DISCOS’ prepaid meters: Waiting for Godot

Yemi Olakitan 

When it was revealed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) that electricity consumers would now use prepaid meters instead of the estimated billing system, many heaved a sigh of relief. However, Nigerians have been plagued with disappointments as the promised meters have refused to come. The consumers have continued to complain about the situation and it seems there is no solution in sight. Ag. Head of Investigations, Yemi Olakitan, examines the issues.

Electricity generation began in the country in 1896, specifically in Lagos when the first power plant was built. However, over the years, population has increased more than electricity supply can catch up with in the country. Reforms aimed at meeting the demands of Nigerians have not changed the situation of power in the country while neibouring and smaller countries such as Ghana and Benin Republic are enjoying uninterrupted power supply. Nigerians can only hope and dream. The major reforms really began in 2001 when former president Olusegun Obasanjo set up the National Electric Power Policy. The National Electric Power Authority, NEPA, was then renamed the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) with the formation of 18 companies. In his first 100 days in office, which began on May 29, 2007, having been sworn in as Nigeria’s President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua made major public policy pronouncements concerning the perilous state of Nigeria’s energy and power sectors respectively. He pledged to improve the existing poor state of power generation capacity in the sector by declaring a state of emergency on the sector.

However, the situation remained the same until his demise. When President Goodluck Jonathan came on board, he also set up the Presidential Action Committee on Power (PACP), which plays a major role in reforming the sector. The PACP provides an oversight of the implementation of reforms in the sector. President Jonathan created the Power Sector Reform Roadmap which led to the construction of new plants. He also pursued the privatisation of the generating plants (GENCOs) and the distribution companies (DISCOs) believing that when they are in the hands of private companies, electricity generation and distribution will greatly improve.

The government succeeded in getting the GENCOS and DISCOS privatised despite the Labour movement’s resistance. The ownership of these companies was transferred in November 1, 2013 and the government assured Nigerians that meters would be distributed free to consumers to ensure accurate billings for domestic and industrial consumption.

Later on, Nigerians were asked to pay between N25, 000 and N50, 000 for prepaid meters under the Credited Advance Pay for Metering Implementation (CAPMI) scheme.

The exercise raised hullabaloos, still many paid to get the meters installed while others exchanged their old meters for the new one. A few Nigerians are using the prepaid meters while the majority are still awaiting the new prepaid meters which according to experts are far better than the estimated billing system which is being practised by distribution companies.

The introduction of the prepaid meters, according to reports, will ensure that Nigerians are set free from the era of indiscriminate bills by officials of the Power Holding Company using the estimated billing system. This is why the introduction of the prepaid meters was greeted with great hope and relief. However, Nigerians are yet to have the prepaid meters that were promised them. They have continued to suffer epileptic power supply amid huge electricity bills.

Investigations by Sunday Mirror reveals that the prepaid meter if introduced would need to be credited with funds of the subscriber before the consumer will have access to electricity. The estimated billing system which is currently used by the distribution companies allows the subscriber to start using electricity from day one even without paying for it. This way, the practice of bribery for free electricity can be sustained and distribution companies can continue to bring outrageous bills to consumers even when they do not enjoy the electricity.

Reports revealed that a prepaid meter system has far more numerous advantages over the estimated billing system. This includes allowing the subscriber to only pay for what he can afford in advance and so it is budgetfriendly. The estimated billing system doesn’t control what the subscriber uses and it is less budget-friendly since a consumer could use more than he budgeted.

Another benefit of prepaid meter billing system is that it encourages savings on electricity consumption. One can choose not to use electricity for a period and in this way minimise his bills. The bills one may have to pay may be the service or maintenance bills which are at a flat monthly fee. The estimated billing meter system doesn’t encourage savings on electricity consumption since there is always a monthly fee to be paid for electricity supply whether power was available or not.

In a chat with Adesina Idris, the supervisor of Alesh Hotel, Lekki, he said, “The officials bring exorbitant bills to us every month and we have to pay otherwise our light will be disconnected. They did not even approve the prepaid meter for us. We have the estimated billing meter and we are paying a lot of money on that. This last money we paid was about N530, 000. Our bill usually starts from N350, 000 per month. We have been saying that this bill is exorbitant even though we call their boss, the ‘Oga of the NEPA’. They say he is on leave. They are using it for business. Anyone working with them can arrange something like that every month. The least bill they give us here is N350, 000. In fact, we have been paying our profits to this people. It’s crazy we have requested for the prepaid meters but they have refused to give us. The bills are too much even if we resort to our own generators we still have to pay. This thing is on a monthly basis. It is killing business; with the estimated billing system these officials no longer read the meters but they just ensure that people pay a fee every month and this has been increasing over the years. Government should do something about it; electricity should be more affordable. These are the remote causes of unemployment in the country. If the cost of staying in business is too high, many people will close the business and then there would be unemployment. This is the problem we face and it is killing the economic situation. The prepaid billing meter should have been made available to all,’’

In 2007, many Nigerian consumers of electricity believed the solution to ending the headache of estimated billing on the old post-paid meters was to apply for a pre-paid meter. But five years after, they are more disillusioned than ever. However they still get outrageous bills every month even when power supply is not commensurate. Many paid for a prepaid meter before the privatisation of PHCN. Till today, no meter has been given to them. Every month, they get outrageous bills. The situation is compounded by the irregular and inadequate power supply.

