There was a “terrorist” attack on yours sincerely a few hours ago and only God, the Almighty gave him the courage to survive it. I mean verbal attack which could ordinarily have led to heart attack, in these days of cardiac arrest.
The attack came from a friend and former colleague, who is now the spokesman of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), simply because the man he referred to as ‘who goes by the name Yusuf Ozi-Usman’ allowed to be published on his online newspaper platform, content of a petition written and duly signed and forwarded to the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) by residents of Chibiri in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). To be sure, the petition was signed by the chairman and secretary of Chibiri Community, Alhaji Ibrahim Sani Chibri and Samuel Etsu Eto respectively. They alleged in the petition that the AEDC staff by name Ahmed collected N5,000 from a pastor in the area but did not restore his electricity supply; that he also asked another person to give him N5,000 and that when the man could afford only N3,000, he angrily disconnected his supply.
However, when the AEDC spokesman wrote a rejoinder which was supposed to be directed to the petitioners or to address the point they raised, he beamed his anger on the messenger and the institution he represents, i.e. Yusuf Ozi-Usman and Greenbarge Reporters. He went personal.
The AEDC spokesman made us to know that he carried out investigation and found out that the staff of his company were not extorting money from customers and that there was no illegal mass disconnection. According to him, there was no such thing as disconnecting those who have been paying their bills as well as even those who are using pre-paid metres. On this, one would say, in fairness to the petitioners that AEDC spokesman either did not carry out any investigation or was just trying to defend the company, if it is its policy, which is contrary to the legal framework under which it is operating.
The AEDC spokesman then went on to quote copiously from the sms (text) messages which Yusuf Ozi-Usman sent to him in respect of the disconnection of his electricity supply. Of course, none of the text messages looked beggarly. Indeed, the author of the messages launched complains to the AEDC spokesman that despite that he had been paying the bills (servicing his old debts which came through charge that did not reflect what he consumed), the company’s staff, led by one Ahmed still disconnected him and wanted him, the AEDC spokesman to intervene. For instance, in May, Yusuf Ozi-Usman paid N15,000 out of the outstanding debt of N42,000. And on June 1st, he paid another N10,000 whereas on June 27, he also paid N5,000. And before then, for the past three years since he entered the house, there was no month he would not pay something to AEDC.
Why Yusuf Ozi-Usman even wanted the AEDC spokesman to intervene (not through begging but to help restore his right) was because Ahmed ordered the disconnection of his supply less than 30 minutes after he brought the new bill. And, there was obvious hatred written all over him as if Ozi-Usman had offended him anywhere before.
In fairness to the AEDC spokesman, he took the matter up and after Ozi-Usman paid the reconnection fee, he was given his cable, but that was the beginning of another headache. The same Ahmed went ahead to disconnect the energy from a distance, covering not less than ten houses, including of those who are on pre-paid metres and those who have been servicing their debts like Ozi-Usman.
As reflected in the text messages the AEDC spokesman quoted, when Ozi-Usman contacted him, he tried to get the area manager on phone to plead on behalf of his friend to restore his supply, not on the basis of favour, but by virtue of the fact that he has been servicing his debt and that it remained just N12, 000 to clear. But the AEDC spokesman personally called Ozi-Usman to say that the area manager was not picking his call. This gave a picture of conspiracy, by the area manager and Ahmed, to unnecessarily deny not only Ozi-Usman but several customers the joy of enjoying electricity supply.
The AEDC spokesman even went as far as quoting the text message in which Ozi-Usman was seeking for advert from his company for the Greenbarge Reporters, as if he doesn’t know that newspapers, and of course, online publishing depend largely on adverts to survive and it is through soliciting for adverts from friends and friendly organizations and companies that such adverts can be obtained. Being a friend and a colleague, was there anything wrong in Ozi-Usman soliciting for advert from the AEDC spokesman, and of course, the AEDC which news items the spokesman had been forwarding and being published in Greenbarge Reporters with no cost to the company? In fact, the same message seeking for adverts was sent to a number of the friends of the Greenbarge Media and Communications Limited either as individuals or companies or organizations. They include friends in NNPC, CBN, NAFDAC, some banks and so on.
Why would the AEDC spokesman not kindly look inwards and contribute to correcting the rots therein, which are obvious to those who look at issues with objective mind, to avoid running into deep trouble, mainly, legal, in no distant future?
That is to say, Yusuf Ozi-Usman is not the issue. [myad]
