By Chris Osa Nehikhare
For over 48 hours, Edo State has reportedly been plunged into darkness following industrial action by workers’ unions at the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).
Homes are without electricity. Businesses are counting their losses. Small-scale entrepreneurs who depend on power to survive are suffering. Families are forced to spend more on fuel, while hospitals, workshops, supermarkets and other essential service providers struggle with the consequences.
And the question I keep asking is simple: What offence have electricity consumers committed to deserve this punishment?
I have never been an admirer of the culture of trade unionism that believes the quickest route to resolving every disagreement is to shut down operations and inflict maximum discomfort on innocent people.
I recognise that workers have rights. They deserve fair wages, decent working conditions and respectful treatment. They also have a right to organise and pursue legitimate grievances.
But rights come with responsibilities. And somewhere along the line, some of our labour unions appear to have forgotten that simple principle.
When Nigeria embarked on the privatisation of its electricity sector, many of us hoped that private ownership would introduce a new culture of efficiency, accountability, professionalism and customer service.
Unfortunately, privatisation changed the ownership of the companies without necessarily changing the attitudes of some of the people working in them.
The old NEPA mentality appears to have survived the transition.
That mentality which treated electricity consumers as inconveniences rather than customers. The culture of indifference, poor service delivery, questionable work ethics, entitlement and, in some instances, corruption.
The mentality that assumes the consumer has nowhere else to go and must therefore accept whatever is thrown at him.
It is particularly troubling when elements of that culture find expression in industrial relations.
A private company cannot be expected to operate successfully if its workforce continues to behave as though it is employed by an inefficient government monopoly with an endless capacity to absorb losses.
The survival of the business, the satisfaction of customers and the sustainability of jobs are interconnected. Workers who ignore this reality may ultimately be undermining the very employment they seek to protect.
Remember NITEL?
There is a lesson from our recent history that electricity workers would do well to remember.
Once upon a time, NITEL dominated telecommunications in Nigeria.
Getting a telephone line was a privilege. Customers endured delays, poor service, frustrating bureaucracy and a system that frequently behaved as though it was doing Nigerians a favour.
The institution became associated with many of the same problems that plagued other government monopolies: inefficiency, complacency and a poor customer-service culture.
Then came GSM.
The arrival of private mobile telephone operators changed everything.
Suddenly, Nigerians had alternatives. Competition arrived. Technology advanced. Customer expectations changed.
And NITEL, unable to adapt successfully to the new reality, faded into irrelevance.
Its decline had several causes, including management failures, underinvestment, policy decisions and technological change. But the lesson remains unmistakable: No institution has a permanent right to exist simply because it once enjoyed a monopoly.
I wonder whether those who believe electricity distribution companies can be repeatedly shut down without serious consequences appreciate this lesson.
Today, electricity consumers are increasingly exploring solar energy, battery storage, inverters and other alternatives.
Every prolonged blackout makes those alternatives more attractive.
Every disruption gives consumers another reason to seek independence from the distribution companies.
And every customer who reduces dependence on the grid represents a warning about the future of the traditional electricity distribution business.
The unions should be careful not to help create the conditions that could eventually make some of their jobs unnecessary.
One of the most frustrating aspects of industrial disputes in essential services is the almost complete disregard for the consumer.
Management and labour disagree. Negotiations break down. Workers withdraw their services.
And the consumer, who was neither invited to the negotiating table nor responsible for the disagreement, pays the price.
Who compensates the small business owner whose frozen products are destroyed?
Who reimburses the family forced to purchase expensive petrol or diesel?
Who accounts for the lost productivity, interrupted services and financial hardship imposed on an already struggling population?
Who speaks for the customer who has paid for electricity in advance but cannot enjoy the service?
It is convenient to describe these consequences as collateral damage in an industrial dispute.
I call it unacceptable.
A union that seeks public sympathy must first demonstrate some sympathy for the public.
You cannot demand justice for your members while remaining indifferent to the hardship your methods impose on thousands of innocent families.
Let me be clear. This is not a blanket endorsement of BEDC management.
The company has its own questions to answer about service delivery, customer relations, billing practices, operational efficiency and its handling of industrial relations.
If workers have genuine grievances, management has a responsibility to engage them sincerely and resolve disputes fairly.
We should also establish precisely what triggered this strike, what demands have been made, what concessions have been offered and why negotiations have failed.
But whatever the merits of the dispute, the consumer must not become a weapon in the struggle between management and labour.
The Nigerian electricity sector is already burdened by insufficient supply, ageing infrastructure, financial pressures and widespread consumer dissatisfaction.
The last thing it needs is an industrial culture that adds avoidable blackouts to an already difficult situation.
Time for a Cultural Reset
Perhaps the time has come for electricity distribution companies to undertake a serious reassessment of their workforce culture.
Not every employee inherited the bad habits of NEPA. Many are hardworking, competent professionals who understand the importance of service and take pride in their responsibilities.
Those are the employees who should define the future of the industry.
But the companies must be willing to confront persistent indiscipline, corruption, laziness, poor customer service and attitudes that are incompatible with a modern service business.
Recruitment, training, promotion and retention should increasingly be driven by competence, integrity, productivity and commitment to customers.
Where employees repeatedly demonstrate that they cannot adapt to these standards, companies should use lawful and fair performance-management processes rather than continue to accommodate destructive workplace practices.
Privatisation should mean more than changing the name on the gate and the ownership of the shares.
It must mean changing the culture inside the organisation.
The Unions Must Read the Room.
Nigeria is going through a difficult economic period.
Businesses are struggling. Families are under pressure. The cost of living continues to weigh heavily on ordinary citizens.
Electricity is not a luxury. It is an essential input into economic activity and everyday life.
At a time like this, labour unions should be looking for smarter ways to pursue their grievances without bringing entire communities to their knees.
Dialogue, mediation, independent arbitration and other lawful dispute-resolution mechanisms must be taken seriously.
Industrial action should be a last resort, not a reflex.
And even when a strike becomes unavoidable, unions operating in essential services should consider the wider public interest and the human cost of their decisions.
A union that can shut down electricity supply has considerable power. But power without restraint is not a virtue.
From My Window:
As I look out of my window at a state struggling through another blackout, I cannot help wondering whether we have truly learnt anything from the failures of our past.
We privatised NEPA, but did we privatise the mindset?
We changed the corporate structures, but did we change the work culture?
We introduced private investors, but did we introduce a genuine commitment to the customer?
These are questions that both management and labour must answer.
I am not opposed to workers receiving what is legitimately due to them. I am opposed to a culture that believes innocent consumers must suffer before workers’ grievances can be heard.
The workers of BEDC should remember NITEL.
They should remember that industries change, technology advances and monopolies do not last forever.
They should also remember that the people sitting in darkness today are the same people whose payments sustain the company that employs them.
The consumer is not your enemy. The consumer is the reason your business exists.
And perhaps it is time somebody reminded the unions of that simple truth.
From My Window — A View. An Opinion. Our Reality.
PS: The attached video recorded and shared by the striking workforce exposes the union as insensitive to the plight of its customers. Its unpardonable. This is at the entrance of the headquarters of BEDC.