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  • If there’s one thing every Nigerian can relate to, it’s the unpredictable nature of NEPA (or whatever they’re calling themselves these days). One moment, you’re enjoying full AC blast, and the next, you’re sweating like a Christmas goat. But no worries, we’ve got you covered with a foolproof guide to staying fresh, even when NEPA is doing you dirty.

    1. Invest in a Solid Rechargeable Fan

    First things first, if you don’t have a rechargeable fan, what are you doing? These lifesavers can keep you cool for hours while you wait for power to return. For extra freshness, place a bottle of frozen water in front of the fan to create a budget-friendly AC.

    2. Stay Hydrated Like Your Life Depends on It

    Sweating profusely? That’s your body’s way of crying for water. Drink up! Staying hydrated helps regulate your body temperature and keeps you from feeling like you’re melting.

    3. Use a Long-Lasting Deodorant

    Let’s be real—there’s nothing cute about smelling like a damp rag just because NEPA is misbehaving. A good deodorant, like NIVEA Deo Dry, will keep you feeling fresh and dry. Bonus: It helps you avoid awkward “armpit-raising” moments.

    4. Wear Breathable Clothes

    Forget thick fabrics—this is not the time for “fashion over comfort.” Stick to lightweight, breathable materials like cotton and linen to allow proper airflow. Sleeveless tops? Yes, please.

    5. Take Strategic Showers

    Cold showers are your best friend. If NEPA is gone and you’re already feeling sticky, hop into the shower for an instant cooldown. Pro tip: Don’t dry off completely—let some water stay on your skin and stand near a fan for a natural cooling effect.

    6. Reduce Movement

    This is not the time to be jumping up and down like you’re on a mission. Less movement = less sweat. Sit still, read a book, scroll through TikTok, and let the heat pass.

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    7. Avoid Cooking Heavy Meals

    Cooking in this heat? Do you want to bake yourself too? Stick to light meals like fruits, salads, and anything that doesn’t require you standing over a steaming pot for hours.

    8. Keep Your Room Ventilated

    Open windows, doors—anything to create a cross breeze. If you have mosquito nets, even better. Just make sure fresh air is coming in and not heat trapping you inside like suya in an oven.

    9. Use a Cooling Body Spray or Wet Wipes

    A quick mist of body spray or a swipe of a wet wipe can work wonders in making you feel fresh, even when you’re battling the heat.

    10. Find an Escape Route

    If all else fails, run to a friend’s house, a mall, or anywhere with a generator and AC. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

    Until NEPA decides to behave, these tips will help you maintain your freshness, confidence, and social acceptability. And of course, don’t forget to keep that NIVEA Deo Dry handy for 24/7 freshness!

    ALSO READ: I’m a Woman with Oily Skin. This is How I Survived

  • Things are falling apart in Nigeria and it’s not just the national grid. The recent nationwide blackout marks the fifth time the national grid has collapsed in 2024 alone- Six times if we’re adding the Labour strike that caused a nationwide blackout that lasted for hours in June. 

    In May, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) announced that it had successfully decreased grid disturbances and collapses in Nigeria by 76.47% but that information is hard to believe given the continued frequency of national grid collapses. While you continue to cross your heart and hope to find fuel, I’ve taken it upon myself to give you a rundown of all the other great “falls” you should be aware of. 

    Naira’s strength

    Naira’s spines are getting weaker than ever and the currency isn’t fighting its fall against the dollar anymore.

    At the close of business on Monday, October 14, the naira hit a new low and closed at ₦1,700/$. Nigeria’s currency has gone through a lot this year and despite the promises of things getting better soon by President Tinubu,  the naira is still fighting for its life. At the beginning of the year, the currency was traded at ₦907.11/$ and that’s still the strongest value it has had all year. I’m trying to be optimistic but it’s not looking good guys. 

    The purchasing power of Nigerians

    Tinubu’s economy has made the pocket of the average Nigerian drier than ever and it could get even worse in 2025 thanks to a bill the National Assembly is currently considering. If this becomes law, it will increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) paid by Nigerians from 7.5% to 10%. But that’s not even the crazy part — this increase to 10% is expected to be the first of three other increases spread across 5 years. The bill suggests raising the rate to 10% starting in 2025, and then increasing it again to 12.5% in 2026, which will stay in place until 2029. This VAT hike (if it happens) will be charged on every taxable item so everything, including essentials like electricity, food, appliances, etc, could get even more expensive than they currently are. 

    Nigerian drivers 

    ICYMI, there’s a chance that Nigerian drivers might start falling like flies soon because Nigerian lawmakers believe that the Federal Road Safety Commission(FRSC) should be equipped with guns to carry out their duties. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if this commission didn’t already have a track record of physically assaulting drivers, asking them for bribes, and getting away with it when they didn’t even have weapons. The commission’s list of atrocities could get even longer if they are armed with guns. Fortunately, this bill is yet to be passed so there’s still a chance that things could change. 

    Total number of nourished Nigerians

    At the risk of stating the obvious, there’s hunger in the land but World Bank’s recent data shows us how bad it really is. In September, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reported that Nigeria now has the highest number of people affected by food insecurity in the world, with 31.8 million people falling into this category. Barely a month later, the World Bank said 1 million other Nigerians have been added to the list. 

    What can you do?

    You can’t fix everything that’s not working in the country but there’s a chance that you can still stop the bill proposing that road safety officers should be allowed to carry guns by sending multiple emails to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas,  (tajudeenabbas@yahoo.com) who’s currently pushing for the bill, asking him to withdraw it for the safety of young Nigerians who are at the risk of being profiled and harassed by armed officers.

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  • Nina Simone once said, “It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times,” so Nigeria deserves all the artistic scrutiny it gets. While there are uncountable songs about the many social issues that resonate with Nigerians at the moment, we highlighted the seven that are articulate about our collective sentiments on electricity issues.

    NEPA — Tony Allen

    In 1985, the late Tony Allen released Never Expect Power Always (NEPA), and he just might’ve jinxed us for good with that title. The song was all about how useful electricity supply is to society and how its inconsistency affects people.

    Just Like That — Fela Kuti

    Fela trolled the government on “Just Like That”, a track off his 1986 Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense album. “White man rule us for many years, we get electricity constantly. Our people come take over, dem come build Kainji Dam. Dem come build the dam finish. Electricity come stop.”

    N.E.P.A. Bring The Light — Neo

    N.E.P.A. Bring the Light is a 2007 pop-rock song by a Nigerian band called Neo. Listeners will croak at the part that goes, “I went to NEPA office, they told me they never took the light.” 

    2010 Light Up — Sound Sultan feat. M.I Abaga

    Sound Sultan sang, “When we ask our government o, when Dem go give us light, dem say na 2010,” over a decade ago. It’s 2024 and nothing has changed. We’re still asking when we’ll have stable electricity.

    Rara — Tekno

    In 2016, Tekno bemoaned how frustrating generator noises are on this danceable hit. He talked about fuel scarcity and encouraged government officials to invest in structural development. That was eight years ago. Nothing till now.

    Nepa — A-Q

    On “Nepa” off his 2020 God’s Engineering album, A-Q reminds us that Nigerian electricity always disappears anytime rain comes around. He compares NEPA to rappers that splurge on shiny jewellery but have no longevity. Another proof Nigeria’s messy situation is still bad enough to remain a relevant pop culture reference. 

    UP NEPA — XYZ

    When hip-hop music producer and rapper, XYZ, lamented about the light issues on UP NEPA in 2023, he told us ceiling fans don’t roll when there’s no light. But the call-and-response chorus is where all the fun is at — “When I say Up, you say NEPA / Up! Nepa!” NEPA, please, answer our desperate cries.