In another chat with Mrs. Florence Akereja, she said, “In my compound, we have paid money twice to the officials. .The first time we paid the money, we waited for so long expecting them to come and install the meter. Later they said the man to do so has been transferred. Another official came and promised us heaven and earth that the prepaid meter will be brought to us. We contributed money; there are about 10 families in our compound. It is absolutely a residential home. Till today, we are yet to receive the prepaid meter and we don’t know why.”

Investigations by Sunday Mirror reveal that consumers prefer the prepaid meter to the estimated billing meter system but many do not have it neither do they know how to get one.

In another chat with Mr. Babatunde Adisa, Managing Director/CEO, Bamaja Entertainment which includes a hotel, restaurant and cinema in the heart of Ebute Metta, Lagos, he said, his company spends so much money on diesel for our generators.

“If we add the amount we spend on generators to the electricity bills we pay, you will discover that it comes very difficult to pay salaries to our workers. It is only by the grace of God that we are surviving in business. Speaking on the benefits of the prepaid meter, he said it allows for privacy because all you need is to buy the recharge cards and then load it in your meter. There would be no need for company officials to visit your home or office just to record the last meter reading before issuing a bill. The prepaid billing also does not give room for bribery and corruption. There is no need for one to bribe any official; it is what you use that you pay for. It is just like loading cards in your GSM phones. It will also benefit the companies in the sense that it reduces their cost of operations. There would be no need to have hundreds of officials who manually go about to read meters from house to house. It pays both sides of the bargain. The actual point we are now is that some people have the meter and the majority do not have it,’’ he said.

In a discussion with Mr., James Xavier, an IT professional on the benefits of the prepaid billing system, he said, ‘‘Landlords and tenants no longer have to worry that their power will be cut by the PHCN officials when bills are past due since they can be paid in advance under the prepaid billing system. The incidence of bribery among electricity consumers and the power company officials is drastically reduced. Under the whole system, consumers who have not paid bills tend to bribe the company officials in order to enjoy free electricity and this doesn’t help the organisations generate the income due to it; even the growing complaints from consumers about over-estimated or ‘crazy’ billing can come to an end. NERC needs to step up its game and keep the DISCOS on their toes in making the necessary investment to ensure a robust metering of customers and curb the wild estimated billing. A prepaid meter is an electricity meter which only provides the subscriber with power after payment has been made. This can be in the form of a meter token or credit purchased prior to use. If this is done, we would have put an end to the era of crazy electricity bills in Nigeria.”

According to a report by NERC, the metering gap in the Nigerian electricity market is big, with about 50 per cent of consumers being without meters. Investigations reveal that there is growing demand for prepaid meters by consumers, but the new investors in the electricity distribution companies (DISCOS) have done very little to make prepaid meters available to consumers who are willing and ready to buy. Based on the proposals submitted by the core investors of the DISCOS, about 6.52 million new meters would be installed over five years, meaning more than one million would be installed yearly. The situation on the ground reveals that the DISCOS are far away from this goal as many consumers are still waiting for the prepaid meters.

In a reaction to consumers’ complaints, the Chairman of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC), Mr Abiodun Ajifowobaje, revealed that no fewer than 43,000 prepaid meters have been tampered with by their owners out of 134,000 installed by the company in the last five years. This stunning figure represents about 32 per cent of the total number of the item managed by the electricity company. According to him, those engaging in such practices pay less on power, while the bulk of the power they consume is not being paid for.

“When people tamper with the prepaid meter, it’s difficult to know because the meter will still be reading but not accurately. It is only through careful finding that such practice can be unconverted. 6,000 prepaid meters were currently in store, and would be allocated to customers that had made deposits for them. Applicants for prepaid meters that have yet to make any deposits will benefit from the next phase,” he said.

On estimated billing, Ajifowobaje stated that the company was following the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s directives.

However, a consumer who craved anonymity said, ‘‘Prepaid meters are being used globally even in poor West African countries without problems, but here in Nigeria, we are still wandering in oblivion. It is time we put in the right perspective as far as electricity supply is concerned. Byepassing meter is a crime, be it the analog or the prepaid. It should be punished severely. But estimate billing is worse. It is exploitation and fraudulent. Meters are the property of DISCOS. Consumers pay monthly meter maintenance charge of N750. This too is an aberration where there is no functional meter or meter reading. Neither the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 nor the Metering Regulations code of NCC requires that it must be a prepaid meter, but we cannot choose to be outdated while the nation is moving forward.’’

The Eko Electricity Distribution Company, EKEDC, on its part blamed the delay in the rolling out of prepaid meters to consumers on the fear of bye-pass of its meters. The company’s Vice President, Legal, Mrs. Wola Ojoye, said that bypassing of payment for electricity consumed was evident mostly with prepaid meters.

She said this fear has been responsible for the company’s inability to distribute the 9,000 prepaid meters it inherited from the defunct PHCN when it took over on November 1, 2013, adding that these meters go into negative use after consumption of electricity already paid for by the consumers.

She said the company was prepared to partner with manufacturers of best quality prepaid meters that would not be bypassed by its consumers, stressing that whether such meters were locally made or imported was not the issue.

Ojoye said EKEDC has a plan to roll out meters in the country, noting that the plan has already been forwarded to the electricity sector regulators, NERC, in Abuja for their approval. She said the company met enormous problems when it took over, stressing that what EKEDC met was not what it was told.

The Federal Government and electricity workers have been divided over the cause of the inability of the PHCN to ensure effective metering of its customers across the country. The government had earlier through NERC promised to distribute the meters free and then made a U-turn when it said the meters must now be procured by customers. The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) blamed the government’s action as the cause of the scarcity.

