WOULD YOU PROVIDE POTABLE WATER IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE YOU CAN BREAK EVEN?

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Thank God for a glass of cold water! Credit: Walter J. Pilsak/Commons.wikimedia.org

Residents of suburban Abuja moan for potable water from the Government. Since a major part of the population of Abuja (80%) live in satellite towns and its suburbs, one wonders when Government will find the will to respond to this plea. Unlike other services, few private firms will be willing to play the role of Government.

Potable water is a service that is very expensive to establish and after setting it up, even if you make sales or not, you still have to maintain it – like buy fuel for generators, ensure the pipes do not burst etc. Since private firms have refused to enter the business, then one can conclude that the price they could charge for providing potable water to the residents of suburban Abuja might never make them break even.

It is imperative then that Government comes to the rescue. For one, when a private firm endeavors to take the risk of investing in a service like potable water, it faces competition from meruwa (water vendors) who trek from street to street, and private boreholes. Would that firm be able to price its water at above cost, where the meruwa(s) sale for competitive rates? Furthermore, if the private boreholes make jealous profits, then boreholes would be springing up aplenty for a share of the profits.

The private boreholes that exist were established to serve the water needs of the households that set them up, and whatever revenue is made from selling to the community is not tempting.

At satellite town, along Badagry-Expressway where I live, we have the same problem. Water is delivered to houses by Lorries with tanks full of water. The private boreholes that have been established do not exist to break even.

To further compound the problem of building a network of pipes to serve the community, is the fear that some miscreant could burst these pipes in order to draw water from them for nothing, further compounding its cost situation.

These are why the Government should step in. When private firms find it difficult to provide potable water, or power, or clean up pollution, for reasons that are beyond their abilities, we pay taxes for the Government to do this.

But does the Government have the will and the ability?

If Bala Mohammed, the FCT Minister, is interested in keeping true to his promise, then would the meruwa(s) not be determined to take the ability from him, calling on age-old traditional ties and lobbies? It would be a pity that so many of them would have to lose a means of livelihood if he keeps true to his words. By the way, the satellite towns and suburbs surrounding Abuja do not count for much in his estimation. So why should he bother? This problem will not stop at anything but being epileptic but prolonged.

For all one can say, the residents of suburban Abuja would have to do with meruwas and private boreholes for a long while.

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IF I HAD KNOWN, I WOULD HAVE LEFT HIM AND THE DEVIL WITH THE TEN NAIRA.

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A restaurant attendant, Bright Effiong, for killing his customer, Chibuike Onyekachi, over an argument of a difference of ten naira (N10) in his bill, will have to face a one-count charge of murder. The restaurant where he is employed will probably be under lock and key while he awaits May 5, the day of his trial.

Misplaced priorities, when confused for poverty and ignorance, can be costly. Bright Effiong has learnt this the hard way.

What could make two young men fight over a difference of ten naira (N10)? If none of them could be indifferent to the difference, then nothing but biting poverty. But poverty or ignorance is no justification for one man to take the life of another.

As he sits in prison for the murder of Chibuike Onyekachi, Effiong will be moaning his loss of liberty and possibly life for going so far as to take another life. But unfortunately for him, he had all the opportunity in the world to have prevented this sorry state of affairs.

Like Judas, regrets cannot bring back the clock.

Credit: Almeida Junior on Wikimedia Commons

First of all, there is no justification for violence, especially murderous violence. Violence is very costly to everyone concerned. No nation in history has ever gone to war without making use of every window of opportunity for peaceful resolution.

The window was open for Effiong but he did not use it.

He could have decided that if the difference of ten naira was so capital to the running of his restaurant, he would have allowed the devil be and split it between him and Onyekachi. Where both men were staunch in their belief that they were right, then the probability was that 50-50, one was right and the other was wrong and they could have agreed to share the loss for a settlement of five naira (N5) each.

On the other hand, if that sharing formula was calling for too much, then Effiong should have considered the time and public relations cost, vis-à-vis other restaurants at Ijeshatedo where this took place, of engaging in a lengthy quarrel with Onyekachi when other customers were watching, and eventually to a fight. The highest reward he would have gained from this monumental loss was only ten naira (N10). As people say, ignorance is a disease, and crass ignorance should be a deeply entrenched syndrome.

All I can say is that, since the window of peace was wide open for him, then where he chose the “pieces” option, then he will have to sit down in the dark pits of the prison and await his fate come May 5.

Never forget the essentials. No matter the amount involved, always remember that peace is an option which opportunity cost is very low when you count the loss in time, people, trust, faith, loyalty, money etc. So, make for peace and pursue it.

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THE USE OF UNAUTHORISED FREQUENCIES BY THE BANKS AT BENIN WILL CONTINUE UNLESS NCC KNOWS HOW TO MEASURE THE BENEFITS.

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It was reported by Daily Times that the Benin branch of Ecobank was penalized for unauthorized use of frequencies of megahertz (Mhz) band but the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) noticed that Ecobank is not the only bank engaging in this illegal practice. Every other bank does it.

Even bad good business is costly for everyone.

Everyone suffers when nobody wants to do the right thing. That is why the cost of using cyberspace would increase by this activity. The banks know this as much as you and I. Because the benefits of this practice far outweighs any cost, which the simple eye cannot even see by the way, then no one would complain.

It has been argued several times that we all need the services of the Government. When you realize that its activities serve to sanitize the markets and enables competition and entrepreneurship to flourish, that is when you will be willing to cooperate with Government policies.

Although sometimes Government does the wrong things; like every mortal does. Government is run by mortals like you and I.

As for private firms, they are in the business of maximizing profits. Social costs and benefits or morality are their tools when it would help them make more money. So isEcobank, and every other bank. If she is penalized by the NCC for unauthorized use of frequencies in cyberspace, she would not count the social costs she has imposed on others which called for this penalty but, what would she lose if she stops doing this?

If what Ecobank stands to gain is above the penalty, then I bet you, she will continue to invade cyberspace at Benin branch unauthorized.

How much penalty is enough for this case?

That is why NCC knows she has to calculate how much penalty is enough to stop this practice. If she can, it would a loss to engage in it.cbn revokes 47 licenses.That is the problem of every regulator, not only that of NCC. They do not have enough information to act to make defaulters face the true costs of their actions. Even if it is in the best interest of everyone for NCC to know this, nobody is prepared to risk its company secrets to allow some regulator go through its books without being watched.

So where the penalty can never be enough, all the banks will continue this practice. NCC should be content with public warnings and occasional penalties and fines.

The end result of all this, where it pays to be bad, is that we suffer for things we would have avoided, like Ecobank’s neighbor finding that sometimes her frequencies are jammed or clogged. It might lose him money, trust, or customer loyalty, but since no one can calculate how much, it is up to anyone’s guess.

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