[El-Kanemite]

Good piece. However, it does not have a lot of details, regarding how exactly to solve the so called power problem. I tend believe that lack of power is nothing but a symptom of the problem. But, that's for another day.

In terms of details of how the issue of power can be resolved, it is obvious that the Federal Government cannot do it alone. Rather all tiers of government should be involved in the process, with the full involvement of the private sector, especially our financial institutions. Government should use budgetary allocation for power projects as leverage for raising private sector money to build and operate power plants, through any of the existing, or even new PPP models. Afterall, any successful PPP project will have to be aligned with existing realities on ground.

The real reason why this approach has not been successful is purely because of the unpatriotic activities of Nigerian banks. A situation where a South African bank is taking the lead on the Lagos-Epe Expressway project, is not only sad, but a disgrace to Nigerian banks. Nigerian financial institutions need to wake up from their current stupor, and understand that the long term survival of their enterprise is predicated on how well they are able to develop real asset portfolios that will provide a veritable source of long term revenue stream, which will provide them enough leverage to continue to grow.

Government and the private sector must also have a platform for exchange of ideas. A very easy step. Instead of creating another bureaucracy, something as simple as arranging quarterly brainstorming sessions between National Assembly committee chairmen on Energy, Industry, Employment, etc, and CEOs and COOs from the private sector, will provide a forum for these ideas to be discussed, and action plans drawn up to include every facet of the society in solving the problem.