Minister of State for Power, Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi, however, absolved the government of wrongdoing on the issue. Kuchi said paying for the meters was necessary, because government could not afford to pay for the meters. She added that the money for meters was not included in the appropriation bill, and that any customer who paid for a meter would be compensated over time; such customers would get energy credit and reduction in their fixed charges over time. The National Secretary of the union, Joe Ajero, however, lamented the inability of the Federal Government to build meter manufacturing companies, which he blamed for NERC’s inconsistent pronouncements on the prepaid meter payment. He said, most of the meters that were in use across the country were being imported by government, a situation that had contributed to the scarcity.

However, investigations reveal that earlier in the year, a consortium of companies in the country had sealed Memorandum of Understanding with some Chinese group of investors for the assembling and manufacturing of the prepaid power meters. The deal was reportedly consummated at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in Abuja and was facilitated by the Nigeria – China Business Council led by its National Coordinator, Mr. Matthew Uwakwe. A statement from the ministry stated that the agreement was signed by representatives of Skydeep International limited, Mattek Oil Services Limited, Temps Engineering and Gestric Limited, Craag Nigeria limited, JMET Corporation and Jiangsu Sainty International Group. The objective of the agreement was to facilitate financing, procurement and operation of independent power plant projects as well as the local assembly and manufacturing of prepaid power meter, assembly and manufacturing of recharge cards and setting up of skill acquisition centres for capacity building.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Amb. Godknows Igali, said local manufacturing of meters was a priority for government since the government hoped to provide meters for all Nigerians.

However, another customer, Pastor Clement Ofunoye, said he successfully procured the prepaid meter for his home about five years ago and he has been using it since then.

‘‘Though the complaints made by many consumers are real. Some of us still have the prepaid meters in our homes,’’ said the cleric.

According to him, his experience on the prepaid meters has been positive.

‘‘I have not had any negative complaints. The process is like the GSM phones. It is what you pay for that you will use. It is a better system. I hope the Federal Government will live up to its promises and make the meters available to all Nigerians because it is the way to go. A situation where some have and others do not is not advisable. This makes the (DISCOS) use one system for some and another system for others. We are all Nigerians. The constitution guarantees our freedoms and welfare in our country. It is high time we got it right when it comes to electricity in Nigeria because without electricity the country cannot move forward as it should. Nigeria must take her rightful place in the comity of nations; we must achieve uninterrupted electricity and it starts from simple matters like the meters. If we cannot get simple things such as meters right, what happens to bigger ones such as electricity generation, ’’ he asked.

The scourge of homelessness in Nigeria

YEMI OLAKITAN

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica on the subject of housing, ‘‘few social problems have increased so suddenly or been dramatized so effectively as the plight of the homeless in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Once an invisible people who could easily be ignored, the homeless are now recognized everywhere on the streets and in the public facilities of major cities.’’   

This quote describes the situation of homeless people everywhere and Nigeria is not an exemption. In major cities of the country such as Lagos, Porthacourt and Abuja homeless people are easily noticeable on the streets. It is not unusual to see someone sleeping under the bridge or by the roadside. The United Nations Statistical Division sets homeless persons into two broad categories:  Primary homelessness (persons without roof on their heads). This category includes persons living in streets or without a shelter or living quarters; Secondary homelessness. This category may include persons with no place of usual residence who move frequently between various types of accommodation (including dwellings, shelters or other living quarters); and persons usually resident in long-term ‘transitional’ shelters or similar arrangements for the homeless. This category also includes persons living in private dwellings but reporting ‘no usual addresses on their census form.’’

Homelessness is in fact a global tragedy according to Mr. Kayode Akorede a sociologist and educationist; he opined that it is a problem that is not limited to Nigeria alone. ‘‘It is a global problem. Homeless people are everywhere. It is a problem that is often neglected by governments particularly in Africa simply because they live it in the hands of the individuals. Government should rise up to the occasion because homelessness is a problem that can be solved if they put the proper policies in place. Private developers only build expensive homes that can only be afforded by the rich alone. This is because their only aim is to make huge profits at the expense of the populace.’’

Investigations by Sunday Mirror confirmed that homelessness is common in major cities of the country.  In Lagos touts popularly known as ‘Agberos’ often live in motor parks, garages, some live under the bridges. Sexual workers with no roof on their heads live in slums and beaches with houses built with bamboo leaves. There are also hundreds of people who live in slums built on top of lagoons who are not sexual workers on touts, people who live in uncompleted buildings and badly built houses made of planks and polythene bags. In a chat with a young lady, a Ghanaian living in Nigeria, who gave her name simply as ‘Surprise’ she said, my mother and I ran away from home in Accra, Ghana because of my father. He was a very violent man. In fact he can be described as terrifying. He was having issues with my mother. If we stayed in Ghana, he would still have looked for us, so we escape to Lagos, Nigeria. When we came to Lagos, it was difficult to find a decent accommodation because accommodation is expensive in here; the only accommodation we could find was built with planks. During raining season we often suffer a lot because the roof leaks. It is usually a nightmare and we still have to pay rents because we rented the place. We have no choice, we have to manage what we have until God provides another option,’’ she said.