    Psst! Have you seen our Valentine Special yet? We brought back three couples – one now with kids, one now married and the last, still best friends – to share how their relationships have evolved in the last five years. Watch the second episode below:

  • RECOMMENDED: QUIZ: Do You Deserve Nigeria?

  • The Nigerian experience is physical, emotional, and sometimes international. No one knows it better than our features on #TheAbroadLife, a series where we detail and explore Nigerian experiences while living abroad.

    On Abroad Life today, Deyo tells us how his curiosity and passion for solving the electricity problem in Nigeria took him from the hydroelectric station in Kwara State to Canada and why he plans to return to Nigeria to implement all he’s learning.

    How long have you been in Canada? AKA Abroad Nigeria

    January made it five years, so five and a half years.

    Wow! That’s a long time

    When I first came here and met people that had been here for five years, I had the same reaction but five years later it still feels like I’m new.

    What part of it feels new to you?

    It’s mostly because I still meet people that have been here for decades, who moved here from Nigeria, and all over the world. 

    People say that everywhere you go in Canada, you’ll see Nigerians. How true is that?

    It’s hard to survey. I’m in Ottawa and there’s a sizable number of Nigerians here, but if you compare it to Toronto, that number is nothing. You’ll find more Nigerians in Toronto than in any other place in Canada. I’m four and a half hours away from Toronto by road. That’s where some of my Nigerian friends are, so if I want to see them I’ll just drive there. 

    Ottawa and Toronto are in the same province which is Ontario, so in this province I’d say there are many Nigerians.

    Do you know why Nigerians decide to stay in Toronto?

    Toronto is a really big city. It’s like the Lagos of Canada. It’s a very metropolitan city, and it’s very busy so there are a lot of opportunities. It also has industrial activities so people go there to find opportunities.

    When did you decide that you wanted to leave Nigeria?

    I worked at Jebba Hydroelectric Power Station in Jebba which is a border town between Niger and Kwara state. The hydroelectric facility there uses water from a flowing river to generate electricity. At that point, I was looking to further my career and my experience there exposed me to renewable energy. The Nigerian power sector had too many problems for me to feel comfortable to develop professionally. I felt like going abroad would help me get some exposure and experience. The plan was to come back because I am mind blown at the amount of resources we have in Nigeria. I was exposed to how electricity was generated and all I could think about was how to scale it so that the entire population gets electricity, because we’re a huge population and the demand for electricity is high, but the supply is low.

    Canada is very big in renewable energy so I chose to go to Canada.

    Wait, so this isn’t a japa story?

    Nope. I came to get some exposure, and then fix some problems. 

    It’s nice to see a different mindset. After five and a half years, would you say you have that same outlook?

    Even though it’s taking a while, the answer is yes. People say things are bad in Nigeria and it’s silly to return and try to make it better but the fact is that things are bad all over the world. 

    So from Jebba to Ottawa, how has the self-development journey been?

    I came out here as a student to do my masters. The opportunity to get into Canada was more on the studying part. That was the most feasible way for me, because if it was just getting a job, I wouldn’t be able to compete with other people. So coming to study was the approach. I came as a student, and I finished my masters in 2016.

    The course —  Systems Science — was very complex; the description is “a course about solving complex problems” and based on my exposure in the Nigerian power sector,  I can say the problem in Nigeria is complex. I have been in the system and I know what’s going on there so I said to myself, “okay, Systems Science is good”. It was also a good segue from my Systems Engineering background in UNILAG, even though I didn’t finish that one with a first class or a 2.1.

    So, a systems engineering background, masters from the university in Ottawa, and  background in electricity generation in the power sector. You must have been hot cake.

    I thought I’d be hot cake as well but soon I realised that these streets are tough. All around the world, an economy is an economy. Nobody just gets handed anything. I have seen many Nigerians come here and expect to ‘blow’ immediately. In trying to leave Nigeria, they burn bridges and then face reality when they get here. It doesn’t always end well.

