Olaolu Olusina
1 January 2009
analysis
Lagos — How will Nigeria resolve the power imbroglio? A local ingenuity, which has resulted in the fabrication of a lighting panel that is fast becoming popular in many homes across major cities in the country, appears to be the antidote to darkness.
The device is derisively nicknamed shame on Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), an allusion to the agency's well known inefficiency.
The simple box strikes you first as just another toy for the children. But the curiousity and interest it invokes on close observation underscores its importance. Though it may be seen as too pedestal and 'local' for the nouveau-riche, its usefulness is not in doubt as it now offers the much needed relief to the pains that most Nigerians go through in the hands of the country's electricity provider, Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
A visit to most homes in Lagos today would reveal to the visitor at least one or two of this wooden panel. In the kitchens and shops at night, the lighting box has become invaluable. It is also gaining wide popularity among traders who display their wares at night along street corners in the metropolis. Owners of stalls in major night markets also find the box very useful, replacing their local lamps, made from bushels as well as kerosene lanterns, with the latest power box in town.
Though no one could trace the exact origins of the invention, one thing that is sure is that it must have started as a hobby by a talented individual somewhere who thereafter decided to test its acceptability. And just like any other invention that started as an idea, this one is really working.
It uses no petrol or kerosene and is fabricated by local technicians. Hawked on the streets of Lagos by young boys at very affordable price, this small box that has been christened 'doju ti NEPA' meaning 'putting NEPA to shame' is indeed putting the PHCN to shame by lighting up many homes that had for long been battling with epileptic power supply. Other users, probably out of ignorance, call it a solar lamp because of the reflective compact disc fitted to it that looks like a miniature solar panel. Though it may not be the perfect solution, it is meeting some immediate needs.
As a testimony to the cliche that necessity is the mother of invention, the technology behind it is very simple just as the innovation itself is quite modest , purely serving the purpose for which it is meant, without hurting the pocket. The idea behind it couldn't have come at a better time than now . The power sector has remained comatose, inspite of the huge investments successive administrations had made on it, with almost every attempt at providing the needed electricity to the populace proving futile.
The lighting box which comes with a switch to put in on and off is made up of a reflective used compact disc fitted with about four or five tiny globes that are powered by three batteries. The effect is indeed 'electric' whenever it is switched on as the bulbs reflect directly on the compact disc to produce a very bright light. The impact as
well as the effect, many users would confirm, is even more than that from a 40 watts bulb.
A mother of two young children, Mrs. Toyin Adekunle, who lives in a two-room apartment at Orile- Agege , on the Lagos mainland, with her family, shared her experience with the power box with THISDAY. "It started as a road-side show at Agege Pen Cinema on our way from church one evening when we saw a small crowd gather around a group of three young boys explaining the use of the wooden box," she said.
"At first", she continued, "we thought they were Ghanaians as we are used to these kinds of innovations from our brothers from Ghana."
According to Mrs. Adekunle, "we later discovered that these are Hausa boys and the lighting box they were selling would be very useful especially with the way the Power Holding is treating us. I bought a set that evening and discovered that it is working. Now, we can sleep with our two eyes closed without the fear of an explosion. We put it on all night and it is very bright. We don't need to go looking for kerosene or petrol as in the case of generator and we don't have to exercise any fear of any fume as it is environmentally friendly."
John Oriakhi, a young student, said he had also tried the lighting box. "This box is working though many people see it as local. But who cares about that as long as it is serving my purpose? The only problem I have with it is that you can't just look straight into the bulb, as it looks like an halogen type, very bright and can blind the eyes," he stated.
Ade Ogunwale, an entrepreneur in Lagos, said the government should motivate the young Nigerians behind the innovation, stressing that countries of the Asian Tigers started just like that with their youngsters putting their ideas into action.
"We need to encourage these boys as it is obvious that they are just dishing out the boxes in piece-meal with little or no capital for bulk production. That is why you see them today and tomorrow you can't find them.
"There should be industrial parks where young people with ideas such as this can be assisted to thrive and train others. They could as well be helped to package the box better to attract wide patronage.That is the only way we can develop our industrial sector," he stressed.
But who is going to encourage these young local inventors in a country that gives little or no recognition to local ingenuity, preferring instead to go to China to import all sorts of cheap and substandard materials that are produced by people who are not in any way better than Nigerians.
David Ogunkanmi , a social commentator , put the challenges in proper perspective. "You can see that the imported Christmas lighting products and other yuletide momentoes have driven the boys underground. People want to buy the boxes but the boys are no where to be found. The ban on street trading and hawking by the Lagos state government is not also helping matters. How much are they making that would make them risk being arrested by overzealous state officials? This is a great disincentive to an idea that should have been encouraged. This country loves celebrating mediocres, " he told THISDAY.
With the power being generated by PHCN shrinking by the day, "Shame on NEPA", has come as a good alternative to what Nigerians have been going through. The difficulty at the moment is how these local inventors can mass produce the device so that people, who are desirous of buying it can access the invaluable item. Once again, the ingenuity of this category of Nigerians has put the government on its toes. Will this creativity go into limbo like several others before it? The days ahead will surely tell given the government's past indifference to issues of innovation.
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