In another chat with a Nigerian mother of four who lives in an uncompleted building in Ajah, Lagos and refers to herself as Mama Tunde, she said ‘‘my husband works in Lagos Island, he is a polygamist, we were living in a room with my children, his other wives do not live with us though. When we could not pay house rents the landlord got angry and he kicked us out. We went through great pains looking for alternative accommodation because it is way beyond our reach because of the costs, all the agents we talked to were quoting high sums of money. We had to pay agreements fee and commission fee. The owners of the house also want two years house rents in advance despite the law made by the Lagos state government that they should only collect one year rents. My husband then arranged an uncompleted building for us to live.  We have been living there since we were kicked out by the landlord. We still pay but it is not as high as paying for normal accommodation.’’ On how she has been coping with the situation he said, ‘I have been coping, I have no choice.’’

According to James Xavier, who described himself as an IT professional and a Lagosian, ‘‘there are many people who live under the bridges many people live on the streets. They have no place to stay. It is crazy; mad men roam the streets naked at times and in the night they lay anywhere they see and sleep. Sometimes it is difficult to ascertain whether these people are really mad because the case of Clifford Orji is still very fresh in mind. Clifford was reported to be a ritualistic serial killer who lived on the streets of Lagos, by day he pretended to be mad and at nights he carried out his atrocities until the hands of law caught up with him. Evil men often pretend to be mad or homeless while they lay in the dark to kill innocent people at nights. Homelessness in Nigeria in the urbanized cities particularly in Nigeria can go from the genuine to the pathetic and to the criminal. It can fall into different groups. What about streets kids, known as Almajiris in the North, many of them have nowhere to stay? Homelessness is real even some people who you think have proper accommodation are living under terrible conditions. Many are living in slums’’ he said.

Speaking further, James said, ‘‘Demolition of structures, which is most common in Lagos and Abuja, is another cause of homelessness in the country.  The Governments have a history of demolition of homes without providing alternatives for the people who are being displaced. In actual fact, it is enshrined in the constitution of Nigeria that government shall be responsible for providing basic accommodation for the people of Nigeria. They say that people are building illegal structures. Why would they build illegal structures in the first place if they have the resources to build legal ones? It is lack of resources that make people build houses wherever they find, ’’ he said.

Investigations revealed that, Twenty-two plaintiffs had recently commenced a suit against the Lagos state Government under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules, on behalf of other residents. They are claiming N100 billion as damages from the police. The people claimed that the Lagos state Government had wrongfully demolished their homes in the Atinporomeh Community in Badagry. The plaintiffs are claiming damages against the respondents, for alleged wrongful demolition of their houses.

According to reports, nearly 10,000 residents of the community have now been displaced following the demolition of their homes despite a subsisting legal suit over the land.  The community’s problems began on December 14, last year, when the police authority brought a notice of eviction which claimed that the Nigeria Police Force had become the “rightful owner” of the community’s land, the law enforcement agencies, accompanied by bulldozers, stormed Atinporomeh demolishing schools, churches, hotels, shopping complexes, as well as residential homes.

A report by Amnesty International says, ‘‘over 1.5 million people have been ejected from their homes and driven into street life following the wave of ejections and demolition that began all over the country in 1995, similarly, the Social and Economic Rights Action (SERAC) estimates that in just one location alone—Ogunbiyi village of Ikeja, Lagos, about 12 thousand people were forcibly ejected from their homes in December 2005 by the action of the Nigerian Police, Army, and Federal Task Force on Environment; and that often, victims of forced evictions have been government workers living in publicly owned apartment buildings.’’ 

Investigations by Sunday Mirror reveals the condition of the homeless in the country, people live like rats and cockroaches in makeshift facilities under bridges, slums, beaches and at abandoned buildings; some engage in petty trading for their survival, earning meager amount of money. Others are regular employees in government or in the commercial sectors, but are homeless because they were forced out of their homes and cannot afford rent for homes due to high demand by landlords and Real Estate agents. Reports reveals that the problem of educated and employed homeless persons is common in the Niger Delta areas such as Port Harcourt, Warri, Sapele, Agbor, and Ughelli—in these places landlords are inclined to solicit or court employees of oil companies who can afford to pay inflated rents from their high salaries. Many are forced into nefarious activities such as prostitution, pimping, drug peddling, and robbery. In Lagos state the homeless include young boys and girls scattered over the fifty-two development areas of the state among which are the marked dangerous zones under the bridge sections such as Ojeulegba, Orikpako at Ijora, Alaba, Ajegunle, Badagry, Ojota, and Ikorodu.

Another common feature in many large cities in the Northern Nigeria is the presence of homeless kids and youth, also known as “Almajiris.  In Lagos, these children work and live on the streets, mostly with their mothers. They work as beggars puling people’s clothes are they walk by, though, the federal government have made attempted to remove these children from the streets in the Northern part if the country. They have not done so in the southern parts of the nation.  Investigations reveal that, the problem of homeless kids, begging on streets is not limited to the North alone.

Hawking and street trading is usually common with some of these older children, particularly teenagers or young adults.  Many of these children run away from home, struggling to support themselves through various means. They are often sleeping beaches at nights after their day’s activities.

In another chat with Mr. Femi Gbolahan, an educationist, he defined homelessness as the “condition of people who lack regular legal access to adequate housing”. According to him, many factors could lead to homelessness. Some of them are local or regional unemployment, war, racial discrimination, mental or physical disability, terrorism as it is presently experienced in the North Eastern part of the country.’’

According to the United Nations, the number of homeless people globally is estimated to be in excess of 1 billion; it says it is impossible to get the actual number.  This is because of the transitory nature of the homeless. Whereas the homeless population in the West is largely made up of men, (though the proportions of women and children are steadily increasing), the homeless in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos, appear to be mainly children, women and youth.  Reports show that homelessness is mainly an urban problem. This is partly because of the commercialization of land and housing markets in the world. Homelessness among families with children is increasing not only in low income countries but also in high income countries despite their high level development.

