A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Nigeria is one of the world's most electricity-deprived countries. More than a third of people in Africa's most populous nation don't have access to power. Even those connected to the grid can't really rely on it. In fact, last year, the grid collapsed 12 times. Here's NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu.
(SOUNDBITE OF GENERATORS HUMMING)
EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE: The invasive hum of generators dominates the soundscape on a busy commercial street in Badagry, a coastal town on the outskirts of Lagos. But it fades into silence as we head into rural neighborhoods of cement bungalows, fields and streams, where many in Badagry live. The quiet is striking until we hear a TV playing from the only house with solar panels gleaming on the roof.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
AKINWOTU: Almost 30 people are packed inside 60-year-old Cecilia Ogunbe's (ph) home.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Non-English language spoken).
AKINWOTU: Young men, women and children sit and lay out sprawled across plastic mats in the living room, watching a crime drama on a TV screen mounted on the wall.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (Non-English language spoken).
AKINWOTU: In the corner, there's a tangle of cables charging about 15 phones and power banks. I joke to Mrs. Ogunbe that her home feels like a community center.
CECILIA OGUNBE: (Speaking Yoruba).
AKINWOTU: Speaking in Yoruba, she says, "I should just wait until the evenings," when it's so packed with her neighbors that there's barely any room.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: (Non-English language spoken).
AKINWOTU: Her home is one of only four out of about 50 houses who can afford their own electricity. She's one of the very few with a functioning fridge where neighbors store their food and drinks. They even send their kids to watch TV or do their homework. Some even come to do their ironing.
OGUNBE: (Speaking Yoruba).
AKINWOTU: Mrs. Ogunbe says they haven't had any power in the area for more than five years, apart from the day of the presidential elections in 2023.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: Yeah, 10 weeks.
AKINWOTU: One young man in the back of the room tries to defend the government, saying they've promised to restore electricity across Badagry within the next 10 weeks.
OGUNBE: (Speaking Yoruba).
AKINWOTU: Immediately, Mrs. Ogunbe calls them lies. The electric wires in the area have been vandalized, and no one ever comes to fix them. Their transformer is now useless and sits rusted and overgrown with weeds.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JUST LIKE THAT")
FELA KUTI: (Singing in non-English language).
AKINWOTU: Fixing Nigeria's electricity crisis has been an age-old challenge.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JUST LIKE THAT")
KUTI: (Singing) White man rules us many years. We get electric constantly.
AKINWOTU: Nigerian music legend Fela Kuti even sang about it in 1986, in a track called "Just Like That."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JUST LIKE THAT")
KUTI: (Singing) Dem come build the dam finish electricity com stop. One year, two years, 12 years till now, no electricity for town.
AKINWOTU: Decades later, the problem is as insurmountable as ever. No country has as many people without electricity as Nigeria, despite routine promises from politicians, including the current president, Bola Tinubu.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU: By all means necessary, you must have electricity.
(APPLAUSE)
AKINWOTU: But so far, these promises have largely fallen flat. A recent push to raise tariffs and crack down on unpaid bills aims to fix that. But ironically, one of the worst offenders are government and security agencies.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (Non-English language spoken).
AKINWOTU: So as with so many challenges in Nigeria, people like Mrs. Ogunbe have found their own solutions. Back in her living room, everyone is gripped by the TV drama where a wealthy businessman is plotting to assassinate a rival who's proving elusive.
OGUNBE: (Speaking Yoruba).
AKINWOTU: She says she feels fortunate but that this situation isn't ideal. She wants her neighbors to have independence and dignity, too. Until that's possible, her door stays open.
Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR News, Lagos.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JUST LIKE THAT")
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTISTS: (Singing) Just like that.
KUTI: (Singing) Just like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTISTS: (Singing) Just like that.
KUTI: (Singing) Just like... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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