THE DEATH-TRAPS THAT ARE OUR ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS

We hear about another avoidable death, and then we all shout ‘eeyah!’ type RIP then continue with our business like nothing ever happened.

What is wrong with us in this country? I wonder when we will ever start to value life. I mean, actually place a premium value on the life of everyone that calls himself a Nigerian.

On the Tuesday, the 8^th of September, 2015, Oluchi Anekwe tragically lost her life when a high tension cable fell on her. She was a UNILAG student and she was within the campus premises at the time. She was rushed to LUTH immediately but pronounced dead on arrival.

Many of our electrical installations are disasters waiting to happen. You see some cables tangled and criss-crossed like ancient cobwebs and then you wonder how electric poles in more populous countries like India and China look like.

Over 300 Nigerians have lost their lives to electrocution since 2012. All avoidable deaths.

Young Oluchi was a 300 Level Accounting student. She was a first-class brain. All her dreams died with her.

All the investments and hope that her parents had placed in her died as well.

For how long will this trend continue?

It is not just the duty of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to provide electricity; it is also their duty to provide safe electricity. Safety issues should never be taken with levity. Most fatalities are due to negligence on the part of the electricity company workers. When incidents of weak and sagging wires are reported, these workers display a lackadaisical attitude towards the reports.

Electrocution by falling cables is almost always fatal, especially if the route of passage of the current is through any of the vital organs. If by some stroke of luck the victim survives, he would have to live with burns and disability. The victim would be hospitalized for a long period.

It’s high time we started holding the electricity workers accountable. Most victims do not get justice. We must demand that victims of electrocution by public installations and their families get adequately compensated.

We must demand that there must be a quick response to reports of fallen electricity poles and exposed wires.

We must demand that all overhead cables in UNILAG be buried.

We must demand that the NERC workers go round on routine inspection of equipment. They only show up when they want to disconnect people’s lines for non-payment.

We must stem the endless cases of incidents of electrocution now, not later. We don’t have to wait until another promising young person dies.