1.0 CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Communication which is derived from the latin word ‘Communis’ meaning ‘common is as old as mankind itself and it is inevitable for man’s existence. Keyton in Lunenburg (2010:1) described communication as the process of transmitting information and common understanding from one person to another. This underlies that a common understanding has to be reached from the exchange of information without which there is no communication.
Macbride (1980) in Ngwokor (2014:3) described communication as that which integrates knowledge, organization and power and runs as a thread linking the earliest memory of man to his noblest aspirations through constant quest for an improved life.
In his own view Ngwokor (2014:3) asserts that “Communication is central to the success or failure of every human activity – politics, religion, economy, culture, tradition etc, just as it is important during peaceful period between countries or even when hostility holds sway”. Just as communication is important to human development, electricity on the other hand is not just important to human development but also contributes to societal development and business growth as it serves as a life wire to technological advancement and socio – economic growth. Besides capital and labour, it is regarded as a third important production factor in economic models (Nkalo & Agwu, 2019:28).
The communication and power sector are crucial tools to the success of any human developmental effort and socio – economic growth of any nation. It is vital in every society that the mass media has continually evolved over the years has come to stay and plays significant role in nation building.
A research review conducted by Chike – Okolie (2000) in Ngwokor, (2014:3) found that communication is the reason for our existence and that no society or individual or firm can succeed without engaging in communication roles relevant to it. Communication reinforces better understanding which promotes harmony, oneness and peace.
The importance of communication in the society cannot be over emphasized; hence Felix & Tokunbo (2017:57) states that “the press brings to the public notices, issues that require attention with a view to mobilizing development efforts in that area”.
Across the globe today, organizations and individuals demand for a communication and power sector that are equipped and strives to attain a successful society with an enabling environment for wealth creation devoid of chaos and anarchy, as the former is expected to maintain a tranquil environment through its balanced and factual report of events the latter is expected to drive the engine wheel of the country’s economy to a large quantum of economic boom and growth through its productive and efficient service delivery. Energy serves as an important factor for socio – economic development and economic growth of any nation (Emordi, Yusuf & Boo 2014:259).
The availability of energy leads to a sustainable development in an economy while its non – availability presents some adverse effects which are detrimental to the society at large. Energy cannot be substituted in key areas of the economy such as industries, agriculture, transportation and service sector. With the increase in the world population, standard of living and rapid industrialization, the future energy is expected to grow. Inadequate supply of energy restricts socio – economic activities, constrains economic development and negatively affect the quality of life (as cited in Emodi & Yusuf 2015:335).
The power sector of any society serves as its major determinant of wealth creation and job opportunity as it improves citizens economic well being and quality of life and as well go a long way to attract foreign investors into the country. A country without significant supply can barely have growth in its economy. Ibiene, Clinton & Chinago (2018:435) emphasized that “the importance of power supply is all encompassing, it cuts across all aspects of the society and the economy and can never be underestimated from stone age era to when it was discovered till date, man’s life had always depended on it”.
The epileptic power supply in Nigeria has made organizations and individuals as well as industries to resort to self generation of power via generators which does not only cause noise pollution but also expensive to run and as well expensive than the from national grid thus raising the price of domestic goods..
Ibiene et al (2018:437) as well described a country with little or non – availability of power as a country with retarded growth and stagnant in nature:
Scholars have observed that self generation of power that is power that is generated by the use of generating set retards and kills any form of growth in the economy. It leads to very high cost of production and subsequent high selling price. It encourages influx of goods from countries where the cost of production is lower and eventually crippling of the economy sets in. This is the stage of most developing countries and Nigeria in particular today.
Due to the pathetic state of the nation’s power sector, the cost of doing business in Nigeria is high compared to other African countries. The South African mobile phone company MTN who operates the largest mobile phone company in Nigeria is estimated to have installed 6,000 generators to supply its base stations for up to 19 hours a day which raises the cost of diesel to $5.5 million a month to run their generators (as cited in Emodi & Yusuf, 2015:344).
Format: MS-Word
Pages: 41 Pages
Chapters: 1-5