According to report by UNICEF, It has been suggested that possible reasons for leaving home may include abuse, a desire for excitement or relief from oppressive home conditions, conflicts within the family; physical, emotional and sexual abuse; single parenthood, poor parenting, poverty, termination of education, child labour and peer influence. 

Young people may become vulnerable to all forms of abuse and hazards on the streets. They are especially harmed by harsh physical conditions, violence and harassment, labour exploitation, absorption into criminal activities and denial of their right to receive an education that will equip them for a better life. Many of these homeless children are usually seen dodging traffic as they sell goods to passing motorists. While many are engaged in legitimate work, others are involved in illegal activities including engaging in crime and theft, pick pocketing, commercial sex or drug trade.

Investigations reveal that, homeless children and youth in Nigeria are mainly from large families. In this regard, the pursuance of aggressive family planning programmes to reduce the present high level of fertility is important. The high degree of extortion and exploitation and abuse of homeless children testify to the violation of their human rights. This calls for an urgent need to protect the right of the homeless child. Besides, poverty, polygamy, marital disruption in family life and large family sizes, are major background characteristics of the homeless children and youth. The low status and polygamous family background coupled with the high fertility and marital disruptions may have created a condition in which homeless youth must have received inadequate parental care. The street life is such that the children and youth are exposed to various hazards.  They face a number of problems ranging from financial problems to harassment and extortions from police and miscreants known as area boys, or Agberos.  Insecurity, severe beatings and fighting, sexual abuse (especially of the females) are common experience of Nigerian youth facing the problem of homelessness.  

In another chat with Mrs. Shola Abimbola, an educationist she opined that, ‘the judiciary and the law enforcement agencies need to understand the problems of homeless persons so that their sympathy can be engaged. The need to improve the access of children to education is important.  There is the need to intensify education on the risk inappropriate sexual behaviour such as having multiple sexual partners, unprotected sex, and commercial sex.

There is also the need to step up efforts to eliminate substance abuse. The involvement of governmental and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as well as religious bodies would be useful in this regard. Finally, more research should be carried out on homeless people in Nigerian cities especially in Lagos and Port Harcourt. This would provide the basic descriptive information that could assist in putting in place the relevant programmes that would reduce the problem of homelessness among Nigerians particularly the youths. Support could be sought from national governments and international bodies such as UNICEF, World Bank, USAID and many others.’’

In a chat with Barrister M. Shittu, Real Estate Investment Attorney, on the solutions to the problem of homelessness in Nigeria, he said, ‘‘there are many people that are suffering from homelessness in Nigeria. In fact the stories can be pathetic. The worst thing is that there is no relatable statistics on the problem.  We don’t know the actual number of homeless persons in the country.  There are numerous Nigerians living in uncompleted buildings, slums, under the bridge, beaches, badly built homes. My Company is planning a NGO on the issue. This is to tell you the extent of the problem. We know the extent of the problem we are stakeholder in the industry. People come to my office with different tales. This gentleman here, (pointing to a man in office sitting in front of him),’’ is here because of the same problem.  The landlords have just sold his house he still staying there and he could not raise the money to get another apartment for his family. The solution is clear; government must step in through private and public partnership. We need robust policies that can provide comfortable accommodation for our large population. Some of the things they must do are to reduce taxation on those that inventing in real estate or building mass housing. Government must provide an enabling environment for them. They should also provide land for our people to build.  It is very important that government should return land to the people. Anybody that needs land should just go to the government and get it. Look at the number of young people on our streets.  The government cannot claim ignorance of the problem. Many of these young ones have no place to lay their heads. You can go to the beaches at nights. Many sleep there.  The problem of land acquisition by government, demolition of structures without an alternative provision for the people is completely unacceptable. Government should return land to the true owners; they should return land to families and communities.  The people that actually own them should have them from the government instead acquiring them and denying the people. The government will just go to one particular area and declare it as government acquisition. This is wrong.  The opportunity of developing the land is taking away from the people. We need to completely minimize the costs of building or contracting homes. How are our fathers building homes in the olden days? They do it with low cost materials. They do it with mud bricks, our government should look at ways of building using low cost materials like our forefathers did. We can use burnt bricks which are far cheaper for low income earners. Anyone earning N500, 000 in a year should be able to build his own home. Our mortgage banks also need to look at loans for low income earners. The government knows what to do. As we are speaking, they have fantastic polices in place but do not have the political will to implement these policies. There is also the Nigerian factor, the problem of corruption. We cannot continue to play lip service to tackling corruption and expect a better life for the people, add to this, is the problem of collapsed buildings.  There are policies and institutions that are set up to tackle all these problems. Government policies on housing will continue to remain on paper, and we will never be able to solve our housing problems if we continue to pay lip service to issues of corruption.’’

