Blackout in Borno: The need for an alternative

Barely two days after electricity was restored in Borno State, there was another destruction of some towers along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road by Boko Haram insurgents. This sent the state into another darkness.

The last blackout lasted for almost three months before electricity was restored.

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This incident happened at a very ungodly time, with the increasing hostile weather and the fast approaching Ramadan fasting.

Apart from that, many small businesses would be adversely affected since they would be forced to spend more to operate on generators.

We really appreciate the effort of our hardworking governor for his effort to remedy the situation.

Given the current situation we are in, I would suggest that government should begin to think of alternative ways of supplying electricity to the state. This is more pertinent in view of the fact that the insurgents will continue to destroy the installations as government repairs them.

Shetu James, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri