With the increased economic hardship since President Bola Tinubu took over the mantle of leadership of the country, some Nigerians seem to have started missing the immediate past president, Mohammadu Buhari. The eight-year rule of Buhari was judged by many as the worst years for the country and the worst thing to happen to Nigerians. Today, with the high cost of living, high inflation rate occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy by the president on May 29, 2023,  some Nigerians are singing a different tune. Some  however,  say that Tinubu had promised during his campaigns that he was going to continue from where Buhari stopped therefore, they are not surprised that within two months in office the situation in the country has gone from worse to worst.
Who could have ever imagined that the pump price of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, will go as high as N200,00 per liter? But today, Nigerians have to cough out N617, 00 to buy a liter of fuel. The most painful aspect of the latest increase is the way it came. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) could not have the courtesy of informing Nigerians about the increase. They just quietly and nocturnally adjusted their fuel pump price from N540,00 to N617,00 per liter and many independent marketers swiftly followed suit.  Many people left for work on Tuesday morning, paying a certain amount as transport fare.  Going back home at the close of work in the evening, they were charged almost double the former fare. There was a serious fight between the conductor of the bus I boarded and a commuter who did not understand why he should be asked to pay a higher amount than what he paid in another bus earlier in the day.
Many people were stranded at bus stops because they did not have enough money to go to their destinations. It was hours after the price adjustment that the news filtered in that the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, blamed market forces for the rising pump price, adding that with deregulation of the oil sector, market realities will force the prices of petrol up sometimes and at other times force the prices down. Nigerians sure deserve a better treatment from the leaders and public office holders. What about making an announcement to prepare the minds of the people on what to expect. And if one must ask, what is the essence of removing the subsidy if the lives of the citizens will be turned upside down as a consequence of the action? Were Nigerians actually misled into consenting and pushing for subsidy removal?
A respected public analyst, Majid Dahiru, who had never hidden his aversion for fuel subsidy removal and who warned severally about the implications of such decision calls it an economic suicide. In his view, “You cannot be talking of subsidy removal in isolation of energy security. Energy security entails two things, affordability and availability. That is why subsidy is a paramount feature in energy security because of the affordability component”. He opined that government should as a matter of priority, national security and for the purpose of economic growth and development subsidise energy adding that the option of subsidy removal in Nigeria should never have been canvassed in the first place. He insisted that “when you tie your energy demand to international market force, you get what you are getting now”, noting that America, all OPEC countries, many countries in Europe and others subsidise energy.
The problem of Nigeria as far as the energy crisis is concerned is multifaceted. For whatever reason best known to those in authority, government has refused to fix the nation’s refineries. The current NNPCL boss, just like his predecessors had given several dates on which the refineries would come back to life. In September 2022, the then Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, for the umpteenth time announced that the nation’s biggest refinery – the Port Harcourt refinery – would become functional in December of that year. As usual, that was never to be. Similarly, over a year ago, Mele Kyari assured Nigerians that the “ongoing” rehabilitation of Port Harcourt Refinery would be completed by March, 2023. March has come and gone and Nigerians are still waiting.
At the twilight of Buhari’s administration, an uncompleted Dangote refinery was commissioned with Aliko Dangote cleverly telling us not to expect the refinery to produce until July/ August this year. Which means the actual time for the commissioning should have probably been  September or there about but in the usual Nigeria’s tradition, a half-baked project was commissioned to add to the “numerous” projects executed by Buhari’s government. Unfortunately, Tinubu did not factor in all these before announcing the removal of subsidy.   A serious government would have ensured proper planning before the removal (if he must); ensure the revitalisation of the moribund refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri, that the modular refineries are working, and be sure of the take-off of Dangote’s.
He should have ensured that there are plans on how to cushion the effect of the removal,  not the ridiculous N8000 a month palliative for 12 million families whereas billions of naira are earmarked for the national assembly law makers, the judiciary and all that. The national assembly was quick to tell us that the N70billion is not meant for exotic cars as being speculated but that it will be used to give the national assembly a face lift. One wonders what type of face lift would consume such huge sum of money. Meanwhile, some of these law makers are billionaires. Many of them are ex – governors, ex – ministers and what have you. Should their priority be buying exotic cars when the people that voted for them are dying of hunger and are trekking to work?
Can not our leaders make sacrifice for the nation?  Can not they tighten their belts as they always tell the masses to do? As the former governor of Anambra State said, “the sacrifices for a better Nigeria must now start from us the leaders and the well-placed.” To come out of the current quagmire, Tinubu must weigh the pros and cons of the fuel subsidy removal and backtrack, if that is the best option for the country. Government must be ready to deal with the high level of corruption in the country; fix the refineries, drastically reduce cost of governance, deal with oil theft, do something about the fast depreciating value of the Naira. Nigeria needs to be fixed urgently. That is the duty entrusted to the president, the law makers, the governors and other people in authority. They must not fail just as the citizens are expected to contribute their quota towards making the country better.

By: Calista Ezeaku