NEPA took light for five days straight last week and I had to run the generator from four in the morning just to finish Mrs. Adeyemi's wedding aso-oke on time — do you know what diesel costs now? My margin on that job disappeared into fuel. The girls and I, we sat there in the heat, sweat on the fabric, praying the machine doesn't jam because I cannot afford to send it to the technician again. I am not complaining for nothing — I am saying this is why the small businesses here cannot breathe. The government talks about supporting Nigerian fashion, supporting small traders, but they cannot even keep power steady for eight hours. How do you expect me to compete with Chinese factories when I am spending half my profit on generator fuel? My mother never had to worry about this. She had light and she had time to be creative instead of just trying to survive until Friday.
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