By Kesandu Egburonu
I never like to be the Prophet of doom or a conveyor of bad news, but this latest news regarding the surge in petrol pump price in Nigeria is one worth discussing. How did we even get to this point? Nigeria appears to be getting worse daily and that’s the blunt truth. N617 for a litre of petrol? I’m short of words.
It all started with the suspension of the fuel subsidy announced on the President’s Inauguration Day, which, if you ask me, was ill-timed. Since then, the price flew to an astronomical N488-500 depending on which petroleum company you were buying from. That was the new price as a result of the subsidy removal, they told us, so why this new price surge again? This makes it at least a 300% increase from the original price. Surely, that is cause for alarm.
Like in the aftermath of the subsidy removal—where roads were near desolate, devoid of vehicular movement and highlighted by citizens trekking—the same is occurring again. People trekking for miles just to save transport costs would make for embarrassing photos on any media. Things were tough when the price was still N500, now, it is even tougher with this new pump price. Where do we go from here?
What is to say that the price wouldn’t keep rising until it probably hits N1,000? No guarantees whatsoever. If you ask those close to the government, the excuse you hear them give is that the price is not determined by “market forces.” Common. Nigeria isn’t the first country not to be paying subsidies. Compare their prices to ours and you’d observe an insanely huge difference.
It beats common sense that a country that produces crude oil still imports petrol into the country. They tell us to be patient until Dangote’s refinery is fully functional. Until then, we simply have to pay the excess of N600 or any new pump prices their “market forces” wake up to fix tomorrow. A lot of Nigerians put their trust in Tinubu to steer this ship right but this fuel price without any cushioning effect is causing serious negative effects on the citizenry.
At this point, solutions are what citizens want. This talk of patience is not going to hold much weight for long. The government must begin to put measures in place to regulate the price of this product. There are measures that developing countries have taken that ensure they do not face the same catastrophe Nigeria is presently facing. We could very well go to these countries and study their blueprint. We don’t hear their citizens wailing like ours or experiencing fuel pump prices hitting the roof. It means there are things they are doing worth emulating.
Even if that cannot be done, the least the government can do is utilize the said funds which would, otherwise, have been used for subsidy, to put things in place that could benefit Nigerians either via job employments in industries or, through provision amenities and infrastructural development that will lessen the citizens’ daily cost of living. Whichever way, the government must show effort and quit the excuses.
How long will we keep hearing “the citizens must be ready to sacrifice for long-term benefits’ ‘? That line is fast getting outdated and people are no longer buying it. It becomes even worse when you hear the amount being allocated to the legislators every sitting. Their take-home pay is even being reviewed and could rise by at least 200%. That’s outrageous. Are they not citizens as well or does this “sacrifice” not extend to them as well? Is the sacrifice preached only limited to the poor masses?
Sacrifice or no sacrifice, long term goal or not, N617 petrol pump price is reaching. The common man is bearing the brunt alone with no cushion effect of any kind by the government. Every human has his own limit and when that is reached and his back is pushed too far to the wall, that human lashes out and behaves in a most inappropriate manner merely in response. Things do not have to get that far before the Tinubu-led administration does something about this.
While we wait for the Dangote Refinery and its many promises, the government should, in the short-term, lessen the burden being caused by skyrocketing petrol prices. It is the only logical thing to do at this point.
