produces over 150 watts per person. South Africa exceeds 600 watts per person. This is not a developing country problem. This is a leadership failure.
The Cost of Darkness
Power is not a luxury. It is the backbone of any serious economy. When power fails:
- Small businesses shut down or run on expensive diesel
- Manufacturers scale down or relocate
- Hospitals struggle to preserve lives
- Students cannot study
- Digital businesses bleed money
- Food spoils
- Jobs disappear
Nigeria spends an estimated $14–$20 billion annually on self-generated power. That is money wasted on survival instead of growth. Think about that. An entire economy forced to generate its own electricity because government cannot do its most basic job. And this is happening in a country that claims it wants industrialization. You cannot industrialize in darkness.
The Insult of Apology
At a time like this, 3 years plus after a government took office, Nigerians expected progress. They expected results. They expected at least a credible roadmap backed by measurable milestones. Instead, the Power Minister came out to apologize.
Apology? For what should be the most fundamental responsibility of government? This is where it becomes insulting. Because Nigerians are not asking for miracles.
They are asking for governance.
The Villa Has Already Given Up
Now here is where the hypocrisy becomes impossible to ignore. The Presidential Villa, the seat of power, has reportedly disconnected from the national grid and moved fully to solar and inverter systems, at a cost running into billions of naira. Read that again.
The government that promised Nigerians 24-hour electricity has quietly exited the very system it is asking citizens to endure. That is not policy. That is confession. You do not abandon a system you believe in. You do not run away from a solution you are confident will work. That decision tells you everything you need to know: There is no confidence inside government that the grid will deliver. And if the government does not believe in its own promise, why should Nigerians?
Heat, Hardship, and Indifference
This is not just a policy failure. It is a human crisis. In this heat:
- Families sleep outside
- Children cry through the night
- The elderly suffer silently
- Businesses run generators for 18 hours a day
- Costs rise, prices rise, suffering multiplies
And yet, leadership behaves as if this is normal. It is not normal. It is abnormal for a country with Nigeria’s resources to be in this condition. It is abnormal for a government to make a promise of this magnitude and show no urgency in delivering it. It is abnormal for those in power to insulate themselves from the very suffering they have failed to fix.
Ghana Did Not Discover Magic
Let us be clear. Ghana is not a miracle nation.Ghana made choices:
- It invested in generation capacity
- It maintained its transmission systems
- It enforced discipline in the sector
- It created a structure that, while imperfect, works better
Nigeria, on the other hand:
- Privatized without accountability
- Regulates without enforcement
- Plans without execution
- Promises without consequence
This is not about capacity.
This is about competence and seriousness.
A Pattern of Governance Failure
The power sector is not an isolated case. It is a mirror. A mirror reflecting:
- Weak coordination
- Poor planning
- Lack of discipline
- Absence of accountability
- Leadership disconnected from the lived reality of citizens
When government officials cannot even align on basic issues, when systems repeatedly fail without consequences, when apologies replace action, what you are seeing is not governance.
You are seeing drift. And drift, left unchecked, leads to failure.
The 2027 Test
The President set the test himself.
“Do not vote for me if I fail.”
That statement must not be forgotten. Citizens, the electorate must not forget. Because leadership without accountability becomes arrogance. And citizens who forget become victims. The issue is not whether power can improve. It can. The issue is whether this government has shown the discipline, urgency, competence and seriousness required to make it happen. So far, the answer is clear.
Final Word
A government that cannot provide electricity in 2026, cannot promise prosperity in 2027. A leadership that escapes into solar comfort, while citizens drown in darkness, has already revealed its priorities. And a nation that normalizes this level of failure is slowly negotiating with decline.
Nigeria is not poor. Nigeria is not unlucky. Nigeria is not cursed. Nigeria is poorly led. Until that changes, the lights will remain off, and so will the future.
Anthony Ubani, a leadership and governance expert, wrote in from Abuja