    So while still looking for a job, with my Canadian university masters, I started working at a warehouse, picking orders.   

    A Warehouse. How did that make you feel?

    To me, it was unfair. It felt unfair because I felt that someone with a masters degree program in my discipline was not supposed to be doing such jobs. This was so far from my evaluation of what things would be. I had even engaged my fiancée before coming so that when I got my masters, I would bring her over, marry her, and then focus on the rest of my self development. Everything looked nice on paper. In retrospect however, that was one of my best learning experiences. I still work at that same company, but I rose through the ranks to where I am today.

    She joined me later though and even though we had some paperwork problems that meant she had to go back to Nigeria for about two years with our son, she’s back and we’re all here together with our permanent residence, and with our son as a full citizen. 

    How did it feel raising a child away from home?

    One word: Adventurous. At the point of fatherhood, I had already been through and survived enough life’s circumstances for me to realize that having an optimistic attitude would help me through my greatest challenges as I venture through life. So I just took it one day at a time. 

    I’m going back to the top now. How easy was it getting a student visa?

    There’s nothing easy in this life but I don’t want to discourage anyone. They’ll give you a list of documents you need. Make sure you have all of them and follow due process. If you get rejected, which I did, take it as feedback and work towards not getting rejected again. 

    When you first got to Canada, what was the first difference you noticed? 

    The weather in Canada is as bad as people say it is. I came in winter with just a fleece jacket and when I got off the plane I thought there was some disaster going on. It was so bad, I had to run back into the plane to ask a guard if he knew what was happening outside. I usually like to keep an open mind, so a lot of the other stuff was just normal to me. 

    Like Racism?

    Yeah any kind of discrimination, I don’t like using that word (racism). I don’t see it a lot, or if it happens to me I don’t engage in it. I try to navigate it and think maybe the person is having a bad day and acting like this but not that they’re being racist. 

    With this pandemic and everyone being at home, how has that affected you as a father, worker and husband?

    I’m in charge of Quality Assurance for Information Systems where I work — the enemy of a software developer. To carry out that role there’s no need to be in the office so I’ve been working from home. The challenge with working from home is my son doesn’t want to hear any stories; he doesn’t understand what work is and why it is necessary, so he wants to play when he wants to play and I find that challenging because at first I tried to explain to him but now the challenge is being able to balance my work with his play time; I can’t really argue with whenever he wants to play. I never win, it’s just having to balance my time and work, that’s the challenge for me right now. My wife is very supportive.

    Children…

    So, where would you rather be, Canada or Nigeria?

    It depends on a lot. Right now there’s a very interesting conversation going on globally around energy, energy access, energy efficiency, and energy security. With the way the world is, with the pandemic and all, being in Nigeria might be frustrating because everyone is meant to be staying indoors and how can you stay indoors without stable electricity. So I would love to be in Nigeria, but I wouldn’t want to be stuck in Nigeria because I’m not where I want to be in my self development journey. I still keep close contacts with a lot of people in the power sector in Nigeria and we talk about how to move things forward from bottom up but it’s not so straightforward. 

    I’m putting in the work though. I hope it works out. 

    What do you miss about Nigeria?

    Family, friends and Owambe food. 

    I hope we see you soon. 

    Want more Abroad Life? Check in every Friday at 9 A.M. (WAT) for a new episode. Until then, read every story of the series here.

  • 1. Being born into the PHCN struggle:

    God, why not the abroad na?

    2. Your generator’s best friend:

    Except when there is fuel scarcity sha.

    3. When you are about to put on your gen for the night and they bring light.

    See what God can do.

    4. You, checking that house everyone uses to know if they have brought light.

    Their own gen is never on.

    5. When they bring light and none of your neighbours come to tell you.

    Is it like that you used to do?

