By Afolabi Aribigbola
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In the last three months or more in virtually all parts of Nigeria, fuel scarcity occasioned by the usual long queues and skyrocketed prices that reached an unprecedent high level of N500 per litre last weekend became the order of the day. Unfortunately, while the marketers that are used to exploiting the people are quick to inform the gullible Nigerian public that the Federal Government, responsible for fuel importation has increased the depot prices, the Minister of State for petroleum was quick to respond that the government is yet to increase the price of very essential commodity in the country.
Yet, the product continues to sell far above the official price of N180 approved pump price without any government or security agencies intervention to checkmate the sharp practices of exploiting or cheating the people by shylock marketers. Besides, the government failed to remove fuel subsidy in eight years despite their promise to build one refinery per year for four years and the insinuation that there was no subsidy in the industry before they took over governance.
Also, their plan to remove subsidy in June, 2023 when the tenure of the present President would have expired have also come out to say removal of subsidy will not be in June again but in April 2023. One wonders what gave the present government the audacity and courage to seek to remove subsidy when they would have vacated office. Something they were unable to undertake during the period that they possess all the power and instruments of office to carry out if they actually so desire. With all these development amidst confusion and untold hardship Nigerians are exposed to in the last few weeks, the germane question is who is deceiving Nigerians? Is it the government that cannot fix just one refinery in almost eight years or the marketers that are always happy to cheat and exploit the poor and unprotected Nigerians to enrich themselves?
There has been argument as to the purpose of the present crisis in the petroleum industry and the resultant escalation and instability in its prices. Instability in the sense that you can buy the product for N280 in the morning while in the afternoon, they will change the price to N350 and in the evening suspecting that the product is not available in other fuel stations, they could increase the price to N400 a litre as experienced last Saturday.
Indeed, this unacceptable crisis and ripping of poor vulnerable Nigerians of their hard earned money is taking place where the government is telling overstretched and overburdened, that they are still subsiding the commodity. Of course, this has become a serious source of concern to many, not just because Nigerians are suffering or because they are paying through their noses to procure the product that has become one product influencing virtually all aspects of life in the country. Discerning minds and individuals have been preoccupied with the question of who is deceiving ho in the country. The government is insisting that they are subsidizing petrol and therefore should be sold at N180 per litre while the marketers are stating that the landing cost is N270 per litre. And therefore selling at N180 is no longer feasible in order to recoup cost of distribution.
The above scenario and reality on ground indicate that many things are wrong with petroleum products distribution in the country. That the product is really scarce and very difficult to purchase, that the price has reached the highest in record time is no more an issue. The key issue is that Nigerians especially the poor majority are left to suffer the crisis without efforts to reverse the degrading narrative. Of course, that someone somewhere is not telling Nigerians the truth about the precarious situation with the supply and distribution of petroleum products and its pump prices these periods is the unacceptable issue that required action. If the government had enough in stock as claimed, why are they not releasing to the public, culminating in the prevalent scarcity and the associated suffering by the masses.
Is it a deliberate action to punish Nigerians and unleash untold hardship on them or a deliberate action by those in authority to ensure that a particular candidate lose the forthcoming presidential elections as being insinuated in some circles? If the position of the major oil marketers association that the present debilitating scarcity was due to high cost of vessels and inadequate trucks to deliver petroleum products from the depots to the filling stations across the county is to hold water, why are some marketers still selling at the approved pump price of N180 per litre in all parts of the country including the north? High logistic cost and exchange rates should ordinarily affect all the marketers same way. In any case, only the NNPC is importing fuel into the country, they should be the one to complain about the high exchange rates. Their allusion to exceptionally high demand could not be taken seriously because there could not have been sudden change in the population of the consumers within three months to suggest a very drastic change in petroleum product consumption that the country cannot cope with in a short period of time.
Unfortunately, Nigerians are not being told the truth because there seems to be surreptitious attempts by the government that met the price of the product at N87 per litre in less than eight years and increased it to its present official price of N180 per litre. We have been told that the landing cost is something around N270 per litre. While I do not subscribe to further increase in pump price of petroleum, I think it is time we allow the power that be to do what they like so that we all can witness the consequences of their policy actions. This will enable the country replan and restrategise to resolve the petroleum industry crisis that may come with total deregulation of the sector as being proposed by the government.
Since there is no community or society that can prosper and flourish by deceit, half truth and crass manipulation of issues and citizens as well as keeping vital information from them, the government and operators of the downstream oil industry in Nigeria should out with the stark realities of the situation with the industry and economy of the country so as to be able to agree on a feasible way of running the economy of the country. A situation where the government and the operator of the oil industry is playing game as well as orchestrating half truth and outright deceit will continue to compound the problem at hand. The marketers will continue to manipulate the system to exploit the people to enrich themselves at their expense. This will invariably put pressure and escalate the cost of doing business and eventually hyper inflation that is already ravaging the country. The first step in resolving the lingering fuel crisis. The government must do all things possible to eliminate corruption that is the hallmark and bane of the entire industry. Now is the time to permanently find solution to the perennial fuel crisis in the country.
