Renowned Nigerian filmmaker, Jade Osiberu, has fired back at an X user who dismissed her viewpoint over Nigeria’s power sector, urging her to focus on the entertainment industry.
The X user, with the handle, @Jacob24385905, had disagreed with Osiberu’s objection against the idea of the federal government selling the power transmission infrastructure to private sector.
Tunji Andrews, the co-founder of Awabah, a pension-oriented fintech platform, had in an interview on Nairametrics at the weekend, suggested the sales of transmission infrastructures to private investors.
Osiberu, in a comment on the post shared on X ruled out the sales of transmission infrastructure which she considered a national security matter that can only be managed by the government.
The Gang of Lagos producer had cited the cost of building and maintaining the infrastructure as well as the lengthy timeline for returns on investment make the transmission sector unsuitable for private investors.
‘I think selling Transmission is a bad idea. Transmission infrastructure is a national security matter but more importantly, the cost of building and maintaining that infrastructure and the timeline for seeing reasonable returns on investment makes it not well suited for typical investor funds.
‘That type of investment is done by governments who can take a much longer term and broader economic benefit view of the investment and can potentially source relatively cheaper funds for it than most private businesses.
‘It would mean having a government that’s more interested in building long term infrastructure than they are with lining their pockets which is where Nigeria has been consistently unfortunate.’ Osiberu had commented.
Commenting under the filmmaker’s reaction, @Jacob24385905, faulted Osiberu’s opinion as he claimed that investors will be excited to invest in the transmission sector.
‘Please stick to entertainment because you’re so wrong. A lot of Institutional investors would be very happy to get into investments like that on the long term because it guarantees predictable cashflows’ The X user said.
Responding in a separate post, Osiberu expressed her displeasure with the X user’s comment as she disclosed that she has abundant knowledge to talk about Nigeria’s failing power sector as a graduate of Computer System and Electrical Engineering with parents who are both computer system and electrical engineers.
‘When people start their argument with “stick to….” You just show yourself. My darling, my first degree is in Computer Systems and Electrical Engineering from the University of Manchester. My Dad is a computer Systems Engineer and my mum is an electrical engineer who worked for 30years in Nepa/PHCN.
‘I’ve been around power sector conversations since I was a child.’ She said.
Osiberu questioned the level of investment done in the discos and Genco since their takeover by the private investors.
‘If so many institutional investors were foaming at the teeth to invest in the sector, why have the discos and Genco that were privatized more than a decade ago not pumped in all that investment and experienced exponential growth?
‘Of the 3, the discos are the ones with the cashflows cos they’re the ones that collect directly from consumers.
‘After their initial investment to acquire the discos, what investment have these companies made into distribution infrastructure?’ She asked.
Osiberu further slammed the X user for his remark as she reiterated her right to speak on matters of national discuss regardless of her profession.
‘Finally, if you need to resort to trying to condescend/insult to make a point, it’s evident you’re not speaking from a place of knowledge.
‘Even if I was a bricklayer or trash collector, I have a right to have an opinion on matters of National discuss.’ She added.