We have a pandemic in my city of residence at large: electrical wires that are not buried inside walls but are exposed outside can only last for a certain period before they are cut and stolen. As funny as it sounds, even a wire that is just 10cm long gets cut and stolen. Whenever I come across such a scene, I can't help imagining what the thieves use wires as short as that for. Why would anyone buy such very short wires from thieves? I keep wondering. Maybe they use them for something else, perhaps they melt them down and use the materials to produce something else, or maybe they use them for evil purposes, as my neighbours have concluded on several occasions. In my former compound, the woman who tapped electricity from our compound using two tall poles and a long wire was really frustrated countless times because her wires kept getting stolen at night, despite the very tall poles she used to keep the wire elevated.
I experienced it again this week.
Yesterday, when I decided to go to my shop to attend to an emergency job, I got there only to discover that the wires I had used to extend a socket outside had been cut and stolen. Just two short lengths of wire were taken, and I stood there wondering how someone could steal such short pieces of wire. Guys, the two pieces that were taken were not even up to two yards of wire.
Because I'm already used to this regular occurrence, I decided not to fix the wires back immediately because if I did, the thieves might come back and cut them off again. So, I resorted to hanging the wires whenever I came to work. Then, when I'm done for the day, I can remove them and take them inside.
But there's a big challenge with this arrangement: the electrical connections become exposed and tricky, and they could spark at any moment. However, I'm really hoping that doesn't happen. So, I'll take my time to make the connections properly before I start work each day.
Thanks for reading.
The photo used is mine