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Nigeria: Many Sides of 'Generator' Usage
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Daily Champion (Lagos)
16 August 2007
Posted to the web 16 August 2007
Tunbosun Ogundare and Charity Williams
Lagos
Deafening noise! Carbon monoxide with it's attendant deadly fumes and poisonous gasses. These are a pathetic results of the rapidly increasing use of electric generator of all sizes in homes and offices. It is a chaotic situation engendered by the quest for reliable alternative source of electricity power supply.
Although, there have never been a time in history that Nigerian enjoyed effective public power supply, gone are the days when the use of generators was an exclusive to highbrow areas and affluent persons.
Today, almost every home and office is a proud owner of a generator, even if the capacity can carry only a few electric bulbs. And there is hardly any week that one does not hear of havoc and loss of life resulting from the usage of elecrical device. When it is not the sudden death of unsuspecting generator users who have inhaled the fumes over a long period of time, it is about burnt houses caused by generator spark from the shattering noise it generates.
The view of the irresistible benefit and advantages of generators, the aforestated hazards heighten concerning the escalating epiletic of the country's public power supply system which are shortcoming, that makes private generator a great necessity rather than a luxury.
Daily Champion went to town to feel the pulse of Nigerians concerning the consistent power outage and the seeming rescue the generator provides.
Mrs. Faith Ohumba, a resident of Ayeni Close Lawanson Surulere claimed that the family owns a 'very big" electric generator but that the lingering problem about it is where to channel the pipe and the huge smoke it generates. She told Daily Champion that when their neighbours are not complaining about the noise, they will be complaining about the thick black smoke emanating from the pipe.
"About a forthnight ago, one of my neighbours stormed into our sitting room complaining bitterly that the fumes has taken over her room and almost choked her kids to death if not for her timely intervention. She insisted that we find a way of changing the direction of the pipe, that has had enough of the sooth and black patches they leave in her house. I promised to do something about it and have contacted somebody to help me check the possible way of shifting the generator where is a very heavy old diesel engine.
Ohunba stressed that users of generators in clumsy apartments such as face-me-I face-you structures stand greater health hazards from generators than those in spacious apartments.
For Joseph Adedayo of the Lagos State Ministry of Education an event that took place recently in his Ogba neighbourhood, Ikeja area of Lagos in which a couple and their three children died overnight of fumes they inhaled from their generator while asleep, has made him not to be very excited about electric generators.
"I have one in my house but it is not every time there is power outage that I put it on. Many people does not have good knowledge of proper use of generators. It is not everyone in a household that is supposed to go and start dabbling with generators.
"In my own case, it is only me and my first son that are allowed to handle the generator."
Adedayo adviced all generator owners no matter the capacity of the engines, not to regard the manual attached by the manufacturers as a wasteful piece of paper. It must be studied thoroughly and adhered to very strictly".
Explaining the mechanism of an average generator, a mechanical engineer, Chris Emeruwa said the quantity of carbon monoxide from a single standard generator is equivalent to that of one hundred cars put together: and that the carbon monoxide from single portable generator can wipe out an entire family within a few hours.
He advised that it is necessary to avoid direct plugging of life wire from the generator to electric box without the use of adapter.
Again, household appliances using generator light must be supported with stabilizers. It is also always good to look for generators that does not emit too much smoke. If one can afford the containerised noiseless type, the better for everybody including the neighbourhood.
And environmental activist, Chinedu Ohanaka is blamining only the Nigerian government for every evil resulting from the rampant use of generators in homes and offices including noise and air pollution. He is of the view that if the government have lived up to its responsibilities of providing uninterrupted power supply to the populace, there wouldn't have been any question of alternative power supply.
We have the money and manpower, the only problem is corruption and the devilish culture of deliberately placing square pegs in round holes," Ohanaka fumed.
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For residents of Orile-Igamu Amukoko, Okokomaiko, Ipaja, Agbado -IJaiye and even the highbrow Festac town all in Lagos, generator is it. Many of them cannot recall when last the enjoyed un-interrupted power supply from the public owned Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN). To them and most other Nigerians therefore, electric generators are not only indispensable but part of life and nothing except a positive change on the part of PHCN can stop the wholesome consumption.
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| Copyright © 2007 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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