After 45 years of its birth, the idea of Mambilla Hydro Power Plant took its baby steps last Wednesday with government’s approval of the $5.79 billion contract with a consortium of Chinese companies, Messrs CGCC-SINOHYDRO-CGOCC Joint Venture. The project had been plagued by a combination of lethargy, selfish interests and bureaucratic blunders over a period in which eight of such projects could have been completed. It is for this reason that we commend President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for summoning the political will to take the project off the ground and set it on motion.
The project, which should be delivered after 72 months, in six years from the commencement date, will provide 3,050 megawatts of electricity to Nigeria, more than half of the current daily average being distributed today by Discos. Describing the significance of this venture, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said, “It will have a transformational effect on all of Nigeria’s socio-economic development… It will have considerable positive impact on electricity supply nationwide, productivity, employment, tourism, technology transfer, rural development, irrigation, agriculture and food production in the area (Taraba State) and beyond.”
Mambilla Hydro Power Plant is a landmark project of this administration, therefore, government and the bureaucracy must put all hands on deck to avoid excuses that would render it as another white elephant project. The contract is part of the $25 billion commitment the Chinese government has made to invest in Africa’s development, and at the highest level, Beijing has thrice met with the Nigerian government to affirm its desire to contribute to the realisation of this project. If the Chinese are committed to it, we, also, should not shirk in efforts to bring it to reality.
It is for this reason that we urge government to make good its commitment to Mambilla Project so that it can take off before the end of the current Chinese government’s financial cycle. Because there is competition for Chinese funds all over Africa and beyond, Beijing gives priority to only those countries that meet the requirements when allocating funds for contracts execution. As this administration has demonstrated the political will to embark on the project, it must muster the courage to follow through whatever discipline is required to see to its completion. Nigeria is the junkyard of promising but uncompleted projects. Mambilla must not be dumped in that junkyard.
The second step in the process of realising this Mambilla dream is the compensation and resettlement exercise. This arm of the venture is to be executed by the Nigerian government. We call on the Taraba State Government and other agencies at the federal level to engage in sincere and pragmatic negotiations with all the communities to be affected so that appropriate compensation is paid and adequate resettlement is carried out. This portion of the project could be slippery, as lack of transparency in the process could trigger the kind of resistance that could bungle the noble enterprise. The lessons learnt from compensation and resettlement of communities where mega projects had been executed in the past should be brought to bear in this regard, so that mistakes that could drawback the pace of the project are not made.
Though the Chinese are providing the bulk of the funds for this project, it is in reality a loan that would be repaid by future generations of Nigerians. For this reason, government and the private sector must take advantage of its local content component to revive ailing industries, create new ones and engage in job openings. For instance, the Mambilla Hydro Power Project requires 2.7 million metric tonnes of steel, from the beginning to its completion in six years. This speaks to the need to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Company, in Kogi State. Government should ensure that the components of the dormant company which could produce steel for the Mambilla Project are activated, whether under government, private or joint partnership. It is senseless for Nigeria to have a gigantic steel complex like Ajaokuta Steel and watch the Chinese bring in steel from China. We call on the government to do whatever could be done urgently to reactivate the steel plant, even if it is an interim measure to attend to the needs of the Mambilla Project.
Apart from steel, cement would be needed to execute this project. Government should ensure that the bulk of the cements for it are supplied by Nigerian companies. If the existing cement companies cannot supply what is needed for the project, government could facilitate the establishment of a new cement company in the North-East to ensure that local products are used for this project. The Chinese companies involved in this project are into profit-making. Nigerian businessmen should get involved in the opportunities being created so that they could also make profit from this venture.
A critical part of the project is skillful manpower. Over the years, skill acquisition has been relegated to the background, as is evident in the crash of the City and Guild examinations. We must insist that the Chinese train Nigerians in the skills required in building and managing this project to ensure that its standard is maintained from generation to generation after the Chinese might have handed it over to Nigeria. There are complaints from Nigerian technicians that foreign firms bring in semi-skilled labourers from their home countries to take up jobs that should be reserved for Nigerian workers. This is unacceptable. The Mambilla Hydro Project is even an opportunity to create jobs in various sectors for the teeming population in the North-East, who are unemployed and vulnerable to poverty and awkward living conditions.
We call for a proper coordination of government departments involved in the project to ensure that rivalry and selfish interest do not become clogs in the wheel of its execution. The bureaucracy in Nigeria has been described as ‘highly frustrating’ because of the systemic corruption and rot in it. We must not allow corruption and systemic failures to contaminate the gigantic opportunities in the Mambilla Project. All Nigerians have agreed that this project could make a difference in our economy; therefore, we must do everything possible to ensure that its potentials are fully realised.
