UP NEPA!

There was a power outage in my area for some hours, and the Member of the House of Assembly representing the area made sure his constituents were informed on his personal Facebook page about the why of the situation and the progress made with the repairs. This was in unison with the power company's update on their social media pages. Despite the scorching heat, it felt good to know that the situation was handled and a person entrusted with the community's votes cared. Let me not even mention that all the years I lived in Uppsala, Sweden, the lights didn't blink once. If there is a planned outage, residents are informed here like they would be in Sweden.

I think back at those days when the electricity would go off for days, weeks, or months, and you were left to fend for yourself as a Nigerian while aides to politicians took over their social media pages and used that as an opportunity to be condescending towards constituents who dared to question anything. People get used to being treated that way, and once they smell an inch of the corridors of power, the cycle is repeated.

When the power came back on, I didn't hear a single voice in my area shouting in excitement that the power was back. As much as we were all relieved that the power was restored, it was not the "up NEPA" kind of excitement because citizens here believe it is a right as much as it is a basic need like housing, education, clothing, and food. Even the way the power company quickly went with their engineers to fix the problem and apologized for the inconvenience left me wondering about the fate of Nigeria. When the power goes off, the next thing is to stand up and fix your generator; it is a norm, and it has become a reflex survival instinct. While here, it is treated as an emergency.

Things to wish for that West African country!

Constant access to basic things in the smallest towns here is far better than in Nigeria's biggest cities of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, and the like. Power outage is a normal thing, just like the many abnormal things that have been normalized in that country. It pains me that there are millions of Nigerians who have lived in Nigeria all their lives and have never been accustomed to 24-hour electricity, good roads, or support of any kind from the government or politicians in charge of their constituents. People who exist in such a state of perpetual deprivation imagine it is the norm everywhere else; they cannot fathom any other reality.

Some of them even make excuses for the poverty-infested style of governance that has usurped their prime and the generations after them. Grown adults clapping for politicians who take over their commonwealth and leave the rest to scramble for remnants of the remnants of the crumbs. People who trek to filling stations to buy fuel at a price way above the minimum wage per litre, come online to champion religious and tribal bigotry. Some will even say "light never blink for our area for 5 days"—because it feels like some big achievement. "PHCN is trying oh..." Maybe I should laugh or cry; I don't even know at this juncture.

Even in their state of squalor, they believe they are unable to comprehend why they deserve better from the politicians they are defending. It makes you cringe! Children raised in environments like this grow up to become politicians who reinforce the belief that a little suffering and some deprivation here and there can be managed by Nigerians. How much more can these people take? How many more "UP NEPA" will citizens scream? Year after year, nothing changes!

The irony in all of this is how citizens here still want better. Nobody is playing here. Politicians are being called out regarding what they are supposed to be doing. Not that there are you sycophants everywhere, but when it comes to basic needs, everyone takes it seriously. What do you mean, there is no light for a week? and people go on like it is something normal. This is an alien state of existence for folks around here.

The power has been restored, and we're back to our normal lives like nothing happened!