Column With Legal Column: Power and Love: How Lack of Electricity is Transforming the Dating Game

By: Muhammad Habibat Sani 

As Khadijah handed over her phone to be charged, Maimuna shook her head in frustration. "I cannot believe that we are still living in the dark ages. It's unacceptable that we have to struggle like this when we're in the 21st century."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a generator coming to life. Khadijah's face lit up, and she exclaimed, "Finally! Looks like the people across the street found a solution."

Maimuna rolled her eyes and said, "It's sad that the only way to have electricity in this area is through a generator, and we have to pay for it. The noise from that thing is unbearable, and the fumes are killing us slowly."

As they walked back, they saw a group of guys huddled around a power bank. One of them was waving his phone around like a victory flag.

"They're at it again," Khadijah said with a chuckle. "It's saddening  how something as simple as a charged phone can be a status symbol."

A girl they knew approached them. "Excuse me, do any of you have a spare port? My phone is almost dead."

Maimuna replied, "Sorry, we don't. We just came from giving Khadijah's phone to be charged."

The girl frowned, "Oh well, thanks anyway. I guess I'll just have to wait or give a friend in the school hostel."

Maimuna was quick to reply with a smirk, "Ah, that explains it. I heard that all the guys in your area have started getting themselves girlfriends strictly for phone charging purposes. They flaunt their fully charged phones to impress their "bae" in one-minute conversation sessions (Morroco).

Khadijah couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. With the lack of electricity reaching critical levels in their area, the search for a decent charge has become the latest dating trend.

The villages around Usmanu Danfodiyo University (Shama, Benji, Gidan Yaro) currently face an epileptic power crisis. The electricity has been disrupted for over a semester now, and it's more significant than just a fuse gone bad. It's due to an unpaid electricity bill that has reached almost millions of Naira. The twist? The students themselves pay their landlords for the electricity, but the money isn't getting to the electricity company, hence the power shortage.

Khadijah, a distressed student from Shama, has expressed the dire situation in the area. "Living in Shama without power is like living without oxygen. Life is unbearable – the heat almost has us melting, and we've all resorted to wearing squeezed clothes because we can't iron them. And you know what's funny? We have to ask our friends from the hostel to help us charge our phones because we can't charge them at home."

It's clear that the lack of electricity in the villages near Usmanu Danfodiyo University is becoming too much for the students to bear. The dating scene has become a battleground for potential romantic partners to prove their worth – not through their charming personalities or even their good looks but through the ever-important ability to charge a phone.

It's crazy to think that in this day and age, a shortage of electricity can lead to such ridiculous situations. Imagine having to run to a friend's hostel room just to charge your phone for a few minutes of conversation or to finish an assignment due in hours! These students have become experts in the art of resourcefulness and have been forced to think about basic needs in a way they never would have before.

Hopefully, the electricity company will come to a resolution soon and restore power to the students. But until then, we'll just have to sit back and watch as the dating game changes yet again. Will phone charging potential become the new make-or-break factor for relationships? Only time will tell.