Before electricity bills destroy Nigerian Universities

‘There is a time for everything…’ as the ancient word reveals to us. I dedicated the last two weeks on ‘Why Teachers Too Should Get 300% Pay Rise’. I promised to continue this week but this is a time to look at a weightier matter of teaching – the socio-economic challenge that is threatening the foundation of tertiary education in Nigeria. Most of the media organs have been raising alarms on how unbearable electricity bills have begun to cripple academic and non-academic activities in Nigerian universities and polytechnics. Sadly, instead of managing the threat to our development as a priority, education authorities in Nigeria appear more concerned about meretricious age-limit for admission into the institutions of higher learning and age-limit to sit for school certificate examinations for admissions into the same institutions facing existential threat.

And so, I think this is a time to suspend commentaries on pay rise for teachers and age-limit for entry points and qualifying examinations. This is another time to remind authorities in Abuja that they should not play I-don’t-care politics with the health of public and private tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Doubtless, they would like to think about Project-2027 instead of attention to the quality of education in Nigeria. After all, they have been dribbling the ASUU members (university teachers) for decades. They have been demonising them over unfulfilled covenants and agreements with them. But here is the thing, we cannot continue nation building this way. The education authorities in Abuja should not continue with debates on inconsequential age-limit in 21st century where 17-year-old students have reportedly completed doctorate degrees and 14-year old students are enrolling for medical sciences. They need to wake up in Abuja to freeze all irrelevant distractions including police invitation to Labour leaders on alleged terrorism financing, president’s frequent trips and age-limit for university education. They should face the weightier matter of the law and governance of university education in Nigeria. Reason: it is another time to remind our leaders in Abuja and all the 36 state capitals about a post that has been trending for some time from entrance gate of a South African university that: collapse of education is collapse of a country. The post reminds us that we don’t require any atomic bomb to destroy a country: all that is required is to destroy education in that country and the country will be forgotten.

Specifically, the following words posted at the entrance gate of a South African university sums up the problems we are now facing: ‘Destroying any nation does not require the use of atomic bombs or the use of long-range missiles. It only requires lowering the quality of education and allowing cheating in the examinations by the students.’ The result is that: Patients die at the hands of doctors. Buildings collapse at the hands of engineers. Money is lost at the hands of economists and accountants. Humanity dies at the hands of religious scholars. Justice is lost at the hands of judges. Because “The collapse of education is the collapse of the nation.”

As I once wrote here, the message from South Africa where seven top universities are better rated than Nigeria’s in global context, is not directed at President Bola Tinubu and his Minister of Education alone. It is directed at all the 36 state governors and 774 local government council officials in this convoluted federation. It is not about typing out the quotable quotes or words on marble on education in our various rooms and offices. It is about how our leaders can manage priorities in a way that will empower them to regard education as a weapon of country and global competitiveness. That has been the motivation for writing about pay rise for teachers to raise standards and defeat the power of mediocrity that has been overwhelming us.

This is not a time of lamentation about the quantum of time the ASUU members have spent on strike, the only language authorities understand in Nigeria. It is not just a time to remember that ASUU has been the most unappreciated driving force behind improved remuneration package in the public sector. It is just the right time to encourage our leaders at all levels to swallow their pride and vanity and be angry with themselves about the consequences of their violent ‘attack on education’ and indeed on the future of their country.

The current power chalenge:
Reports are widespread now that the University of Benin Students have been at home in the middle of the academic session. Authorities shut down the institution the other day following a peaceful protest by the students. It is understood that the aggrieved students were not asking for student loan or any concessions from the university authorities. The demand is for electricity and water, two basic ingredients for a comfortable stay in school or home or office.

The absence of electricity has made pumping of water impossible. Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) cut off power to the school for failure to pay its electric bill of N280 million monthly. This followed a 300 per cent increase in April this year.

This is however not strictly a UNIBEN challenge. Reports have indicated that several federal universities in Nigeria are on the brink of a major crisis, with 52 institutions facing a potential collapse because of a steep increase in electricity tariffs. UNIBEN just happened to be the first to bite the bullet as a commentator put it the other day.

