How Has Electricity Changed Our Lives: Impact of Energy Access

Introduction

All the people interviewed acknowledged the availability and adequacy of electricity to their businesses and how has electricity changed our lives. On the commencement of business enterprise; 57% of the fishermen started their trade before 1994. The three welders interviewed set up their workshops after 1994. The owners of the barbering shop were all young people below the age of 40. They also attested to not owning shops before 1994. From the interviews conducted, fishing was the predominant enterprise before electricity came into the community. There was no significant indication of the use of alternative sources of electricity as 98% rely solely on the electricity provided by SPDC. Only one hairdresser had a generator for standby electricity.

Exploring How Electricity Improved Business

There was an overwhelming agreement that electricity has improved their way of doing business. The average fisherman in the Ogulagha community views the impact of electricity from the angle of comfort that it brings. The lighting at home, watching cable television, and staying late out at bars highlights some of the fundamental improvement in productivity that the fisherman attaches to electricity in the community. Most intriguing is the assertion from those interviewed fishermen that fewer people are into fishing now as compared to the pre-electricity era. It is posited that more people find other adventures more lucrative like taking up contract jobs at Forcados terminal or opening shops than facing the challenges of tidal conditions while fishing.

The fish processors view electricity as the greatest thing that has happened to their enterprises. About 98% of them has deep freezers for preservation of fish which hitherto had been a major challenge in enhancing their productivity. The pre-electricity era made them process the fish at odd hours to avoid spoilage hence many endured difficult health challenges due to lack of rest as the majority of the fish are harvested at night. Surprisingly, all the fish processors still use the old traditional method of firewood to dry the fish. One would have expected all the fish processors to have electric ovens due to constant electricity but on the contrary, they still suffer the effect of smoke and other attendant issues associated with it. Furthermore, 62% of the processors agreed to not knowing about electric ovens as an alternative means of fish drying. The 38% that are knowledgeable of the device claim that lack of finance to procure the device and acceptability of the fish dried with oven limits them from venturing into it.

The generality of the people interviewed agreed to make a profit from their enterprises. Though many of them were discrete in revealing the exact amount involved, there was a tactical classification to get an idea of how their profit margin stands. 31% of the entrepreneurs make a daily profit of N500 to N2,000, 28% take home N2,000 to N4,000 and 8% agreed to make N5,000 and above. About 33% refused to disclose information on their earnings.

Utilization of Electricity for Economic Development

Other factors affect the effective utilization of electricity for economic development. It was strange that even after having constant electricity, the level of fishing is still within the subsistent level. There is no commercial fishing troll around the Forcados waters. This commercially viable option of fishing would have brought great economic benefit to the community if utilized. Issues on multiple taxation from the community youths, not having the available markets, and see pirates amongst others were noted as challenging factors that made the Ghanaian pioneers leave for other communities.

The research also took time to identify that only one poultry farm exists despite the large population of about 15,000 that inhabits the community. The eggs produced from the farm are not even enough to serve the entire community. So, the big question of why free access to electricity is not yet enough to attract entrepreneurs in the area of agro-allied enterprises. Why is there a dearth of enterprises that would leverage the expected value chain of production that is supportive of the poultry business and even export to other neighboring coastline villages?

Nearly all the people interviewed identified transportation as a major hindrance to diversification and improved productivity of their enterprises. The lack of access road to the nearest town (Warri) makes the average entrepreneur at Ogulagha bear extra costs in transferring goods and materials by boat. Of interest are the fishermen noted lack of access roads as a direct consequence of limiting buyers from neighboring towns and shifting the fish market hub to land areas.

There was a general dissatisfaction across on lack of basic infrastructure. The community has only one public primary and secondary school; A cottage hospital courtesy of SPDC and a private clinic. No visible recreational club except the seashore where the community converts into a beach during the festive periods. There is no functional water system except a generally supplied manifold of the tap-water system where every member of the community fetches from. This again has been subject to many breakdowns due to rough usage.  The analysis and interpretation of the results were done considering the contextual issues enumerated in the findings. The aggregation of findings on the characteristics of the entrepreneurs, the impact of electricity on their activities, and the other factors affecting the effective utilization of the use of electricity formed the bedrock of these analyses.

Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

Fishing was found as male-dominated while the processing was more of women. The findings show more female entrepreneurs than men. A greater percentage of these entrepreneurs are within the youthful and productive age but with minimal education. This spread underscores the fact that youths who find it difficult to proceed to higher institutions, find themselves involved in one enterprise or the order to make a living. Though this is not the focus of this paper, it has got a mention because of its effect on the mode of expansion and delivery of the businesses of the entrepreneurs. The fish processors that showed a lack of knowledge of the existence of an electric oven for a better and more efficient method of drying the fish is a clear indication that lack of education or insufficiency remains a major challenge in the use of available energy to make the desired economic impact utilizing modern technology as evidenced in Ogulagha community

How Electricity Changed Lives: Impact

Steady access to electricity has been in place since 1994 courtesy of SPDC. This was acknowledged by those interviewed like the tailors, barbers, phone repairers, and hairdressers who commenced their enterprises after electricity was provided to the community. This factor utilized the comparative methodology that mirrored how businesses were pre-electricity era (1994) and now. The entrepreneurs confirmed that how near impossible it would have been for their businesses to thrive without electricity. Another significant milestone in the access to electricity was that 98% of the fish processor now have individual freezers that preserve fish bought from the fishermen and gives the final consumers options to either buy the fish dried or fresh. These two scenarios present the underpinning fact that energy access through electricity has improved the way of doing business for entrepreneurs in Ogulagha.

Conversely, the use of traditional firewood to dry the fish is alarmingly high. All the fish processors still use firewood regardless of the effect of inhalation of carbon dioxide in the human body and the effect of deforestation on the natural ecosystem due to the cutting of trees for firewood. This still aggregates to a lack of proper education/awareness, inadequate funding, and the myth of possible rejection of oven-dried fish as compared to the naturally dried. The profit margin of the entrepreneurs gives an indication of the economic growth pattern of the community. Since a greater number of entrepreneurs make less than $15/day, it shows that available energy is grossly under-utilized.

Other factors affecting effective utilization of electricity for economic development: it is obvious from the research findings that a lot affects the utilization of available electricity for the economic benefits of the entrepreneurs. Lack of access roads, availability of funds, lack of basic infrastructure, multiple taxation, and limited customer base came out very prominently. It is evident that the government’s presence in terms of infrastructure is almost non-existent. Therefore, the usual economic boom that occasions available, steady, and free supply of electricity remains a mirage from the Ogulagha community’s case study.

In addition to the already mentioned challenges, five prospective entrepreneurs who are non-indigenes gave two key reasons why they hadn’t made any investment at Ogulagha despite the constant supply of electricity. The land acquisition policy of the community and the security of property. The community has a law that land cannot be sold to non-indigenes but leased under the land lordship of a community member. The community reserves the right to take back the land together with any building on it at any time they wish. Moreover, the security threat of youths burning down people’s buildings and means of livelihood at the slightest provocation of leadership tussle or ethnic crisis as evidenced by the Ijaw-Itsekiri crisis of 2004 and the Ogulagha leadership tussle of 2018. These events all happened without fishing out the perpetrators or bringing them to book. These were identified by potential investors and entrepreneurs who won’t want to spend huge amounts of investing and then going seeing it go down the drain.

Conclusion and Recommendation

This paper on the impact of energy access on the economic development of the Ogulagha community is significantly important to policymakers and strategists in the power distribution across the coastline communities of the Niger Delta in Nigeria. There is a convergence with existing literature that there will always be some significant improvement in the lives of the people with a constant and reliable energy supply having electricity as a major carrier. The Ogulagha case shows clearly that the provision of electricity is one of many factors that will attract entrepreneurs and in turn improve the economic development of a riverine community. The average profit of an entrepreneur is at about $15 is indicative of this fact while high-brow enterprises that stimulate production and export are still in want.

Challenges like of lack of accessible road network, insufficient funds to support entrepreneurs, educational backwardness, lack of basic amenities, security concerns, and community leadership crisis were identified as militating against the expected boom in productivity and economic development. The extent of the impact of the above-named factors on the effective utilization of energy access to economic development is subject to further research so that government and strategic investors would apply resources appropriately for economic development and welfare of the people living in coastline areas of Niger Delta.

Works Cited

1. Ogulagha Community Development Committee. 'Community Profile.' Ogulagha Community Development Committee, 2022, www.ocdconline.com/profile.html.
2. Niger Delta Development Commission. 'Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan (NDRDMP).' Niger Delta Development Commission, 2006, www.nddc.gov.ng/regional-development-master-plan.
3. World Bank. 'Nigeria: Power Sector Recovery Program.' World Bank Group, 2017, www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/11/20/nigeria-world-bank-unveils-power-sector-recovery-program.
4. Nkwocha, Uzochukwu Amakom. 'Factors Influencing Entrepreneurial Development in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.' Journal of Management and Strategy, vol. 12, no. 2, 2021, pp. 22-33.
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