The newspaper headlines are haunting, heart-jerking, painting a horrifying spectacle of the preventable pains of the long-suffering Nigerians, still stewing in the paradox of want -of refined premium motor spirit - in the midst of plenty natural deposit of crude oil resource.
Furthermore, they told us that there was nothing like ‘fuel subsidy’ as claimed by the PDP government. That it was a mere smokescreen. But today, those same politicians are vowing to remove the fuel subsidy, come April, 2023. That is some two months to go! Trust some gullible, naïve, ethno-religious and sentimentally mesmerized citizens-they swallowed the listless lies line, hook and sinker. But here we are today, all groaning under the ‘Preventable Pains of Fuel Scarcity’.
Coming back to the current situation of fuel scarcity, what could be responsible for it and how do we eventually get off the hook? According to several news reports, there is a pointer to the fact that the current fuel crisis across the country may worsen in the days ahead. The reason is traceable to the hike from N10 to N16 per litre lithering charge imposed on the independent marketers.
Adding to the transportation challenges remains that of the NNPC as the only importer of petrol into the oil-producing country! Anomalous isn’t it? Of course, it is and it is reflective of a failed leadership that takes undue pleasure in blaming others for its self-inflicted woes.