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Move over men in black, petrol station attendants in Nairaland are now the new money makers thanks to the inefficiency of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). Once upon a time, it used to be that petrol station attendants pray for fuel scarcity so that vehicles can queue up for miles in front of their stations and they can charge more than the official pump price before selling the precious commodity to desperate motorists. But not anymore, petrol stations do not have to wait for the often chaotic days of scarcity (artificial or natural) to make an extra buck, because these days, thanks to the gross inefficiency of PHCN, power supply to millions of Nigerians is a mirage d people need petrol and diesel for their generators. Instead of long queue of vehicles, what you find at petrol stations nowadays is a stretch of jerry cans with their owners close by waiting to buy not kerosene but petrol. This is the dividend of democracy for petrol attendants from president Umaru Ya Adua. Other Nigerians are still waiting for their own democracy dividend.

The “extra fee” or “egunje” per jerry can is just N30, taking inflation into account, which is the same amount that Nairaland’s infamous policemen, who mount illegal road blocks every day, charge “danfo drivers” and other motorists. It all adds up to a pretty penny at the end of the day because more and more Nigerians are buying portable generators. The demand for petrol which has been described as the common denominator in the life of every Nigerian, rich or poor, has gone through the roof in Nairaland.

Owing a generator no longer confers any measure of affluence or status in Nairaland anymore because it is no longer a luxury but a necessity and it is dirt cheap thanks to the Chinese. By now Nigeria must rank as one of the leading countries in the world where the use of generators is very high. For many industries, it is no longer a case of putting PHCN on standby and generator as the main source, it is now “generator A” as main source and “generator B” as standby. PHCN is kaput.

Forget about the environmental impact of generators in terms of noise, pollution and even the possibility of explosions folks, this a boom time for petrol station attendants. They sell to men and women, old and young who storm the stations usually between 5 and 6 o clock in the evening with jerry cans of all sizes to buy few litres of fuel to power their generators. It had reached a point where sales of petrol to vehicles are now secondary to these stations. In any case it is now a familiar sight to see people open the boots of their vehicles, bring out jerry cans and join the queue because they have generators too! Attendants don’t even want to sell to vehicles any more. Nowadays there is a pump designated expressly for jerry cans. Folks, what we are seeing here is an emerging “industry” that is impervious to the global financial meltdown. The Chinese manufacturers, importers, the repairmen and petrol station attendants are not smiling but laughing hysterically all the way to the bank.

Razak Adewale is a petrol attendant in one of the many outlets of African Petroleum Plc in Lagos, and he told riyenews that the dismal power supply in Nigeria has been a real blessing that was not in disguise for him. It has been “open and direct”. Adewale said that he looks forward to going to work every morning with great anticipation unlike in the past when it used to be a drag. Before the “generator invasion” petrol stations were usually reluctant to sell petrol in jerry cans except during adverse scarcity in the country, but that rule of thumb as been overtaken by reality. Who does not know that Nairaland is in darkness?

The president promised Nigerians 6000 mega watts of electricity before December, but not a few Nigerians believe this would be possible. To some, it is a dream that cannot be realized (ala ti o le se). What is real is that petrol station attendants are making steady money. As you would have thought, Adewale does not want the power situation to improve in the country because it will reduce the demand for petrol. He does not see his wish as unpatriotic or selfish either because he wants his own share of the national cake. “Look” he says, “big men get loans from banks that they don’t pay back, doctors want people to be sick because that is the only way they can make money, just like lawyers who want people to get into trouble, while those in government are constantly looting, so why can’t I make something out of the present state of darkness in the country?” he queried. “Besides”, he added, “I want to buy my own generator too,”

If Adewale’s raison d etre makes sense in a bizarre sort of way, consider Felix Popoola, another petrol attendant who prefers to be called a “Petrol Clerk”. In Popoola’s considered view, president Ya’ Adua should scrap PHCN and forget about improving power supply and give every Nigerian a generator with a N2000 petrol voucher every week! When it was pointed out to Mr. Popoola that government doesn’t work that way and cannot be Santa Claus dishing out money to people, his reply was that as far as he is concerned his suggestion is the only viable solution at the moment since no solution has been found by government.

How can Nigeria get out of this present state of darkness? The answer, as everybody knows, is elementary, but in Nairaland, nothing is simple. Or why else has successive governments been absolutely powerless to tackle the problem of power supply successfully?