The Power of Power
A look into one of the more subtle effects having intermittent electricity has on the Nigerian population
This week I’m taking a (much needed) vacation in Ghana. My sister lives here with her husband (a Ghanian) and their three adorable kids, so I try to visit as often as I can but every time I visit Ghana, one thing weird always happens.
I sleep.
Now, this may be normal for some, but I’m typically a very light sleeper. I rarely sleep during the daytime and I’m almost always awake by 5.30am (whether I want to be or not). I’ve often wondered why I’m able to sleep so much here. And I finally figured it out.
Light and Patience
Ghana has two things that Nigeria doesn’t. An (almost) 24hour supply of power and a patient population. These two things merge together to form a place where I can do the one thing that is so difficult to do in Nigeria.
Relax
You see, when you wake up in the morning in Nigeria, you are instantly faced with the most pressing (in my mind) of Nigeria’s many problems. The first question you ask yourself when your eyes open is “Is there light?” (Light is the way most Nigerians refer to electricity or power). And the answer to that question has an instant impact on your mood and your day.
If there’s power, then you are in a near panic that it’s going to get taken away. If there isn’t, then you start your day annoyed and frustrated. The lack of stable electricity means that anything that needs to get done in Nigeria is done with a sense of mild urgency in case they “take light”.
This urgency translates directly into what I call the Nigerian “hustle spirit”.
We are known worldwide as a people who get things done. Many countries and peoples identify us as overly aggressive and impatient. Others use terms like “go-getters”. Either way, it boils down to one simple thing. Nigerians never wait for anything, and the simple reason for this is that … we can’t afford to. Our complete and utter lack of infrastructure has ensured that if we want to do something we either have to wait till all the conditions are right or spend money to make sure that we are able to get it done.
And so our lack of power has generated a culture that always has to do things now. We have no room for a virtue like patience. We have to make money, cook, clean, bathe, charge devices, work, watch TV and do pretty much every other task right now, because they may take light in the immediate future. It makes us more industrious than most of our peers.
So why is this a problem?
As with all things, there are negative and positive sides to this urgency. It means that we never have the time to take stock or to reflect or plan. We’re always in a hurry, so it’s difficult to take a long term view of anything. Especially our problems. We take shortcuts because we have to. We can’t think of the future, because the present is crushing us like a stone to the chest, making us slightly breathless and gasping for air. And we have to do all we can just to survive the moment.
And so when I come to Ghana I’m able to do the one thing I can’t do in Nigeria.
Relax
