If you read one of my earlier posts you will have heard about NEPA and PHCN. NEPA stands for Nigerian Electric Power Authority or Never Expect Power Again. NEPA is in the process of being privatised, which is supposed to increase access to electricity, in the mean time it is being "held" by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria or Problem Has Changed Name.
Now I can't remember the numbers but loads of Nigerians do not have access to electricity, and lots more is not being paid for. In fact one evening when I was buying suya, (roasted meat) I noticed that all the stalls had electric lightbulbs but I couldn't hear a generator, and looked up to see some "free" electricity being "stolen" from a streetlight.
Anyway until last week I was under the illusion that I too was enjoying "free" electricity, and yes as a Brit I should have learnt by now that as there is no such thing as a free lunch, neither is there free electricity. Our meter doesn't work, and we haven't received a bill though we have been in the property since April, but last week a bill was delivered for 20,000 Naira, and we understood it was from February.
Now this was only last Friday (22nd), despite the date on the bill being the 15th July, so we asked VSO for money for Feb and March (when a previous volunteer was there) and put our resources together to pay the fee.
Meanwhile yesterday evening, we were sitting in the dark, enjoying the quiet, when it occurred to me that no light and quiet don't go together, no light goes with noise, generator noise. No light and quiet goes with no electricity to our flat only!
So yes the watchman confirmed that a big group, (no he couldn't stop them) had come and disconnected our power. So a trip to PHCN to pay the bill, the first lady sends us to a different office, who sends us to a different building the other side of town where we pay 20,000Naira. I asked how soon we could be reconnected she said we had to go back to the other side of town with a photocopy of our paid bill, (we even had to pay 5 Naira for the photocopy) I did make the suggestion that she could just phone them for us, email them, to much hilarity. I managed not to suggest that she just updated the database, even our office of 12 people isn't properly networked.
So we go back to the other side of town and they promise that they will reconnect us today, but I'm not banking on it.
Now we complained about why they hadn't given us more time to pay, they seem to think we have already had several bills, can they change the meter, yes it costs about 56,000 Naira, that's more than a months wages for a VSO volunteer, so I guess we try to persuade the landlord and in the meantime get used to how to pay for NEPA.
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Thursday, 22 July 2010
More trips to Bida
Second “jolly" to Bida.
The following week I returned to Bida, this time no driver so we used “public”. “Public” transport in Nigeria, starts from a “Motor Park” (I haven’t quite worked out how to pronounce this I missed the stop on the bus on Saturday because I said it incorrectly something like MotoPak is probably more useful). Arriving at the MotoPak, you are surrounded by people trying to get you into their car, but once inside it is relatively organised, the next car to each destination having a signboard on its roof.
Then it is a matter of agreeing the fare, and waiting for the car to fill, and completing the form with your next of kin, in case you die on the way, and the less said about Nigerian driving the better!
On this trip we were “on expenses” so my colleague paid for an extra seat meaning we got to sit two across instead of three across in the back seat. On my return from Bida to Minna, I paid for two seats, meaning I got to sit alone in the front seat instead of two people, yes I am serious for an hour and a half journey.
The other thing about having no driver was that all our travel in Bida was by okada, this is the name for motorbike taxis, and since VSO insist that volunteers wear a helmet, it gave the locals something to stare at other than a oiybo (white person) on a bike. Its a great way of seeing the town as well. In this photo I was in the car looking at the okadas
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Of course no driver meant no trips to the out of town beer supply, in the evening, although a couple of times, my colleague passed me a black plastic bag containing one beer bottle, and I wasn’t taken to the Sharia court.
Fortunately no rats in my bedroom, this time my colleague had a rat in his room, and saw several in the dining room. I just dreamt about them instead!
Anyway enough about transport and rats, what about our work, well some challenges arose, getting the stove insulation to stay in the stove, and finding suitable cooking pots. (More later)
Day trip to Bida
Third trip to Bida, this time with the Swiss Embassy and GTZ. On this occasion I went with my boss, and a driver in an air conditioned car, and was dressed in my best Nigerian outfit so I was smart and my head was covered. The trip was good but revealed some problems with our stove design as GTZ (stove experts) asked questions about our combustion chamber. The next day I met with my manager and an international stove expert, and we discussed how to move the project forward. So now we are looking for another stove expert to help us finish the work and an extension from the Swiss until the end of November. No rats, and no beer on this trip!
.jpg)
The following week I returned to Bida, this time no driver so we used “public”. “Public” transport in Nigeria, starts from a “Motor Park” (I haven’t quite worked out how to pronounce this I missed the stop on the bus on Saturday because I said it incorrectly something like MotoPak is probably more useful). Arriving at the MotoPak, you are surrounded by people trying to get you into their car, but once inside it is relatively organised, the next car to each destination having a signboard on its roof.
Then it is a matter of agreeing the fare, and waiting for the car to fill, and completing the form with your next of kin, in case you die on the way, and the less said about Nigerian driving the better!
On this trip we were “on expenses” so my colleague paid for an extra seat meaning we got to sit two across instead of three across in the back seat. On my return from Bida to Minna, I paid for two seats, meaning I got to sit alone in the front seat instead of two people, yes I am serious for an hour and a half journey.
The other thing about having no driver was that all our travel in Bida was by okada, this is the name for motorbike taxis, and since VSO insist that volunteers wear a helmet, it gave the locals something to stare at other than a oiybo (white person) on a bike. Its a great way of seeing the town as well. In this photo I was in the car looking at the okadas
.jpg)
Of course no driver meant no trips to the out of town beer supply, in the evening, although a couple of times, my colleague passed me a black plastic bag containing one beer bottle, and I wasn’t taken to the Sharia court.
Fortunately no rats in my bedroom, this time my colleague had a rat in his room, and saw several in the dining room. I just dreamt about them instead!
Anyway enough about transport and rats, what about our work, well some challenges arose, getting the stove insulation to stay in the stove, and finding suitable cooking pots. (More later)
Day trip to Bida
Third trip to Bida, this time with the Swiss Embassy and GTZ. On this occasion I went with my boss, and a driver in an air conditioned car, and was dressed in my best Nigerian outfit so I was smart and my head was covered. The trip was good but revealed some problems with our stove design as GTZ (stove experts) asked questions about our combustion chamber. The next day I met with my manager and an international stove expert, and we discussed how to move the project forward. So now we are looking for another stove expert to help us finish the work and an extension from the Swiss until the end of November. No rats, and no beer on this trip!
.jpg)
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