BARTH'S BOUNTY

THE Minister of Power, ProfessorBartholomew (commonly known as Barth)Nnaji, is one of those saintly souls who do not only take an insult lying down but roll in it. A scientist at the cutting edge of breathtaking technology, the man to send Nigeria to Mars, he was dismissed as a medieval alchemist by workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). They said he was a failure as a practical scientist and blundered as a businessman. The workers asked, indeed threatened, President Goodluck Jonathan not to appoint him as Minister of Power.PRESIDENT Jonathan, whose view was obscured by the gloom created by the workers, could not see a spark of sense in their demand and ignored it. He nominated Prof Nnaji as minister and the nomination was approved by the Senate.THE workers' thunderbolt of abuse became a disintegrating bubble and they bolted into the dark, a territory of forlorn familiarity.BUT Professor Nnaji has the forgiving spirit of his saintly namesake, who asked, when told about Jesus Christ, 'can anything good come out of Nazareth'' It is a question many Nigerians ask about PHCN even with the promise (which Nigerians have heard many times before) of thousands of megawatts of electricity.PROFESSOR Nnaji has directed that the salaries of PHCN workers be increased by 50 per cent. This is not a bribe or an attempt to buy the workers' love. It is not true that Prof Nnaji is rewarding inefficiency. PHCN workers are very efficient and honest. They do not play God and declare 'let there be light.'A statue of St Bartholomew suddenly became heavy when it was being carried by some men, according to one story. The men carried the statue with love and did not see it as a burden. PHCN workers richly deserve Barth's bounty and Nigerians should not see it as a burden imposed on them by Prof Nnaji.
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