Lagos — When Alhaji Umaru Yar'Adua was sworn in as President two years ago, he promised to declare a state of emergency in the power sector.

The promise may have been informed by the comatose state of the sector and the sad reality that his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, despite promising to fix the sector within six months of assuming office on May 29, 1999, vacated office after eight years, leaving the sector in a far worse state than he met it, after several billions of dollars had been washed down the drain, as revealed during the $16 billion power sector investment probe of the House of Representatives.

Whatever was the motivation for the promise of a state of emergency, the fact is that President Yar'Adua has failed to fulfil his promise. He has, however, gone ahead to promise that at least 6000 megawatts (mw) of electricity would be generated by the end of December this year.

Given the track record of failed promises and the situation on ground, especially the crisis in the Niger Delta where the gas to power the plants would come from, it is most likely that the promise would be met in the breach. This would not be entirely unexpected given the equally poor state of the other sectors of the economy such as roads, healthcare, education, agriculture and security.

Bleak as the prospects of Yar'Adua delivering on his promise are, the fact remains that if perchance he does, it would still be a drop in the ocean considering the quantum of electricity power that the country needs before it can begin to dream of actualising the vision of its economy being among the biggest 20 in the world by the year 2020.

It is a fact, for instance, that if the Ikeja Industrial estate is to function maximally, it would consume the 6000 megawatts that is being projected for the entire country while a sector like telecommunications would require no less than 10,000mw to function properly. What this means is that the Yar'Adua government should not glory in the expectation of 6000mw by December but must go ahead to fashion out strategies for provision of adequate power for the domestic, commercial and industrial use of Nigerians and other nationals operating in the country.

The harm so far done to the economy by the near absence of power is so incalculable that 6000mw cannot assuage the pains of the people.

We expect that government is also aware of the fact that generating 6000 mw is only one aspect of a system that also includes transmission and distribution of the power generated. Much of the transmission and distribution facilities have over time become dilapidated or insufficient and would need serious upgrading if the 6000 mw is to be fully utilised.

In the recent past, Nigerians have heard so much of mega watts that they are becoming weary of the sing song. During the Obasanjo regime they heard nothing but mega watts and since Yar'Adua came to power, it has been all about mega watts, leading many to begin to wonder whether these megawatts are not being drummed into their consciousness as a catch phrase meant to deceive them into complacency while billions of dollars are being spirited away from the country's coffers into private pockets.

Nigerians, indeed, have heard so much about mega watts that they are now asking, not for the elusive megawatts but for stable, uninterrupted public power supply.

Many insist that the declared sum of $16 billion wasted by the Obasanjo government in a deceitful effort to put in place Independent Power Plants, in some other parts of the world was more than was needed to build a brand new city.

Other countries, including some of Nigeria's neighbours that are far less endowed have also long overcome the challenge of power, leaving Nigeria far behind. The consequences on individuals and manufacturing concerns have been so grave that many people and some firms have been relocating to other countries where power is taken for granted, including Ghana.

The fact remains that the country would continue to be crippled till it is powered. Without power, there cannot be mass manufacturing; without production, there cannot be meaningful export and without exports, the Naira will remain weak. Equally, without regular power supply manufactured goods would not compete effectively with similar products from countries where power is available.

It is difficult to believe that the Yar'Adua government can deliver on the promise of the paltry 6000mw because in the past 10 years, government has continued to profer one lame excuse or the other why it cannot deliver power to the people. At one point, the very unfortunate excuse that a cabal of generator importers was responsible for the failure to meet targets was put forward.

Government was actually literally admitting that it was helpless to checkmate a few scoundrels that were crippling the economy of the country. Now, the Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, has started the buck-passing game again. He told the Senate Committee on Gas that the absence of the needed gas infrastructure and the security challenges in the Niger Delta were major threats to the promises of 6000mw by December this year. This, again, is admission of failure to plan ahead, take all scenarios into consideration and make contingency plans that would ensure that promises are kept, unless abinitio, the promises were not meant to be kept.

Nigerians are fed up with excuses and stories of why government must fail to keep its promises to the people. After the $16 billion of the Obasanjo era and lately about N25.3 billion, Nigerians would be justified to demand that the token 6000 mw promised must be delivered by the end of December this year, to their homes and factories.

But beyond this, the Yar'Adua government must sharpen its strategies for supplying uninterrupted power to all Nigerians and publicise such road map so that people can hold them to account based on that. The question of alternative sources of power must also be explored by government which should by now be researching into such alternatives that would be cheaper and safer.

Power is everything and Yar'Adua must do all in his power to deliver it to Nigerians even if, as some have said, he is to condense his seven-point agenda into one-power.