Back in the 90’s, even as a little girl, I experienced the full glimpse of dumsor. The lights would go off every now and then but would be back on after a couple of hours. Today however, the story is different.
I know the current electricity problem has gotten the best of everyone- from households to businesses….. we are all at the helm of it. People are losing jobs, businesses are shutting down, families can no longer spend quality times in the evenings… talk of kids not being able to do their homework. However, through it all, I think most Ghanaians fail to look at the bigger picture; the bigger picture in terms of how everyone created Dumsor.
So here we go - the bitter truth!
As I said, back in the day, yes lights would go on and off. It was pretty normal back then. There was always the usual news on GBC about how the water level in Akosombo Dam had gone down considerably and for us to expect power outages. Times have changed since then; the population back then is not what it is today. Many have since joined us and it will be a continuous process.
Now bearing in mind we had ONE BIG DAM plus some mini dams servicing most parts of Ghana and with the growing population, we have throughout the years taken on lifestyles, habits and practices which have put us where we are today.
So, how did we all create this belly of a problem which is driving everyone nuts?
Issues:
• Governments inability to think or make long term decisions
With three past governments with ministers and officials who travelled well across the globe and saw their counterparts in the other countries, none could think of the inventions, the science changes and technology which was going on.
There was solar energy back then, there were different methods they could have thought of knowing very well we rely solely on the ‘big dam’. Did any of them think of building more dams or in the long term look at having a backup to the existing ones?
Please explain to me how parts of Ghana with so much sunlight e.g. Northern and the Upper Regions were part of the national grid? How!!! I don’t get it! We couldn’t think of giving them (Northern and the Upper Regions) solar panels back then or even now?
• Individuals Where do I start? From the funeral grounds, homes, to the workplace or to the marketplace?
Let’s start with the marketplace! So, with the ‘limited electricity production’ we have as a nation, have we cast our minds back to how the sellers/business people in Makola and all markets across Ghana have significantly put us where we are?
Imagine all the music being played (its electricity now! (in my Lagos accent), talk of noise pollution. Millions of sellers playing music across Makola, then think of across Ghana on a daily basis! Are you getting the bigger picture now? The noise and the amount of electricity ‘wasted’ daily! Yes, I know you paid for it or you are being billed for it, but there is also something called accountability and discipline! Just because it’s yours doesn’t mean it needs to be ‘abused’!
Now- funerals! Cast your mind to the number of people who are buried each week in Ghana. Ghanafo- we love to bid a plush goodbye to our dead ones. From Friday wake-keeping, Saturday tsena fom to Sunday Thanksgiving service and funeral after party, we dare not leave the live music and DJ’s out. They are there in full swing to ensure our guests are ‘entertained’! What were the DJs and live singers using? Inobi (Is it not) electricity? Bigger picture again - this across Ghana every single week in all the regions since the 90s! Wow!
• Workplace
Leaving lights on at the close of day? People using computers and charging their phones at the same time, music blurring somewhere, AC’s on….
• The home
Now picture this…Mum is watching tv, her phone is charging. Ewurama is in her room playing music and on her charging computer chatting to Kwame on skype in Yankee. Kofi is ironing and Dad… he dozed off in the bedroom and left the tv on! You get the picture? So many activities going on which all consume electricity!
So...back to the current situation, now this problem may look bad but it’s not so bad. For a country where everyone wants change, I believe Dumsor is part of the ‘miracle changes’ we need as a nation to change the way and manner we think and do things. It may look bad, be bad and look hopeless but yes, in all bad situations, there are lessons to be learnt if people will only pay attention.
Dumsor is teaching us all to think long term and not take things for granted. As a nation, we take a lot for granted and have short term solutions to issues as opposed to long term. Now, electricity is no longer a luxury. Once the lights come back on, everyone rushes to get things done. Now ain’t that something!
Suddenly, people have become disciplined! How? Because now they know they have to make the most of the lights when it comes on- that means ironing your stuff for the week instead of every morning and every day.
Such a saving on electricity! Charging your phones ASAP (as soon as possible) to get some battery power instead of keeping it charged all day or night!
Limiting phone conversations and gossips because boy… I gotta keep some battery for emergencies. Suddenly, people are feeling the pain. Yes, the pain! The self-inflicted pain we created on ourselves through our bad lifestyles, habits and practices!
Pressure is now mounting on government to work miracles and bring the problem to an end. But really? Will we ever have a dumsor free country? No! With the sellers, funerals taking place, people having an attitude of “I paid for it, so I gotta use it?†Believe you me; when I say ours is not as bad as our sister country Nigeria, you rant and Mahama brings solar panels, goes around looking for ways to procure electricity.