Sunday Mirror investigations on recent government efforts to tackle the problem include,  a major bid to bridge the housing deficit gap in the country, put which the federal government put at 17million deficit, the Federal Government in a report says it has embarked on various policy reforms as well as some intervention programmes. For instance, the idea behind the establishment of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, NMRC, by the federal government was to expand the frontier of funding for housing finance.  NMRC was conceived to bridge the funding cost of residential mortgages and promote the availability as well as the affordability of good housing to Nigerians by providing increased liquidity in the mortgage market through the mortgage and commercial banks.  The NMRC is a key component of the Nigeria Housing Finance Programme which was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMOF), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Ministry of Lands & Urban Development & Housing and the World Bank/IFC, with the principal objective of addressing the long-term funding constraints hindering the growth of the primary mortgage market, and reducing the costs of residential mortgages and available housing to working Nigerians.  Under this programme, the federal government has rolled out 10,000 mortgages for first time home buyers, especially the young people. In order to achieve a portal was created and prospective house owners have applied and applications are currently being processes by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development. Making clarification on the first phase of the affordable housing scheme in Abuja in January, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala had said “We try to aim this scheme primarily at the first time home buyer who is on the market to purchase a home costing between N2 and N20 million. So we try to keep it low to address the first time buyer and above all, our young people,” the coordinating minister noted as she unveiled the programme in Abuja. “With the 10,000 mortgage scheme, Nigerians can now begin to realise their dream of owning a home and looking forward to improving socio-economic outcomes”, the coordinating minister added. Another laudable programme aimed at addressing homelessness in the country was the recent flag-off of the N2.4trn Centenary City project and lately the constitution of three critical committees to push for the actualisation of housing for all programme.  Other institutional step taking by the government also includes the set up of critical committees to look at the housing programme of government. Some of the committees include the Ministerial Committee on Presidential initiative on the delivery of 10,000 Housing Units under the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, Ministerial Committee on Verification and Auditing of Federal Government Lands and Landed Property in the 36 States of the Federal and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Ministerial Committee on National Housing Survey.

While the committee on the delivery of NMRC 10,000 housing units, headed by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, is expected to come up with clear action plan, set targets and timelines for the actualisation of the housing project, propose sound eligibility criteria for the participation of developers and builders, the Verification committee is set up to carry out a comprehensive inventory and auditing of Federal Government Lands and Landed Property across the 36 states of the federation, including FCT, Abuja, and carry out a review of the current use of the assets with a view to effectively putting them to use.  In this same vein, the committee on national housing survey, is saddled with the responsibility of ascertaining the characteristics of the various housing estates developed by the Ministry, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) over the last four years and propose a framework for undertaking a national housing survey in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and recommend concrete measures to operationalise it. Efforts are also being made to review land policy in Nigeria especially as it concerns the power of the governor under the Land Use Act, to regulate all issues regarding access to land. Also in order to set standard in the housing sector and prevent sharp practices that often result in building collapse, a committee set up by the government to review the National Housing Code has submitted a revised National Housing Code and ready for the approval of the Federal Executive Council.

In a chat with our correspondent in Abuja, Mr. Ayoola Ayedogbon, an Abuja resident, said that although government had begun to show seriousness in addressing the housing problem in the country, it had not achieved the desired result because some of the programmes and policies merely operate on paper rather than in reality. For instance, he said the pocket of interventions of government, particularly in Abuja has not resulted in housing provision for those who needed houses. According to him, some of the houses purportedly conceived for the low income earners are being bought over by moneybags, politicians and their cronies. "If government is serious about bridging the housing deficit gap in the country, it must make the process of housing acquisition, especially those conceived principally for certain segment of the society, transparent," he said. 

Is Bible in support of Infant Baptism?

Yemi Olakitan

Infant baptism, the practice of baptising infants is unarguably a controversial issue in Christendom. While many orthodox churches practise it, the Pentecostals have rejected it, preferring to baptise older people.Yemi Olakitan examines the subject.

According to the encyclopedia Britannica, Baptism is a sacrament of admission into the Christian church. It involves immersion or sprinkling of water in the case of infants, with the invocation; ‘I baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and the Holy Ghost.’ This practice is popular with the Catholic Church as well as other orthodox churches but very unpopular with Pentecostals, Protestants, The Jehovah’s witnesses and the Seventh Day Adventist among others.

In a chat with Pastor Emmanuel Onoja of Hope of Life Evangelical Church, he said, Baptism is for adults and older children, because it is to be administered only after one is “born again,” after one has “accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour.”

“When the adult becomes a Christian, and his salvation is assured; when he is born again and thereafter, Baptism follows. This is because babies cannot reason in the word of God,” he added.

In another chat with Elder Ogunjobi of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, he said, “baptism is a public manifestation of the person’s conversion. Since only an adult or older child can be converted, baptism is inappropriate for infants or for children who have not yet reached the age of reasoning.

“Parents and Guardians make decisions for children, a child can grow up and decide that he does not want to be a Christian or he wants to be a Christian. Therefore, what is the point in baptizing them,? he asked

Deaconess Shola Abimbola of the Global Church of the Living God, Lagos, also opined that infants are incapable of being baptized.

“A person is baptized when they have reached the age of reason and have been taught the word of God and they have accepted it and believed in the name and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Since infants are not old enough to do this, they cannot be qualified for baptism,” she said.

The Catholic Church in a statement says that it is a sacrament which accomplishes several things, the first of which is the remission of sin, both original sin and actual sin—only original sin in the case of infants and young children, since they are incapable of actual sin; and both original and actual sin in the case of older persons.

Apostle Peter explained said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). But he did not restrict this teaching to adults. He added, “For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him” (2:39). We also read: “Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). These commands are universal, not restricted to adults.

Further, these commands make clear the necessary connection between baptism and salvation, a connection explicitly stated in 1 Peter 3:21: “Baptism . . . now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

The Catholic Church has also held that Christ’s law applies to infants as well as adults, for Jesus said that no one can enter heaven unless he has been born again of water and the Holy Spirit (John 3:5). His words can be taken to apply to anyone capable of belonging to his kingdom. He asserted such even for children: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14).

