Point One

They call it the national grid, and it ostensibly comprises a network of steel towers and high tension lines wheeling electricity from generating companies (GenCos) to distribution companies (DisCos) for onward delivery to end-users. But it could well have been a grid of straws, considering the spate of operational collapses that shut down power supply on the grid and leave swathes of this country in darkness. There were at least two collapses within a span of seven days in recent weeks that left government scrambling for explanation and remediation. Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu summoned an emergency meeting of managers of the sector – the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) – to trouble-shoot frequent disruptions of the grid. He also raised a panel to unearth the root causes. A statement by spokesperson Bolaji Tunji said the minister was worried that the disruptions could rubbish improvements made over the past year that ha...

 A policy initiative by government has never been more knee-jerk. That, perhaps, is why government has found itself stuck in equivocation in the narrative being plied to justify the policy to Nigerians. Education Minister Tahir Mamman lately restated government’s resolve to bar pupils under 18 years from sitting the secondary school leaving certificate examinations, which are a prerequisite for proceeding to the tertiary level. He said pupils would henceforth not be permitted to sit the West African Senior School Certificate Examination organised by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the Senior School Certificate Examination organised by the National Examination Council (NECO) unless they attain that age. And since these are primary requirements for advancing to the tertiary level of education, it follows that any candidate sitting the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) cannot be below 18. Speakin...