This alarming situation has raised serious concerns among Vice Chancellors and educational stakeholders, who have urgently called on the federal government to intervene. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) recent approval of a 300 per cent increase in the tariff paid by Band A customers, from N68/KWh to N225/kWh is the trigger of this trouble. This decision affects federal universities located in areas designated as Band A, leading to a quadrupling of their monthly electricity bills. For instance, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria now faces an annual electricity bill of N4.4 billion, up from N1.2 billion. Similarly, the University of Ilorin’s monthly bill has surged from N70 million to N230 million, a situation the vice chancellor describes as “unsustainable.”

The financial strain caused by the tariff hike is crippling university operations across the country. Most of the institutions have been struggling to meet their overhead costs, and the additional burden of increased electricity bills only threatens to halt their activities entirely. Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, Secretary to the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), has warned that if the federal government does not intervene, 52 federal universities may collapse sooner than later.

The consequences are glaring: the potential collapse of universities would not only disrupt the academic calendar but also jeopardise the education of millions of Nigerian youths. This would be an unfortunate development as Nigeria is already far behind in many educational indices and this could take the country down a peg or two.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities too has cried out against the huge power bills paid by universities in the country estimated at N275bn annually, following the recent increase in electricity tariffs. In a quick response to the crisis, the National President, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has called for per-unit billing as the universities’ power bill rose by 300 per cent, hitting N21.480b monthly.

The universities are under Band A where customers enjoy electricity for at least 20 hours daily. Electricity is an essential need in the universities as they are required in laboratories, libraries and for other critical purposes. Before the tariff increase, all 274 universities in Nigeria paid N5,252,000,000 monthly or N63,024,000,000 yearly. After the increase, the universities now pay N21,480,000,000 monthly and N257,760,000,000 annually. For instance, inquiries have revealed that the University of Lagos, which previously paid an average bill of N180m, now spends N300m on power.

The ASUU boss, in an interview insisted that the Federal Government must ensure fairness to all, citing the increased electricity tariffs, which had risen sharply. He noted that all users should be charged based on the actual units of electricity consumed, with a uniform rate, rather than being categorised into different bands. Osodeke also criticised the Band A classification for the universities, stating that, “Electricity tariffs are a nationwide concern and not limited to universities alone. The idea of categorising consumers into bands such as Band A or Band B is flawed. Billing should be based on actual consumption, with a consistent per-unit rate for all users. His words: “If someone receives 14 hours of electricity, they naturally pay more because they use more, but automatically charging them more simply because they fall under Band A is illogical. This new system is terrible and unfair.”

Suggesting a way out, Osodeke stated, “We suggest that the rate should be equitable for everyone. People will pay more because they consume more energy, not because of arbitrary classifications. The system should be fair to all Nigerians, charging solely based on the actual electricity units consumed. Whether in universities, towns, or villages, everyone should pay the same rate per unit of energy consumed.” However, the Committees of Pro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities called for a concession in electricity tariffs for all 274 universities in Nigeria.
According to statistics provided by the Secretary-General of CVCNU, Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, the average monthly electricity cost for first-generation universities increased from approximately N80m to N300m, while for second-generation universities, it rose from N50m to N200m.

He noted, “Electricity costs for first-generation tech/agric universities increased from N30m to N150m. First-generation state universities also saw an increase from N30m to N150m. Second-generation state universities (1999/2000) experienced the same hike, from N30m to N150m.

“First and second-generation private universities’ costs rose from N10m to N60m and universities established by former President Goodluck Jonathan increased monthly from N20m to N100m.”

Ochefu maintained that the VCs committee had written a letter to the Federal Government in this regard, and the matter was now in the hands of the pro-chancellors, insisting that if the government did not give concession to the universities, students might have to pay an extra N80,000 for electricity. “The vice-chancellors have done their part.

Since the pro-chancellors have been inaugurated, they will continue from where the vice-chancellors left off because it’s a fundamental funding issue. For example, we reported that universities used to pay N1.2bn to N1.3bn annually for power.

This is another huge challenge before the Tinubu administration. What is more, this is another area where silence won’t be golden. This existential threat to the tertiary education in Nigeria should not be left to attract the attention and indeed violent protest of the ultimate losers, the students. In the main, it is too sensitive to be left to the Education and Power Ministers alone. They haven’t been resourceful so far in handling crises in their domains. The presidency and National Assembly should get cracking immediately before it is too late.