Publisher of The Street Journal Newspaper, Mogaji Wole Arisekola, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and fully digitalise the country’s electricity transmission network as part of efforts to address persistent power supply challenges.
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‎Arisekola made the call in an open letter to the President, while commending the recent improvement in electricity supply recorded in some parts of the country.
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‎He said the improvement was commendable and that Nigerians should acknowledge progress whenever it occurs, but argued that the country’s electricity crisis goes beyond generation and distribution.
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‎According to him, transmission remains a major challenge because it is still controlled and operated by the government through the TCN.
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‎“Mr President, there can never be lasting success in the power sector as long as the government continues to leave electricity transmission entirely in the hands of civil servants,” he said.
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‎Arisekola, who is also a philanthropist alleged that electricity supply in some areas was influenced by personal relationships, influence and bribery rather than the needs of consumers or the capacity of the system.
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‎“Let me give you a simple example. If you want uninterrupted electricity in your home or neighbourhood, you may only need to have a friend in the transmission office.
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‎“Privatising electricity generation and distribution while leaving transmission in the hands of civil servants will never produce the desired result.
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‎“You cannot privatise the beginning and the end of the electricity value chain while leaving its most important bridge under the same public bureaucracy that contributed to the collapse of the system,” he said.
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‎Arisekola recalled that he had previously written to former President Goodluck Jonathan during the privatisation of the electricity sector, warning against leaving transmission under government control.
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‎He also cited the deregulation of the telecommunications industry under former President Olusegun Obasanjo as an example of how increased private-sector participation, in his view, transformed access to telecommunications services.
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‎According to him, before the telecommunications sector was deregulated, obtaining a telephone line could take years and was sometimes influenced by personal connections or payments.
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‎Arisekola commended the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that retaining the system could have exposed the country to greater financial losses.
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‎He maintained that the experience of institutions such as the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Nigeria Airways and NITEL showed the challenges associated with government management of major commercial enterprises.
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‎“Nigeria Airways once carried our national flag across the world. It disappeared under the weight of corruption and mismanagement.
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‎“NITEL, which once controlled telecommunications in Nigeria, collapsed despite the country’s enormous population and demand for telephone services,” he said.
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‎Arisekola acknowledged that some civil servants were working to improve the country but argued that weaknesses within the system could undermine government policies.
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‎He therefore called on the Tinubu administration to urgently privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and require investors in the sector to digitalise the transmission network.
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‎Arisekola said Nigeria needed a modern, transparent and technology-driven transmission system in which electricity movement could be digitally monitored from generation through transmission and distribution to homes and businesses.