Residents of Lagos and Ogun States Suffer as Power Outages Persist

Some residents of Lagos and Ogun states are complaining about long power outages in their areas. They say this situation has made the hot weather even worse, making it hard to sleep at night.

Recently, many residents in Somolu, Lagos State, took to the streets on Thursday to protest the ongoing blackout. They called for the quick restoration of electricity.

In a viral video, protesters were seen marching and chanting, "They want to kill us with heat; we will not allow heat to kill us." They held placards with messages like, "Give us light" and "Our businesses are dying."

This protest followed another one on Tuesday when residents of Lagos Island rallied against the continued power cuts. They also complained about the rising temperatures and the struggles of living without electricity.

Tolani Adewunmi, a factory worker in Ikeja who lives in Berger, shared how the poor power supply is affecting her daily life. She said, "Before, we used to have about 20 hours of uninterrupted power supply. But immediately there was an announcement that there was going to be some heat, the power supply became something else."

She added, "I no longer sleep like before, and I used to leave the house as early as 7am. These days, my mattress would be soaked with my sweat, and I would just roll over from one side of the bed to the other."

Tolani expressed frustration, saying, "It is as if the government deliberately wants people to die in this heat. How do you explain that those of us under Band A, who used to enjoy more than 20 hours of uninterrupted power supply, would suddenly not get up to three hours of electricity?"

A resident from Somolu, who goes by Ahmed, said the lack of power is hurting local businesses. He warned that children and vulnerable people could face health risks if the situation does not improve.

He noted, "In my area, we used to enjoy power supply for at least 10 hours a day. At night, it used to be steady. Now, we cannot enjoy 40 minutes of power supply without interruption."

Ahmed added, "Something is wrong somewhere. It is now that the heat has become unbearable that the power supply has deteriorated. It is dangerous."

Abdulsalam Balikis, a resident of Ewupe, Sango-Ota, Ogun State, rated her area's power supply poorly, saying it is a four out of ten. She said, "The electricity supply in my area is very bad. On a scale of 10, I would rate it four."

Abdulsalam explained further, "We do not have a fixed number of hours of electricity supply. Since last night, we have not had power, and it has not been restored. Even when electricity is eventually restored, we do not get more than four hours of supply."

She criticized the government, saying, "The government is not taking any steps to address the situation. Even when it takes steps, they do not seem to work."

Opeyemi, a resident of Ifako-Ijaiye, said her area has also been without power for a long time. She mentioned, "For this week, we have not had electricity. The last time we had power was on Saturday, and it lasted for about an hour."

She added, "Electricity supply has not been as regular as it used to be. Before, we enjoyed about 16 hours of power supply daily, but now we get only about an hour a day."

Mrs Siyanbade, an elderly resident of Isolo, said they have been without electricity for over two weeks. She now relies on charging centres to keep her devices powered.

She said, "We have not had electricity for over two weeks. I have had to patronise charging centres to ensure my devices are powered, despite the fear of damage to our devices or, in the worst cases, having them go missing."

Olamiposi Yetunde, a corps member in Ikorodu, said her area has faced power interruptions for more than two months. She stated, "I have been unable to store cooked food, charge my devices or even iron my work outfits."

Anawo Victor, an accountant in Journalist Estate Phase 1, Arepo, also spoke about the poor electricity supply. He rated it a 15 out of 100, saying, "In the past, we enjoyed about 20 to 22 hours of electricity daily, but now we can go for two days without power."

Anuoluwapo Olurunshuye, a resident of Alagbado, noted that electricity supply in her area has worsened after a fault developed. She said, "For over two weeks now, electricity has only been available at night for about 30 minutes."

She mentioned, "I have been struggling with the heat, but I had no choice but to buy a solar system to help reduce the heat at home and charge my electronic devices because the electricity company has yet to repair the fault."

Anuoluwapo concluded, "I asked an electricity official about the situation, and he told me that power generation was no longer sufficient to meet everyone’s needs."