Life without electricity in Maiduguri

The city of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital and epicenter of the Boko Haram insurgency, has been in complete darkness for the past four months and we still don’t know the way out because nobody seems to be talking about it.

The question is, how will the people of Maiduguri live without electricity at this point in time as the weather is uncomfortable and the heat in Maiduguri is so unbearable? Wed depend so much on electricity especially during the heat so we could put on our air-conditioners and get cold water to drink in order to maintain our body temperature. That privilege we had has now been denied.

How are we supposed to survive? We can no longer carry out our businesses the normal way we do because life has become difficult and the prices of items in the market are on the increase as people now spend money on buying fuel to power their generators in order to get cold drinks and water.

This lack of electricity also amounts to a war against education as students no longer get light in the classrooms to read and to charge their phones and the heat is too much to bear as there is no fan or air conditioner in the classrooms and hostels to help reduce the heat.

Some parts of the state are also faced with lack of water as a result of power outage, especially those living in the IDP camps. Life without electricity is not a funny experience because it seems we are moving backwards and not developing at all.

The people of Maiduguri have suffered and are still suffering. So I call on the government and individuals that have the ability and are capable, to please come to our aid and fix this issue of electricity so that we can have a better life.

Grace Daniel,

Department of Mass Communication,

University of Maiduguri

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