The Naija (Nigerian) man has been using generator set and plants for ages. It is a common thing now and businesses and households are well accustomed to it; although it leaves a dent in their pocket, they have no choice but to purchase. Some business tycoons have even made a fortune out of the Nigerian dumsor version! Come on my friends… don’t slack!
There is gold and opportunity to be found in all situations eh. Buhari has not heard the cries as he continues to seek check-ups for his infected ears. Mahama at least is hale and hearty and not letting your pressure land him in the hospital.
Active groups, court summons and demonstrations to bring people at the helms of these affairs to book and to show that nkrofo aye wild! Aye wild? when you, your family and every one of us created this? Asay! Dwen!
For me, Dumsor has come to stay and will be around for the long haul until we change our mindsets, our attitudes, habits and lifestyles. Must I hear the music everywhere and must we waste that much electricity? Yes, I know some sell Compact Disc (CD) and need to market them but hey! Even in Brixton market that man selling his CD’s ain’t doing that. The only thing he has done is arranged his CDs.
He has a little cd player by his side and if you are interested in buying a cd, he would gladly play it for you. On a low volume and not that high! Noise pollution! The keyword is DISCIPLINE.
You may have paid revenue tax, electricity, you name it but in whatever you do, look at the bigger picture and think of its impact on other things. How are you helping to solve the Dumsor issue? Across the globe, people live in their houses yet cannot disturb their neighbours or make noise if they own a shop or are in stalls.
Why? Because there are rules and regulations. The council will either get you evicted or issue you a penalty or get you to court. There is nothing like - it’s my house or I am paying for it! Self-Discipline is what we need as a nation.
And the funerals, please! Don’t wait for your relative to die and throw a bash for them when you couldn’t even support them with their hospital bills. We were colonised but does anyone pay attention to how they say goodbye to their dead? It’s quiet, not stressful or dramatic, short, less music being played… less electricity wasted… all in all…. Less than half a day and it’s all over. Where did Africans learn to do three day events and throw the unnecessary bashes to land us in this issue?
On Monday at the office, make sure your computer is off and lights are off when you leave the building especially if you are the last to leave at the close of day. During the day, if there are windows, why not open them? What’s up with all the AC? Why not get mini table fans for each desk as they consume less electricity?
At home, iron your stuff and that of your family once a week, cut down on all the multi-taking activities, using that washing machine once a week to do the family laundry and finding meals you wouldn’t have to cook necessarily. Gari and shito with sardine for days when dumsor is in full swing? It’s still delish!
Next time you are in the market, whoever is making that noise with those speakers, please feel free to give them a little education. Do your accountability duty and tell them the impact it has on Dumsor!
Seriously, I know the pain and frustrations we are all going through but let us take some responsibility for it. We created this issue and we now need to make the changes. Those changes need to start with us as individuals, families, business owners, etc.
The government will take care of what they need to do for us as a nation but majority of it is in OUR HANDS! They can bring in different means to generate electricity but if the above is not changed, we will still be where we are in the next 10 years! Nothing will change! It will be a repeated cycle. They produce, we use without consideration and it goes on and on.
Two things that got to me thinking about Dumsor was the perception of other countries of us... e.g. Oyinbo (Europeans)! Okay, so oyinbo would be thinking…come on… They have engineering students passing out of universities each year. What are they being taught? Are they being challenged to come out with ground breaking inventions? Also, I would question if no one has / can find new means of producing electricity?
For a country where there is so much rubbish or we generate that much rubbish daily, have we thought of creating electricity out of it? Yes, it has its own effects on global warming blah blah but when we have that much rubbish, why can’t we create electricity out if it as some countries do? The positive far outweighs the negatives.
Since Michael Faraday and Charles Parson’s eras, I know different ways of generating electricity have come up and are being used across various countries. One thing that strikes me is: where all these discoveries come from Oyinbo again! Out of all this mayhem I want to hear Ghana has made a world breakthrough and discovery, and, a citizen has discovered a tried and tested new way of producing electricity.
A part of me is fully convinced that somebody out there has a life changing solution to this issue and is sitting on billions. A new way of generating electricity! That person is in Ghana. How do we discover this person? To the Science teachers: How about letting your students write essays on.
‘How can electricity be generated in Ghana’? To the pastors and to the congregation: How about praying to God to give us ground breaking ways of generating electricity and other discoveries which will change the world or better still to give that person the boldness to come forward with the idea?
To everyone else, instead of moaning about Dumsor, why don’t you start asking people on your social media pages to give long term solutions which will resolve this issue? Cause all I see most of the time is bashes on the government and no solutions offered. What can you do then- you the one moaning?
Whoever you are, the world awaits you my fellow Ghanaian- please come out with that discovery! We need it!