A member of the Jehovah’s Witness, (name withheld) while speaking on the subject of Infant Baptism said, ‘‘one need to have accurate knowledge of the Bible before one can become baptized as a member of the Jehovah’s Witness. Infants do not have such ability and are therefore not qualified for baptism”.

According to him, only a person who has studied the Bible and come to a decision to follow Jehovah should be baptized.’’

In another chat with Ayinde Stephens, a member of the Catholic Church, he quoted, ‘the book of Luke which states, “Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God’” (Luke 18:15–16). Jesus said: “to such as these belongs the kingdom of heaven.” The Lord did not require them to make a conscious decision. He says that they are the kind of people who can come to him and receive the kingdom. So on what basis can infants and young children be excluded from baptism? If Jesus said “let them come unto me,” who are we to say “no,” and refuse to baptize them,? he asked.

Speaking further Stephens said: “Apostle Paul wrote that baptism has replaced circumcision (Col. 2:11–12). He refers to baptism as “the circumcision of Christ” and “the circumcision made without hands.” Only infants were circumcised under the Old Law; circumcision of adults was rare, since there were few converts to Judaism. If Paul meant to exclude infants, he would not have chosen circumcision as a parallel for baptism.

‘In the Old Testament, if a man wanted to become a Jew, he had to be circumcised. In the New Testament, if one wants to become a Christian, one must be baptized. In the Old Testament, those born into Jewish households could be circumcised in anticipation of the Jewish faith in which they would be raised. Thus in the New Testament, those born in Christian families can be baptized with the hope of the Christian faith in which they will be raised’’.

Elder Ajibola Theophilus of the United African Methodist Church said: ‘‘The Bible did not say baptism is to be restricted to adults; the people whose baptisms we read about in Scripture are adults, because they were converted as adults. This makes sense, because Christianity was just beginning—there were no people brought up from childhood in Christian homes.’’

In the New Testament, we read that Lydia was converted by Paul’s preaching and that “She was baptized with her household” (Acts 16:15). The Philippian jailer whom Paul and Silas had converted to the faith was baptized that night along with his household. We are told that “the same hour of the night . . . he was baptized, with all his family” (Acts 16:33). And in his greetings to the Corinthians, Paul recalled that, “I did baptize also the household of Stephanas” (1 Cor. 1:16). In all these cases, whole households or families were baptized. This means more than just the spouse; the children too were included. If the text of Acts referred simply to the Philippian jailer and his wife, then we would read that “he and his wife were baptized,” but we do not. Thus his children must have been baptized as well. The same applies to the other cases of household baptism in Scripture.’’

‘‘Granted, we do not know the exact age of the children; they may have been past the age of reason, rather than infants. Then again, they could have been babes in arms. More probably, there were both younger and older children. Certainly there were children younger than the age of reason in some of the households that were baptized.

Furthermore, given the New Testament pattern of household baptism, if there were to be exceptions to this rule (such as infants), they would be explicit. Why do we have no record of the Apostles condemning infant baptism, if it was not practiced by the first believers?’’

Methodists contend that infant baptism has spiritual value for the infant. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, held that baptism is a means of grace, but it was symbolic. Methodists view baptism in water as symbolic.

However, Pastor Akereja of Christ Lights Assembly, Lagos, opined that whether one is baptized as an adult or as an infant does not really matter to God. According to him, the important thing is that one is baptized.

“It is a symbolic activity of one’s acceptance of the goodness of the Gospel and the sacrifice that was made by Jesus Christ for all humanity. No-one is excluded whether one is a baby or an elder. Look, the most important message of our Lord Jesus is not even baptism, it is love.”

He said, we should love our neighbours as ourselves and love God with all our hearts. If you love your neighbour, you will not do anything to harm him. I think Christians should focus more on the message of love because that is the true heart and soul of Christianity,” he counselled.

Merchandised Holy Water: How Christian?

YEMI OLAKITAN

Holy water is a popular phenomenon in some Christian denominations in Nigeria. This concept held so much belief by some Christians that it is said to cure various diseases.  This water is even reportedly sold to believers in some churches.  Yemi Olakitan examines the concept in the light of biblical texts and Christian views through various interviews and chats with many clerics from various denominations. 

In a chat with Prophet, Dr Isaiah Oluatansuyi (Baba Aladura) of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and seraphim Church, Ijo Peter Omojola Memorial, Apongbo, he said, ‘‘Holy Water is one of the paths that was laid down by the founder of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church. The late Moses Orimolade, the founder of the C&S Church used water, olive oil, perfume and incense to do various types of healings and miracles.  Water, in particular, is a tool of power and grace in the Cherubim and seraphim Church Movement. Moses Orimolade used Holy water for cleaning and prayers. Water is one of the substances that God first created and it signifies life. It is a life given force. We usually pray over water, sometimes for three days, sometimes five days. It is by faith. These prayers are conducted by anointed prophets of God in the church. The Holy water is then used for deliverance, miracles and healings of various types. A child was brought to me recently for prayers. He was born with an ailment in his tongue and could not talk as he began to grow. The parents wanted to take him to the hospital, not that hospital is bad, but the Lord told me to use olive oil and we used it and the child began to speak.  God makes use of whatever he chooses in this ministry of healing. He can use water to heal, he can use oil. We cannot limit him. The important thing is faith. I have used sugar cane to heal a certain woman who was suffering from a severe cough and she received her healing. No-one should say that Holy water is it is wrong, it depends on how God wants to deal with you.’’ speaking further, he said, it is wrong to sell Holy water to believers, salvation is free. Christians are to give a freewill offering. They should not be coerced,’’ he said.