    6. When NEPA shows its true colours.

    I knew it was too good to be true

    7. You, sitting in the dark and waiting for them to bring the light back:

    I’m sha not risking it again.

    8. When they bring light and nobody in your house wants to go and change over.

    It’s not me sha

    9. You, when your generator dies in the middle of the night.

    Who is doing me from the village?

    10. When your generator dies but your neighbour’s own is still on.

    It will now be sounding louder than normal.

    11. When you put on the small gen but you forgot to turn off the AC.

    The struggle.

    12. How you look at your generator when the rope cuts:

    Hay God!

    13. When you realize your phone wasn’t charging and it’s time to put off the gen.

    Kuku kill me.

  • If you are a part of the very small percentage of Nigerian adults who have their lives put together enough to make budgets, we have a thing or two to tell you. While you might think that you’ve covered all your bases. You’ve made a budget for food, transport even Friday night faji, there are a couple of key things you are leaving out of your budget that could ruin your finances.

    The second cloth you have to buy after your tailor takes the aso-ebi you bought for a wedding and travelled with it.

    Please, when are we going to come together as a people and boycott Nigerian tailors?

    The extra tyre you need to buy after that deep pothole on your street finally tears your tyre.

    And the second one you’ll buy after the same pothole tears the new one.

    If you thought you’ll need only 10k fuel for the month double it, because the transformer on your street will blow and you won’t have light for three months.

    And you’ll still contribute for NEPA people to come and fix the transformer.

    Drugs for malaria you only got because your street has been flooded for the past two weeks.

    By the time you get your hospital bill, you’ll wish you just stayed home and prayed the malaria away.

    The third and fourth internet subscriptions you have to pay for because the first two start moving mad.

    Then you go back to the first two when the third and fourth one starts misbehaving too.

    The funny sound your generator starts making even though you only serviced it last week.

    You’ll think it just needs to be serviced again until your gen guy tells you, you need to replace the carburetor.

    When someone steals wires from the NEPA pole on your street and you have to contribute to pay for it.

    You also have to settle the NEPA guys who will come and fix it.

    The new phone you have to buy because they obtained your old one in traffic.

    Shebi if the traffic was moving the thief won’t have seen road to collect your phone.

    When your rent is due on January 1st and your landlord tells you on the 31st that he’s increasing the rent.

    After you’ve used all your extra money for December rocks.

    Getting that message from your younger brother, sister asking for money.

    Me sef I need epp.

    The borehole in your compound just suddenly stops working because the last plumber to fix it used fake parts.

    And you just fixed it last month,

    All the people you have to settle just so you don’t die on the line collecting things like your driver’s license or passport.

    And they’ll still ask anything for the boys after you’ve settled them.

    Settling police so they can release your friend they carried for no reason.

    They said because he was using an iPhone he must be a yahoo boy.

    The side mirror of your car you have to replace because one danfo guy trying to overtake you hit it.

    After hitting it he started rolling on the floor using God to beg you.

    Having to replace the compressor of your freezer because NEPA blew it.

    And the surge protector you bought was fake.

    NEPA bringing a 90k bill for you even though they only gave you light twice that month.

    If you don’t have a prepaid meter go and get one now.

    Did we leave anyone out?

  • 1. When PHCN thinks people will refer to them as PHCN even though still exhibit NEPA behaviour.

    2. When there is no light to pump water, so you have to start fetching water in your area.

    3. When you have to charge all your electronic gadgets in the office because the only light in your house is from torchlights.

    4. When your fridge has turned to a cupboard because there is never light.

    5. When you have to sleep without light and your room is like a sauna.

    6. And now the mosquitoes are using your body as a buffet.

    7. When you are still paying for cable but there is never light to watch it.

    8. When you find out how much diesel is now and your wallet starts shedding tears.

    9. When you can finally afford petrol/diesel for your generator and then the rope cuts.

    10. And PHCN still has the guts to bring ridiculous bills for you to pay.