Economy… No longer at ease with ‘I pass my neighbour’

The plans by the federal government to prohibit the importation of small electricity generating sets, popularly called I better pass my neighbour is already generating a lot of ripples. It would be recalled that the Customs spokesperson, Madugu Jubrin, in a chat with journalists hinted that the ban on the item was informed by the need to stem pollution. Jubrin, who controls the Customs Federal Operations Unit (Zone A) in Lagos, said:

“The smaller generators have been banned by the federal government because they cause air pollution and destruction of our lungs and breathing system. That is why they have banned it. But people are still interested in smuggling them in. That is why we intercepted them. If you go to the market, you still see them because people have imported them before the ban. So, it is the leftover they had before the ban that they are selling because the law did not backdate the ban and it is not an absolute prohibition. It is prohibition by trade, which means you cannot bring it in large quantity and sell in the country any more.”

In one word, he said the ban had already taken effect. Due to the inability of successive governments to provide adequate and reliable public power supply, low income earners, such as traders and artisans, are forced to depend on these smaller generators in markets, shops and at home in the various congested slums and low cost urban housing areas. Reacting to the ban, many Nigerians accused the government of insensitivity. Many Nigerians have protested the ban, claiming it is selective and targets low-income earners and the impoverished.

They argue that several Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) fall into this vulnerable category and would be greatly distressed by the ban. A few people have even suggested that the embargo might actually lend credence to conspiracy theories about generator-importing cabals being behind the failure of the power sector, despite trillions of naira spent since 1999 to boost performance.

“If truly the ban is aimed at tackling air pollution, what about banks, factories, school, hospitals etc., that make use of huge generating sets that emit even more carbon than the small gens? Why does the restriction not cut across these other generators, which do even more damage to the air?” queried Greg Adams, who runs a startup in Mushin axis of Lagos.

Speaking with Ripples Nigeria, a cross-section of artisans decried the ban, saying the government is clueless on how to improve the living standards of ordinary Nigerians, insisting, that the decision would render many jobless.
Fred Omolale, who makes a living by using the small generator to charge phone batteries at Ojuelegba, said: “If the government wants to ban the use of generators in the country, it should prohibit all sizes, especially, the big ones, so that politicians who use them would feel the pinch as well.”
Echoing similar sentiments, Omolola Deji, who runs an hairdressing saloon in Festac town, Lagos, said the decision was ill conceived and urged the government to have a rethink. “Many of the people who use these generators are youths. When you deprive them of their livelihood, what do you expect? They will certainly embrace anti-social vices,” said Ms Deji. With an estimated 60 million generator users, Nigeria is sadly still a generator-dependent economy. Generation and distribution of public electricity is still abysmally low. Many homes and SME’s are dependent on the small gens, which is known to conserve fuel, thereby reducing cost of running businesses. How intending small-scale entrepreneurs are going to cope, as well as already existing businesses and homes, is the question on many people’s minds.

In the view of Adewoyin Olaniyi, a fashion designer, the ban on small Gen sets will kill her business. “It is fuel efficient and easy to maintain. Now that petrol is scarce and expensive, the generator is serving me more than ever,” she said.

Read also: Fuel scarcity: Nigeria grinds to a halt

Raising a poser, she asked: “Are those bigger generators not emitting carbon and polluting the environment also?”
“The government seems to be putting the horse before the cart. Truthfully, nobody enjoys using generators but when there is hardly electricity, what are we to do? Apart from the noise it makes, which is noise pollution, it is very expensive to maintain. Some months, I feel like I have donated all my salary to petrol stations, as I buy fuel daily to power my generator. Now that petrol is scarce and even more expensive than ever, I don’t know how I will manage. This government is insensitive and doesn’t seem to have our interest at heart.”
The main criticism of this ban is that government banned poor folks’ main power source without providing a ready alternative. They argue that government should have ensured steady power supply or at least a marked improvement in power supply before placing the ban. It is true that millions of low income household use this type of generators, which are also the live wire of small businesses such as restaurants, barbing salons, small offices, corner shops, those who charge cell phones for a fee, as well as student hostels and millions of families. Practically every small scale business uses this type of generator in the absence of steady public power supply. The situation is the same in rural areas where people rely on these small generators for farming, domestic and small business activities.
Analysts have argued that laudable as the ban seems, it will make the smuggling of these generators become even more lucrative and fuel more corruption among Customs officials, especially at the borders.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and other business owners say that this ban will increase unemployment in the country. They say the local manufacture of quality small generators is unlikely as our economy is not conducive for investment in such a large scale industry. Economists seem to be watching with keen interest to see how government intends to grow the economy with such a policy that will no doubt strangle small businesses which form a greater part of the business community providing employment and economic sustenance to a large number of the population. They however lament that the move makes nonsense of government’s much professed determination to create a sustaining economy, when small self-sustaining businesses that enables people create self-employment, and jobs for others are being discouraged with such a move.

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