       In another chat with Ms Chibuzor Momoh, a member of the Celestial Church of Christ, Holy Cross Parish, Ikeja, she opined that ‘‘Holy water is usually prescribed for a person in the Celestial Church of Christ. The practice is attached to one’s faith. It can be used for healing and deliverance. There was a time I was fighting some battles in my personal life. The holy water was prescribed to me. There was also a time I was sick I used Holy water. It can be used to watch one’s feet, head or bath. I believe in holy water because I have had personal testimonies from using it. Sometimes, it can be prescribed that one should use it with perfume. It is the Holy Spirit in the water that performs the miracles and answers one’s prayer. I believe in it because it worked for me. You can sprinkle it upon yourself. Holy water is used in the Celestial Church of Christ, Cherubim and seraphim and the Catholic Church. It is peculiar to us at the Celestial Church of Christ. If a believer uses it in spirit and in truth, it works but you have to back it up with prayer and fasting.  The anointing oil that the Pentecostals used, is it not mixed with faith? It is the same thing. The Bible says, according to your faith be it unto you. I have drunk it for about 41 days at some time when a prophecy was given to me, I followed it to the latter. In celestial Church of Christ, we do not sell Holy water. You have to bring your own water and the shepherdess will pray on it and it will work if you believe.’’

In another chat with Deacon Olayemi Tijani of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Agbala Ore Ofe Model Parish, Lagos Island, he said, ‘‘Holy water is not emphasized in the Bible when Jesus shed his blood on the cross, and he already paid the price. The blood of Jesus Christ was enough for the Christians, there was no longer any need for holy water or any other sacrifice. The bible says that anyone who calls upon the name of Jesus shall be saved.  I do not blame those who use Holy water, it is their doctrine. When you go to the Catholic Church, they still use many old doctrines; they do not want to change. Many of these doctrines have changed and they are modernized.’’  

Speaking on those who are selling Holy Water, he said it is very wrong for any man of God to sell Holy water because salvation is free. Jesus Christ died for humanity. He gave his life as a ransom; he did not collect money for it. There was a man in the Bible that requested to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Apostles, he was rebuked. You cannot buy the Holy Spirit or any of his gifts; therefore the merchandising of Holy water is a terrible error of Christianity.’’

Pastor Jaiye Abiola, of the Christ Life Church, said, ‘‘the concept of Holy water is only symbolic and the denominations that practice the use of Holy Water use such to key into the faith of the individual. The Bible says, according to your faith be it unto you. We cannot condemn the use of Holy water in prayers neither can we condemn the people who make use of it. It is part of African behaviours we attach a lot of importance to the concept of symbolism. When clerics say that one should go and bath in the river or pray into the water to drink it is basically symbolic. All these are meant to arouse the faith of the person involved. We cannot say that it is not biblical because water itself is symbolic, it symbolizes life even Jesus Christ told the blind man to go and wash in the pool and he got his healing. It is not unbiblical to use water to minister to believers. However, that does not mean that one must use water because the same Jesus healed people without water by merely touching them.’’

On whether holy water should be sold, He said, it is absolutely wrong to sell Holy Water to the believers. Salvation is free and should not be sold. Anyone involved in such practices is definitely not a Christian. It is purely unbiblical to sell holy water.’’ He said.

Deacon Chima of the Global Church of the Living God, said, ‘‘holy water can be used to minister healing or deliverance because the Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways. The same Holy Spirit who uses anointing oil can also use water. He, however, said that the sale of holy water in whatever disguise is repugnant and unbiblical and should not be encouraged.’’ According to him, ‘‘many false prophets are on the loose, they all want money. This is why they merchandise Holy water for their congregation. This is not right, salvation is free, our Lord Jesus Christ died for humanity. He gave his life as a ransom for humanity and he did not sell anything.  The men who are in the ministry for the money they will make will always find a way to carry out their agenda. The Lord Jesus did not sell anything, his mission was clear; to give his life as a ransom for many and he commanded us to preach the Gospel of salvation free of charge.’’

In another chat with Pastor Emmanuel Onoja of Hope of Life evangelical Church, he said, holy water is not a doctrine of his church and it is not condoned. ‘As you know, Christianity is a subject of faith. The bible says that if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed, we shall say to this mountain be thou cast into the sea and nothing shall be impossible unto you. A Christians who believe can pray to water and it will become a healing tonic or medicine to the body. We do not discourage people who use holy water either. We at the Hope of Life Evangelical believe in the use of anointing oil and that is what we preach in all our services.’’ He said.  

In a conversation with Mrs Shola Abimbola, a Deaconess at Global Church of the Living God, she said, '' We cannot completely condemn the sale of Holy Water. We have to look at the motives behind the sale. If the motive is to enable people to contribute financially to the preaching of the Gospel, then, there is nothing wrong with the sale. It all depends on the motive.  If a token is attached to the distribution of packaged Holy Water for healings, miracles, prayers and works of deliverance to enable people to sow a seed in the work of evangelism, charity, Church building projects, overseas missions, etc how can we condemn that? I believe that motives must carefully be examined before we condemn anything as Christians because only God knows the intents of the hearts. We humans do not have all the information to make an imperfect judgement. I will not condemn anybody,''' she said.