MORE PROTESTS!!! MORE HARDSHIPS!!!
Many Nigerians (excluding the paid sycophants) should by now be tired of protesting against the excruciating economic policies of the government which is making the prices of commodities to continue to be on the increase. Since the infamous pronouncement of 29 May, 2023 life has never been the same with Nigerians.
In this month of October, price of fuel has been increased twice and whenever the people go on protest against the fuel increase the more the government come up with new increase in price of fuel. If protests does not have any influence on the decision of the government on fuel price, I think we should stop complaining by staging any protest henceforth.
Does it mean the government is not sensitive to peoples’ plight? May be the government knows better than the people because I continue to think that what we were taught in school is that when there is democracy, people are free to air their grievances by making peaceful protests or speak up to enable the government have a re-think of its obnoxious policies but it is like what the Government (school subject) teacher taught us then was a fairy tale and not the reality with what is happening this present day.
This situation is becoming unbearable. There is no country in the world like Nigeria (a major producer of oil) where the citizens are groaning in pain over an insensitive increase in the price of fuel. We knew how much we bought fuel before now. Nigeria is yet to survive the subsidy removal that led to the sudden increase in the price of fuel from N187 to N500 per litre before it was jerked up to N617 per litre within two months.
The hardship, which started after the removal of fuel subsidy and devaluation of the naira, was exacerbated when the pump price of fuel jumped from around N800 to N1,150 per litre just this last week. There has been a skyrocketing increase in the prices of food items as transport costs soared.
Many Nigerians expressed frustration with the situation, saying they could no longer afford to feed their family members due to strained budgets. How can and why should the NNPC raise the retail price of petrol to N1,030 from N897 per litre, across some of its retail outlets in the Federation.
It is painful. No sensitive government would be happy when its citizens are suffering. It is imperative for Nigerians to speak up, especially with what we are experiencing now in the country. It is unfortunate; this is not what we expected from a President who is coming from the South-West region of the country.
A father must work on the best way to solve the problem of the children. Petrol, being the main commodity that moves the economy, and now the same product is being sold for N1,150 per litre. It is unbearable. The President should retrace his steps in order to save the country from this hardship.
All over the world, many things have been subsidised in the interest of the masses. Power, health, food, and other necessities of life are being subsidised. Nigeria’s economic potential is constrained by many structural issues, including inadequate infrastructure, tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, obstacles to investment, lack of confidence in currency valuation, and limited foreign exchange capacity.
The country is endowed with abundant natural resources ranging from solid minerals (crude oil, gold, tin, iron ore, lead, zinc, lime stone, salt etc) to arable land with varieties of agricultural produce such as palm oil, cocoa, groundnut, beans, melon, corns, rice, among others. The hub of Nigeria economy before the advent of Oil in commercial quantity was agriculture, but with the emergence of oil, there was focus shift from being agricultural dependent country to crude oil dependent nation.
The resultant effect of all these is that inflationary trend soars, investors pull out their fund from the market because our economy depends majorly on crude oil earning, there will be economic hardship, people will suffer to pay their bills or meet up with their daily obligations, sack of workers among economic agents, high unemployment rate, hike in the prices of basic amenities like food items, housing and shelters. Prices of food items have also continued to increase in an increasing order leaving the cost of living too high for an average Nigerian.
Our national reserve has continued to fall over the period. With all these anomalies, today the state of the economy has declined to a level where everybody is hugely affected. There are serious problems, hardships and sufferings in the country as a result of the economic kwashiorkor.
Few days ago, I spent N100,000 on fuel, nearly filling the tank of a Mercedez Benz C-Class 180. At N1,140 per litre, I realised this amount is N30,000 higher than Nigeria’s N70,000 minimum wage. A minimum wage earner in Nigeria working 8 hours a day for an average of 20 days a month, earns approximately N437.50 per hour.
It takes 2.6 hours of work to afford a litre of petrol. All these prices I am quoting are assumptions because the pronouncement of N70,000 minimum wage is still on paper and yet to be actualized by the government. A young graduate earning N150,000 monthly (which is not applicable to all graduates) requires 1.2 hours of work to purchase a litre.
In comparison, Egypt fuel costs N443 per litre, and the monthly minimum wage is N202,400 (N1,265 per hour). It takes 21 minutes of work to buy a litre. In South Africa, fuel is N2,480 per litre, and the minimum wage is N395,824 (N2,320 per hour). It takes 1 hour and 4 minutes to buy a litre. In Nigeria, a minimum wage earner needs 2.6 hours to buy a litre of fuel, compared to 21 minutes in South Africa.
My take is that fuel prices in Nigeria may not be high by global standards, but it appears incomes are too low to sustain meaningful consumption. It is time to rethink our economic growth and production strategies.
As I write on this news about Nigeria, many might expect me to be weighed down by sadness. Yes, there are moments when the gravity of the situation is disheartening, but more often than not, I find myself inspired. The challenges our country faces awaken a deep sense of responsibility within me, calling me to the task of nation building with hope.
I believe that in times of unprecedented hardship, it is the men and women with vision who tap into their creative spirit to redeem the state. True redemption requires resilience and determination, and those committed to this cause cannot afford to be overwhelmed by despair. Instead, we rise, because it is in adversity that the seeds of transformation are planted.
God Bless Nigeria!!!
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