Concerned Citizens Write to Senate President on Mambilla Plateau Hydropower

The Mambilla hydropower project and the Ajaokuta Steel Mill are the examples used to support the argument that the Nigerian ruling class suffers from a crisis of mission. When such a statement is made, it is another way of saying that any other national ruling class would have united to ensure that the two, if none else, were completed and functioning.

Well, a 27 person squad of concerned Nigerians is up in arms playing the role that the power elite should have been playing by insisting that the project be completed and made to work. In the original copy, each of the 27 persons signed the letter.

Their letter to the Senate President is published unedited below to enable readers appreciate the spread or diversity of the rising warriors. Read on!

3rd May 2021

Your Excellency,

The President of Senate

Dr Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan, CON

Dan Masanin Bade

Three Arms Zone,

FCT Abuja

NEED FOR URGENT INTERVENTION TO REVIVE THE MAMBILLA HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECT (MHEPP)

Introduction
The Senate President sir, we the undersigned/listed concerned citizens wish to highly commend and appreciate the present administration under the leadership of Mr. President Muhammadu Buhari for putting effort to start rolling the all-important national project the Mambilla Hydro power Project (MHEPP) conceived over 40 years ago but unfortunately not implemented by previous administrations. The importance of this critical physical infrastructure project especially to the North East Geopolitical Zone is well known for its potential to improve electricity generation and by implication unleash the industrial potentials of the Zone. The project if implemented would contribute immensely in generating unemployment and attendant to the wealth creation needs and evident youth restiveness. Some of the many advantages of the MHEPP project are as listed below:

Very few national elite will toy with this sort of project as the Nigerian ruling class is

Advantages of the MHEPP

• 
  Implementing the Mambilla hydropower project will harnessing all waters from the Mambilla plateau as the entire catchments fall within the boundary of the country, minimizing the fears that the water resources of the basin would be diverted by another country.
•  The length of rainy season at the dam sites is fairly extended throughout the year; giving near continuous flows and steady power generation.
• Besides generating abundant power that would complement the current power shortage in the country, transmission to demand areas would be readily carried out.
• Large to medium scale industries would spring up particularly downstream of the dam sites as cheap and steady power would be available all the year.
• The implementation of the project would be of immense strategic importance to the country in the event of exhaustion in fossil fuels supplies in future.
• There is scope for increased tourism, as the series of cascading dams would offer beautiful sceneries, recreations, moderate the micro -climate and attract visitors within and across the borders of the country.
• By taking advantage of large volume of water available, there would be increased livestock and aquaculture production, irrigated agriculture and the development of agro-allied industries besides there is assured steady and clean water supply to the surrounding villages.
• The project during and after construction will create employment opportunities for the bludgeoning population of unemployed youths particularly in the NE region and thus arresting the current unrest and insecurity in the region and the country.
• The perennial flooding witnessed yearly in major cities like Yola, Makurdi, Lokoja and other States in South-South will be greatly ameliorated with the combined effects of the flood regulation that reservoirs on Donga River will offer.

President Buhari of Nigeria and Xi Jinping of China

Observations and Recommendation

(i). We are aware that funding is one of the main constrains causing the delay of this important project. Herein, we present two options other countries employed to fund national water mega projects that are worthy of the government consideration toward funding the MHEPP project.

(ii). China embarked on the Three Gorges Dam project on its own, by levying its citizens through electricity tariff scheme and by 2018, it successfully completed the largest hydropower project in the world generating 22,500MW (more than seven times the Mambilla hydropower capacity)

(iii). Of recent, Egypt embarked on the widening of Suez Canal to accommodate large vessels at the cost of $8b, but instead of seeking for external funding, it floated a national development bond with denominations as low as $100 which enabled most Egyptians citizens to subscribe. They succeeded in raising the much-needed funds to undertake the project in 2015.

(iv). This gigantic project of monumental dimension with huge impact on nation’s development and growth must not be allowed to stall again, we strongly recommend that the National Assembly in collaboration with the Presidency should urgently convene a meeting of all stakeholders to deliberate on the project and find the way forward.

(v). Sir, it is with due diligence and sense of patriotism that we have thought and deliberated on the seemingly dormant state of the Mambilla project and we are making this submission borne out of patriotism for quick intervention to revive the project and hope that in our humble prayers will be listened to.