President and Chairman of National Council of Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, NIESV, Chief Emmanuel Oka’s Wike, has said it is a disgrace that Nigeria, a country with 180 million people is only able to generate about 3,500 to 5,000 Megawatts of power despite spending so much money on power generation, whilst a country like South Africa with a population of about 58 million people, boasts of 59,000 Megawatts of power.
Wike who made the statement in Benin at a press conference, said while the country is plagued with many problems, nothing explains the nation’s economic woes over the years than the parlous state of energy and power in the country.
He said that the challenges confronting the nation “are numerous and the consequences on the national economy and lifestyle are overwhelming. The challenges call for a more urgent attention”.
“No single cause can be identified to explain Nigeria’s poor economic performance over the years than the power situation. It is a national shame that an economy of about 180 million has about 12,500 Megawatts of installed capacity as at today, with about 3,500 to 5,000 Megawatts being transmitted to the final consumer when South Africa with a population of about 58 million generates 59,000 Megawatts. We have a long way to go”, the NIESV president lamented.
He regretted that the nation’s "continuous tinkering with the structure of power supply and distribution with several billions of dollars expended since 1999 have only brought darkness, frustration, and misery among Nigerians”.
While stressing the importance of power supply to the growth of the Nigerian economy, he pointed out that no meaningful economic development could take place “without adequate power supply, adding that epileptic power supply in the country had retarded industrial development, economic development and cost of production, market price and quality of services”, adding that ” power supply is a major determinant in job and wealth creation”.
He also decried the high cost of building in the country, saying “60 percent of the total cost of construction goes to building materials and the cost of building materials has everything to do with housing development in Nigeria, yet building materials are very costly”.
Positing that housing development has the capacity to drive the nation’s economy, the senior estate valuer urged government to proffer solutions “that reduce the cost of building materials to ensure adequate development, affordability and delivery in Nigeria