NEPA, GENERATOR AND THE LESSON

Lagos, 8pm. The whole of Ikeja went dark. NEPA took light like they always do when you’re watching the final 5 minutes of your show.

Tayo cursed. “Everyday NEPA! How will Nigeria progress?” He slammed his laptop shut. No light, no work, no Netflix.

His neighbor Uncle Musa walked in with a small generator. “Tayo, come and charge your phone. And let me teach you something.”

Uncle Musa started the generator. Vroom. Light came back. But not for the whole house. Just one bulb, one fan, and Tayo’s laptop. “This gen can’t carry fridge + AC + TV,” he said. “If I overload it, it will blow.”

Tayo watched. Uncle Musa didn’t complain about NEPA. He just used what he had. He planned his power: charge phones 7-8pm, watch news 8-9pm, sleep 10pm. No stress.

Tayo said, “But NEPA is wicked.”
Uncle Musa laughed. “NEPA is NEPA. Generator is generator. You can’t change NEPA tonight. But you can manage your generator. Life is like that too.”

That night Tayo didn’t sleep angry. He used his laptop battery wisely. Wrote 2 pages of his project. Went to bed early.

Next time NEPA took light, Tayo didn’t curse. He asked, “What can my ‘generator’ handle right now?” He focused on small wins instead of big darkness.

*Moral: You can’t control NEPA, but you can control your generator. Work with what you have.* ⚡

Word count: *250*

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