I have come to realize that Nigeria will never change or get better not because of our wicked, evil and unpatriotic politicians, but because of Nigerians. Do you why?

It's simply because Nigerians have gotten used to oppression and they have accepted it as normal thing. A people that cannot speak up against oppression can never rise up against it and seek freedom. Most of us think nigerians (you and me) are scared that's why our oppressors keep having a field day, but I don't think that is totally true.

Nigerians are some of the most daring people in the world but our acceptance of oppression is why Nigeria is the way it is. Let me tell you about something that happened today that confirmed my conviction of nigerians' acceptance of oppression and Nigeria not ever rising until Nigerians are willing to fight oppression in whatever form it's dished to us.

PHCN disconnected our light over a month ago because of the overly high estimated bills they gave to us that we couldn't pay on time. The present economic challenges in the country contributed to why some people in the compound couldn't pay their share of the bill before their usual disconnection day and they disconnected us.

For over a month we didn't use electricity and the phcn guys were aware of this because they were the ones that disconnected us from the supply. This month, yesterday 15th September, we were able to gather the money for the bill of July that resulted to the disconnection, we went to pay and they came to reconnect us to the supply. But after the reconnection they gave us the bill for the month of August. It was over 30k and we didn't use light for the month of August.

They told us that if we don't come to pay up the bill for August in a week's time that they'll come and disconnect us again. I wasn't around when they came to reconnect us and dropped the new bill for a month we never had electricity as a result of their disconnection.

I was told about the new bill this morning and the amount each of us is expected to pay. It's just a small room and parlour self-contain compound with about 8 families. The only heavy power consuming equipment in the compound is just our water pumping machine.

Here's where the problem lies. I told them that phcn (BEDC) are not suppose to bill us for a month that we didn't use power, that we should go to them and ask them where the bill came from since they were the ones that disconnected us.

Guess what happened? People in the compound started saying: that's how it is, whether you use light or not they will always bill you, in our working place this has also happened and my boss paid, even when our transformer was bad for over 6 months they still billed us for the period there was no power after we've paid our own money to repair the transformer, even if we go and meet them they still won't do anything, etc.

Oh my god! Could you believe even people that delayed us from paying our bill on time the month they disconnected us and it's still obvious they may not be able to pay this one on time too were also giving excuses for the day light robbery?

When I saw the way they've all accepted the situation helplessly I just held my peace.
This simple incidence just made me understand that Nigeria can never be delivered from the hands of anyone exploiting us because we (Nigerians) have accepted oppression and exploitation as a normal thing.

From the behaviour of these phcn guys mostly bedc, it is obvious that:

We will keep paying for darkness because it's profitable to them.

They will never give their customers prepaid meters. In fact, they will always sabotage any plan that will compel
them to meter all their customers.

NERC is just a toothless bulldog that is benefiting from the system and wants the status quo to remain.

Everyone will pay the new tariff increase whether you have power or not. We hardly have power for up to 9 hours
in a day, that's when they decide to give us power and we'be already been given notice of tariff increase.

Estimated billing will never and can never cease unless prepaid meter is given

Nigeria's hope of developing is very slim, etc.

If the people can't speak up and rise up against evil, evil we continue to have the upper hand. I just hope that someday we all are gonna wake up from our slumber because the exploitation has really gotten out of hand.

Were phch right to have given us electricity bill for a period in which they are the ones that disconnected us?

How can someone address such issue of being billed when you never used what you're being billed for?

hmmm.