It was my very brilliant Investment Banker friend, Mohammed, who first sent the write-up to me
Edgar, have you seen this?
Mohammed’s firm is the biggest on the NGX with record deals and a massive trading portfolio, so I take him super seriously.
I scanned through and said Ignore.
He said, ” My first thoughts, but I’ve seen it in so many of the groups I belong to”
Mohammed is no small fry. He has superintended some of the most significant and most iconic transactions on the NGX and belongs to the heaviest groups that control Nigerian business, so this write-up must now be taken seriously.
I decided to take a toothpick to go through the write-up again.
By this time, people had started sending it to me, and before you realise it, my phone was being inundated with the story.
I guess I was being dumped with the story cos of my relationship with the two major people thrown up for character assassination in the piece.
Kola Adeshina is one of the finest businessmen you would find anywhere in the world. A member of the Presidential Committee on the Economy, an expert in power and an Insurance expert who has been Chairman of a major insurance company
He is very popular on the ‘talk circuit’ as he remains a deep resource person.
Folake Soetan, on the other hand, is a childhood friend. Married to the highly cerebral Dipo Soetan, whose father was once a Solicitor General of this country.
I have watched Folake build a superlative career starting from Virgin Atlantic, through British Airways, down to Sahara Group, from where she was seconded to Ikeja Electric, where she now superintends the largest power distribution company in the land
It’s by her dint of superb hard work and passion that she was selected by the Sahara Group – a firm that is built around a world-class corporate governance ethos to head that strategic acquisition.
Kola says to me;
Our focus remains unchanged: delivering reliable electricity to Nigerians, powering industries, and supporting Africa’s growth.
We will not be distracted by narratives that do not serve customers or the country.
We respect all stakeholders in the power sector, including labour, and we remain open to constructive dialogue that improves service delivery and sector sustainability.
At this critical time for Nigeria’s power sector, our energy is best spent on solutions—expanding access, improving reliability, and strengthening the value chain for the benefit of all.
And Folake tows the same line as she asserts that she is not and will not be distracted by the seeming ‘attack’
Now you know sensationalism sells. So whoever is behind these had decided to go through that route with hairbrained accusations muddied with personality attacks to get the public’s attention instead of using the opportunity to address the clear challenge that the Power Sector, which Ikeja Disco is part of, is facing.
As we write, the National Grid has collapsed a second time in five days
Investment in the space remains flaccid, distribution infrastructure remains old and moribund, sectoral debt in the trillions, domestic debt in the trillions and despite the ‘N466. 69b’ claimed to have been collected by Ikeja Disco, the firm still struggles to cover its opex.
It is a massive disservice to Ikeja Disco and to Folake’s person to cite the Air Force debacle as an example of her so-called malfeasance.
This was a catch-22 situation. A situation where all stakeholders agreed bound all of them.
The air force is a critical part of the National Security Architecture, but as one of Ikeja’s biggest customers, its debt was about to strangle its operations.
So what would a correct-thinking and bold CEO in her shoes do.
She took the hard decision that these yellow-faced authors of this stinkfest would never have done – shut down the power to force meaningful dialogue.
She succeeded, and a roundtable discussion was held, and the matter was resolved amicably.
It is this bravery that these stinks are now trying to misapply instead of commending her for her heroics.
Ikeja Disco, like every Nigerian concern, has its own challenges – service issues, customer relations issues, infrastructure issues and a whole lot
But what, in my estimation, is their primary issue is appropriate pricing and heavy-handed regulation
Kola argues that despite the recent seeming deregulation of pricing, the industry has still not reached an equilibrium pricing in the sector.
This does not allow for new investments, and as such, infrastructure cannot be meaningfully upgraded, and the downside is now the inability to deliver premium service.
On the other side of the debacle is the dwindling purchasing power of the average Nigerian, who can barely survive on minimum wage and is now faced with the prospect of super-high energy bills.
Same for industries whose power needs are high and who need to keep energy costs at certain levels, otherwise they will be facing increasing inventories.
Another catch-22 situation that the authors of the puriel article have not contended with.
The power sector challenges are far beyond a Kola and Folake matter; the sector is going through massive shocks that see the Government, with its huge regulations, struggling to keep it afloat – they just concluded another Bond, which aims to raise funds for the sector
It’s a challenging scenario that has seen such a big player like Femi Otedola exit, and instead of these shameless people addressing the issue with responsible and robust advocacy, they attempt to elevate what looks like a domestic issue into a National query of a brilliant company and its extremely passionate officers
Like a bull fighter, I have jumped into the arena waving a red cloak to the charging bulls to distract them from Kola, Folake and Ikeja disco and redirect them to come towards me with an issue-based engagement so that the beautiful team at Ikeja Disci will continue to fight the storms of their calling with all the grit they can muster
They should come and beat me instead.
