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The regional capital of Maiduguri has been without public electricity for more than a year, a consequence of the sabotage of an electricity tower by the men of the Islamic State group in West Africa (Iswap) in January 2021. It had been repaired two months later, before being once more destroyed by the jihadists. Since then, Maiduguri has been cut off from the national network.
In his tiny kiosk, Ahmed Hassan connects more than a hundred mobile phones on the floor every day. A recharge costs less than one euro for the inhabitants of the district.
« Before the sabotage of the power lines, we had maybe 30, 40 or 50 people who came here every day. Now it’s 80 or 100 customers a day. We decided to increase the fare to 40 naira (less than 10 euro cents) following the increase in fuel prices. Before, it was half the price, only 20 naira. »
The total power outage has changed daily life in Maiduguri. Difficult to store food in these conditions. As the electric pumps have stopped, many no longer have access to running water. To run his grocery store, Umar Yahya has to rely on his generator, like all the other merchants in town.
« I sell blocks of ice, sodas and sachets of drinking water. Of course, it was a thousand times better when we had electricity. Gasoline is expensive! Before, a liter of fuel cost 220 naira (50 euro cents), but today it is 350 nairas the liter. When there was public electricity, I charged a block of ice 50 cents, today is 80 pennies. It is incomparable. »
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Insecurity is one of the main causes of the explosion of inflation in Nigeria. This region located in the northeast of the country has been plagued by the Boko Haram insurgency for more than ten years.
Varun Sivanandan, the Indian manager of a comfortable hotel in Maiduguri, has also revised its rates upwards. + 15% on average for one year. ” When there is no electricity, trade stagnates. All our money goes into the purchase of gasoline. Our two generators operate 24 hours a day, in 12 hour increments each. But here we are going to have to buy a third one. »
The only ones to do well are the gasoline sellers and, of course, the generator businesses like Iliya Ahmadu’s. ” For me, trade is much better than when there was public electricity in Maiduguri! As soon as the generators arrive from Lagos, people rush! Within days, I sold them all. »
This shortage also made it possible to urgently launch the construction of a 50MV gas-fired power plant to supply the city with electricity. A project that was approved in October by the federal government.
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