Who Turned Off The Lights?: A Look Deep Inside the GIANT of Africa from the Eyes of a Black American - Paperback

by Alfonso Jr. McAfee (Author), McAfee Jr (Author)

Who turned off the light? The land before the country called Nigeria came into existence, was a land filled with light and hope. Electricity referred to as "light" metaphorically represents the success of the people. Today, lights are sporadic at best, and hope is fading. Some believed darkness resulted from the colonization by the British, which brought about the ideals of capitalism. The survival of the fittest became the contest of the day and poverty surly followed. After Nigeria received its independence in 1960, the British left a system in place where the Northern region welded control over the Southern and Western regions. Many leaders felt the only way to change this system was through force. The first military coup was initiated by Igbo army officers in January 1966, this set off a series of counter coups including a bloody three (3) year civil war until the final coup d' etat in 1993. The untimely death of the Military head of State Sani Abacha paved the way for a civilian government. As military rule became a seemingly permanent feature of Nigerian politics. Many Nigerians lost hope and developed a mindset to get all; as much as you can today because tomorrow is just another day. Many civil servants took on the attitude of the increasingly authoritarian and corrupt governments. Greed, bribery, and corruption was the order of the day, over time corruption would reach almost every sector of life, and business dealings in the country. As a result of the "winner take all" framework, long regaining leaders referred to as strongmen dominated politics in Africa. Nigeria provides power/electricity to the Ghanaian people that reside in Ghana, West Africa. Currently the energy supply crisis in Nigeria refers to the ongoing failure to provide adequate electricity supply to domestic households and industrial producers, only 40% of the Nigerian population is connected to the energy grid. It is so common in people residing in local communities, and villagers often state "we have a generator so that makes our family better than yours". The Federal Government of Nigeria spent Billions of dollars on roads, yet the country has some of the worst roads in the world. The Federal Government has also spent billions on the construction of Power Plants to bring stable lights to the country. Greed and corruption for roads, power facilities, and other necessary infrastructure projects have been squandered by corrupt leaders.