Lights powered from generators erected far Liberia under the West African Power Pool (WAPP) initiative signed unto to by several countries in the West African region have reportedly reached the homes of dozens of residents of the administrative city of Sanniquelle, Nimba County, thus forcing dozens of them (residents) to take to the streets in frenzy jubilations, raining praises on former President Charles Taylor and that of current president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

The city, according to our reporter who is in the county, went wild in ecstasy of jubilations as soon as lights flickered from light bulbs in the homes of residents as well street lights.

But at the end of the day, it became clear that people who went out including children, adults and the elderly were not only celebrating the advent of electricity, rather reminiscing former President Charles Taylor whom they claimed initiated the program that is yielding results today.

Our reporter said the residents chanted "Taylor, Taylor, Charles Taylor; God bless you for starting this program."

From whence they got the information that Mr. Taylor played a very pivotal role in the actualization of the WAPP dream is unclear as none of them willed to speak to our reporter who craved response from them on the issue.

But the celebration of the former president for the project which many say this government should take credit for, according to analysts, shows the extent to which he is still loved by people in rural Liberia.

Charles Taylor is a household name in rural Liberia having spent close to seven years in the bush fighting to unseat the government of former President Samuel Kanyon Doe.

The so-called "Popular Peoples' Uprising," the co-name of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led rebel war orchestrated by Taylor and many others, was launched in the town of Butuo, Nimba County, and that most of the fighters of the NPFL were drawn from the Gio and Mano tribes of Nimba.

More besides, this paper is told that one of the reasons Taylor is still endeared by rural residents is that his National Patriotic Reconstruction Assembly Government (NPRAG) managed the affairs of the people of the republic of "Great Liberia" which covered areas controlled by the NPFL.

However, apart from celebrating Taylor, the residents did not show any ounce of ungratefulness to the current government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf that also instrumentally worked to bring this initiative to the level of success.

During the streets celebration and jubilation, they also rained praises of Madam Sirleaf and government for working to ensure that Liberia regains its lost status not only at the international level but the local level where citizens enjoyed varying social immunities such as the provision of electricity, a key basic human rights issue.

Counties including Nimba, River Gee, Grand Gedeh, and Maryland in the central and eastern belt of Liberia stand to benefit the initial provision of power from the WAPP program.

Besides Sannniquelle where power is burning, our reporter said the commercial city of Ganta, one of Nimba's bustling towns, was in line to benefit from the WAPP electric power.

Tappita is one of the towns that should benefit from the program but at present there are no electric polls planted there.

The West African Power Pool (WAPP) which is a pilot undertaking to test the commitment of member countries of ECOWAS as they seek to enhance and advance economic stability and cooperation, was created by Decision reached in December of 1999 during the 22nd Summit of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in order to address the issue of power supply deficiency within West Africa.

The West African Power Pool was guided by a Steering Committee comprising Energy Ministers of ECOWAS Member States, supported by a Project Implementation Committee, comprising Managing Directors of Members States utilities and Technical and Institutional Working Groups.

It seeks to improve cross-border and reliable flows of electricity in ECOWAS Member States, develop clear and measurable standards to harmonize electricity planning and operation of pooled electric systems in ECOWAS Member States, assure citizens of ECOWAS Member States of a stable and reliable electricity supply at affordable costs, and increase the level of power supply in the region through the implementation of priority generation and transmission projects.

It may be recalled that the Ghanaian Parliament in March of 2012 approved a Financing Agreement between Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) for 25.9 million dollars to finance the West Africa Power Pool (APL3) programme.

The loan would be committed to the construction of a 225-kilovolt transmission line interconnection and associated substations in Ghana and Burkina Faso, as part of the first phase of the World Bank-backed Inter-Zonal Transmission Hub Project of the APL3 programme.

The project is expected to facilitate the collective decision of ECOWAS Member States to develop and put in place the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP), aimed at integrating national power system operations into a unified regional electricity market, to assure citizens of the regional economic bloc of stable and reliable electricity supply at affordable cost.

Based on an ECOWAS Energy Strategy, the first phase of the project, under the West Africa Power Poll APL3, is designed to curb imbalances between domestic energy resources and the needs of Member States with specific emphasis on Burkina Faso.

The proposed transmission line will significantly reduce the cost of electricity supply in Burkina Faso and facilitate future unconstrained electricity exchanges across West Africa Power Pool zones, as well as financial benefits to Ghana, due to increased revenue from power sales.

The loan facility, which has a grace period of 10 years, maturity period of 35 years and repayment period of 25 years, attracts a commitment charge of a maximum of 0.5 per cent per annum on withdrawn balance and a service charge of 0.75 per cent per annum on interest rate.

It would be applied to specifically four areas including a 225 KV transmission line between Bolgatanga and Ouagadougou, reinforcement of transmission grid in the northern part of Ghana, electrification of rural localities along the right of way of the project, supervision of construction works, capacity building and institutional support to the Ghana Grid Company and SONABEL.

Taylor did not end his term of office as a result of a rebel war launched against his administration by LURD, a faction then dominated by Mandingo elements of Liberia's mixed tribes.

In August of 2003, he quitted and turned over power to his vice President Moses Blah who only managed things for three months.