While in a Blackout
Nigeria Would Not Be the End of Us
Dear Fellow,
A darkness lingered over several cities in Nigeria for nearly two weeks, from last week Monday until Thursday, 31st October 2024. It was a blackout. No electricity in our homes and offices, it felt like we were living in some recent past. Businesses and commitments fell through as a result. It got everyone thinking. It felt like we could not do life without electricity or our gadgets. But we didn’t die, so I decided to reflect on the blackout days in this despatch.
Priorities. The first lesson I learned during the blackout is that time is enough for everyone, you only have to decide what to do and not do per time. Usually, blackouts do not last more than a day or two, in my city, at least. So, after two days passed and there was no sign of having it back, I had to start thinking of how to adapt to the situation—I had a long list of deadlines to meet, among other concerns. The first decision was to get an alternative supply of electricity. I got a couple of options, each offering me a shorter time frame for work, shorter when compared to my routine before the blackout: I had to switch from about seventeen hours of work per day to about nine hours (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.). My to-do list during that period, so far as it concerned tasks that required electric power, became shorter. I chose a few things I could do within the seven to nine hours I got to work within a day. At day’s end, I was grateful and fulfilled. Days of uninterrupted electric power supply had me a fellow with long to-do lists that hardly got done by fifty per cent at each day’s end because distractions were more and I didn’t have a sense of urgency from a limited electric power supply.
People. Four people acted significant roles that left me in wonder during the blackout. The first (call this one A) was a senior friend, who had me at his place for a few days during the blackout. A runs a solar-powered electricity system at home. Out of concern for my loss, A supported me with some money and provided lunch for me the whole time I visited.
The second person (call this one B) kept in touch with me from miles away. B kept tabs with the situation here, calling and texting to know if there’s any improvement with the situation. One time, B saw a notice on Facebook that there was a generous offer for folks in my city to use alternative electric power supply at a business centre at no cost, and reached out to know if I had seen the notice or heard about it. When the blackout ended, B reached out to confirm if it had ended in my place as well. I couldn’t ask B to do more than all these.
The third person (call this one C) was someone I met a year ago in a previous blackout. C was introduced to me by another acquaintance I had reached out to for assistance then. C took a great risk by hosting me at the office in an establishment on two different days. C was more at rest the whole time with the arrangement than I was. I feared much that I was putting C’s job on the line. Yet, C’s office was where I had the privilege to meet the fourth person in this story.
The fourth person (call this one D) was someone I had always wanted to have a conversation with since we first saw each other in a meeting. The time spent together with D at C’s office left me in awe of what wonder the human mind is. D is pursuing an interest and curiosities in a field of study by studying the (academic) literature in that field. D said it has been three years so far. D talked about the field with clarity and grace, as though there was a certification to the three years invested. I had the privilege of reading articles by D in a reputable journal, and a few others that are still unpublished. To find a writer like D is a refreshing encounter, like rainfall during harmattan in northern Nigeria, amidst the blackout days ago.
New Learning Gaps. Most conversations I was part of during the blackout had more to do with economics, philosophy, and governance. The short supply of a social amenity forced me to begin to care about these things I didn’t pay attention to before now. I saw how these trio—economics, philosophy, governance—determined so much in my life as a citizen of a nation, a person on earth. I am now more interested than ever to learn at every opportunity I get to do so about them.
While in a blackout, I saw light shine on areas that were dark in my life before then.
While in a blackout, I saw light shine on areas that were dark in my life before then. Maybe dark moments are truly for our good (James 1:2). Or are they not always so? May we not see another blackout again—the losses are much, especially economically. But if it happens again, may it be because we just decided to turn off the light bulbs so we find light shine on other areas we have not paid much attention to before then.
Welcome to November, good Fellow.
Your LetterMan
The absence of power makes me cranky. I can't imagine what you went through. Glad it's over.
In saner climes, almost everything is dependent on electricity. I can't imagine how businesses coped during this long wait.