Darkness for Sale: How Osogbo Residents Are Forced to Fund Public Electricity Infrastructure

 

As landlords in Ogo-Oluwa are compelled to pay ₦16,000 per house for transformers, residents call on Governor Ademola Adeleke to urgently intervene and halt the growing exploitation.

By Oriontimes Editorial Board | December 16, 2025

In the early hours of last week, residents of Ogo-Oluwa area of Osogbo were plunged into darkness following reports that the community transformer had developed a fault. While such incidents are not uncommon, what followed once again exposed a troubling pattern in Osun State’s electricity supply system—one where citizens are increasingly forced to finance public infrastructure before power can be restored.

Barely hours after the outage, whispers began to circulate that the transformer might not have failed naturally. This suspicion was strengthened by prior conversations on the deteriorating state of electricity supply across Osogbo and the now-familiar response from electricity distribution officials: community funding.

A resident of Ogo-Oluwa, who spoke early Monday morning, expressed frustration and uncertainty over when power would return. According to her, households in the area have been asked to contribute not less than ₦16,000 per house to facilitate the repair or replacement of the faulty transformer.

“We don’t know how long we’ll stay in darkness if we don’t pay,” she lamented. “They are saying we should contribute first before anything can be done.”

This experience mirrors what recently occurred in Alekuwodo, another Osogbo community, where residents were similarly compelled to raise funds collectively before electricity was restored. In both cases, landlords and residents bore the financial burden for infrastructure that ordinarily falls under the responsibility of the electricity distribution company.

A Growing Burden on Citizens

Across Osogbo and many urban centres in Nigeria, the phrase “faulty transformer” has become more than a technical diagnosis—it is now a prelude to financial demands on already strained households. Rather than prompt intervention from service providers, transformer failures often mark the beginning of community levies, emergency meetings, and forced contributions.

While electricity distribution companies continue to bill consumers regularly, residents say maintenance, upgrades, and emergency responses are increasingly outsourced to the same people paying monthly tariffs for services that remain inconsistent and unreliable.

For many residents, this arrangement feels less like service delivery and more like extortion. Communities are left with little choice: either pool scarce resources to fix public assets or endure weeks, sometimes months of darkness. In an era where electricity is essential for security, commerce, education, and healthcare, the consequences of prolonged outages are severe.

Small business owners, particularly those dependent on refrigeration, digital services, or evening patronage, suffer immediate losses. Students struggle to study at night, while families resort to costly and unsafe alternatives such as generators, candles, and kerosene lamps.

A Question of Responsibility and Accountability

At the heart of this recurring crisis lies a fundamental question: who is responsible for maintaining public electricity infrastructure? By law and by logic, transformers and distribution equipment fall squarely within the remit of electricity distribution companies operating under regulatory oversight. Yet, the persistent transfer of this responsibility to communities suggests a troubling abdication of duty.

If citizens are expected to purchase, repair, or replace transformers, many residents argue, then transparency and accountability must follow. Who determines the cost? Who supplies the equipment? Who ensures that funds collected are used appropriately? In most cases, answers to these questions remain vague, breeding mistrust and suspicion within communities.

Calls for Government Intervention

Residents of Ogo-Oluwa and are now calling on the Osun State Government, particularly Governor Ademola Adeleke, to urgently intervene. They want the state to engage electricity distribution companies operating within Osun, halt the practice of compulsory community funding, and enforce clear standards for maintenance and response times.

Beyond immediate intervention, stakeholders are urging the government to work with federal regulators to protect consumers from exploitation and ensure that electricity providers fulfill their obligations. Without firm action, they warn, the cycle of darkness-for-sale will only deepen, normalizing a system where public utilities survive on private suffering.

A Broader National Problem

While this issue is playing out in Osogbo, it reflects a broader national challenge within Nigeria’s power sector. The privatization of electricity distribution was meant to improve efficiency and service delivery. 

Until clear boundaries of responsibility are enforced and consumer rights protected, the burden of Nigeria’s power failures will continue to rest on the shoulders of ordinary citizens.

For now, residents of Ogo-Oluwa remain in darkness, not because electricity is unavailable, but because access to it has quietly been put up for sale.