By Dada Ahmed.
No doubt, May 30, 2023, is a date most Nigerians, especially the impoverished, will love to hate for years to come.
It is not that they hate the date in a figurative sense, but many lament that they have to bid the month farewell shaking their heads in absolute disbelief over the scenario that marked it into eternity.
The date, Wednesday, marked an official increase in the pump price of fuel from N189 to more than N500 per liter in different parts of the country by the National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, representing over 190 percent. in a swoop.
Many Nigerians argue that while they accept the increase, as hinted by the new President of Nigeria, Ahmed Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, in his inaugural presidential speech at Eagle Square, Abuja, the increase beat their wildest imagination.
Alhaji Mohammed Abdulmumuni is a retired federal public servant on a paltry monthly pension that is barely enough for his electricity bill. He is married with four children and is expected to fend for his family and take care of his car as well as attend to the myriad of family commitments competing for solutions.
He says the first thought that came to his mind as soon as the new fuel price regime filtered into the air on Wednesday was to continue fuelling his car.
"My car has a 70-liter tank and I used to fill the tank buying a liter of fuel at the rate of N210 which translates to N14,700 but with an N540 increase in the pump price of fuel, I would have squeezed out N37,800 to fill the same tank," not to talk of other financial commitments," he laments.
Economic analysts believe that the scenario narrated by Abdulmumuni exemplifies the plight of millions of Nigerians now groaning under the yoke of the astronomical rise in the official price of fuel in Nigeria from N189 per liter to over N500 per liter.
Prices of foodstuffs, cost of transportation, and other essential social and economic services heat one another in the struggle for supremacy as they continue hit the room or in response to the fuel price increase.
As the effects of the enormous rise in fuel continue to manifest in virtually all social and economic life of the people, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited( NNPC ) Limited has affirmed the new pump price regime in a statement, tagged, Adjustment In Pump Price Of PMS”, signed by its Communications Officer, Garba Deen Muhammad.
He said: "NNPC Limited wishes to inform our esteemed customers that we have adjusted our pump prices of PMS across our retail outlets, in line with current market realities.
"Nigerians should brace up for harder times as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has confirmed a new price regime for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
"As we strive to provide you with the quality service for which we are known, it is pertinent to note that prices will continue to fluctuate to reflect market dynamics.
“We assure you that NNPC Limited is committed to ensuring a ceaseless supply of products.
“The company sincerely regrets any inconvenience this development may have caused.
“We greatly appreciate your continued patronage, support, and understanding during this time of change and growth,” he stated.
The new pricing template, purportedly sent by the NNPCL Management to marketers is anything to go by, the new price regime shows that :Lagos: ₦488; FCT Abuja: ₦537; Abia: ₦515; Adamawa: ₦550; Akwa Ibom: ₦515; Anambra: ₦520; Bauchi: ₦550; Bayelsa: ₦515; Benue: ₦537; Borno: ₦557; Cross River: ₦511; Delta: ₦511; Edo: ₦511;
Ekiti: ₦500; Enugu: ₦520; Ebonyi: ₦520; Gombe: ₦550; Imo: ₦515; Jigawa: ₦540; Kaduna: ₦540; Kano: ₦540; Katsina: ₦540; Kebbi: ₦545; Kogi: ₦537; Kwara: ₦515; Nasarawa: N537;
Niger: ₦537; Ogun: ₦500; Ondo: ₦500; Osun: ₦500 per liter; Oyo: ₦500! Plateau: ₦537; Rivers: ₦511; Sokoto: ₦540; Taraba: ₦550! Yobe: ₦557! and Zamfara: ₦540 per liter.
Muhammad, however, promised that NNPC Limited would strive to provide end users of petroleum products with quality service and ceaseless supply.
The affirmation of NNPC limited the fuel price increase and its promise to ensure seamless supply of the product notwithstanding, some Nigerians believe that was implemented in haste.
Mohammed Hassan, a Lokoja-based businessman said the new administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu ought to have put in place strategies in place before implementing the removing fuel subsidy policy to ease its negative effect on the life of the masses.
Hassan, a sociologist, said the first step for the government to do would have been to block all areas where the cabre (fuel marketers) benefit unjustifiably from the policy to the detriment of the suffering masses.
He reminds the government that:
"No matter how good a policy is, there are usually people who will always want to sabotage it for their selfish interest or cash on it to amass wealth illegally. These are the unpatriotic elements that the present government should take care of before implementing the policy.
"Government would have ensured a steady supply of fuel to take care of the saboteurs, naturally. and regulate the amount of fuel going out of Nigeria to the neighboring countries to check the short supply of the product to local consumers.
"Once we have an adequate supply of fuel, the people will have no cause to patronize black fuel marketers.
"There should also be efforts geared towards reopening borders to enable foreign goods to come to the country and open it to international competition, adding that prices of goods and services, caused by the increase in the price of fuel would come down with a boost in local production of goods and services for local consumption.
"What causes inflation in Nigeria is that what we have at home is not sufficient to take care of our local needs adequately, then there is no need to close the border.
As Nigerians adjust their lives to cope with the stark reality of the sudden but sharp increase in fuel pump prices, the need to understand the politics behind the fuel subsidy becomes imperative.
A piece written by an unknown author but makes sense on the subject matter, entitled ", Fuel Subsidy: Making Sense of the Real Enemy, educates Nigerians, particularly the uninformed on the politics of the fuel subsidy, highlighting why the removal of fuel subsidy becomes necessary.
He says: "Many people do not understand the politics behind fuel subsidy and its dangers to the development and growth of Nigeria.
"The intention of the government to subsidize petrol was simply to make the product affordable for Nigerians and make life easier. So, the average price of petrol in the world can be as high as N590.
"However, the Nigerian Government will subsidize the product and fix the price at N185 bringing the total amount of subsidy per liter to N405.
"The average consumption of liters of petrol in Nigeria per day is 60 million liters. However, marketers of the product load as much as 100 million liters and above per day.
"This means the Nigerian Government is expected to pay as much as N405 × 100,000,000 (litres) as subsidy per day to the marketers of the product to keep prices at N185 for instance. This brings the amounts to N40.5 billion daily and about N1.2 trillion monthly. Kindly take note that this amount can either decrease or increase, following the prices of petrol in the international market.
"So, just try to wrap your head around it and know what Nigeria expends on fuel subsidy alone in a year - some billions of dollars.
"Here's the irony of the whole arrangement:"
Petroleum Marketers (major petrol dealers with tank farms) usually divert larger quantities of the subsidized petrol to neighboring countries to resell at the international market price. So, they make the same amount of money the Nigerian Government has paid on subsidized petrol in the neighboring countries.
"This makes the product relatively scarce in Nigeria as the leftover becomes lower than the daily consumption in the country. The implication is that petrol stations will be selling fairly higher than the fixed price of N185 (some sell N190, N205, N225, N250, and so on depending on the area). And during peak periods of scarcity, which are also engineered by the marketers, Nigerians still buy the same subsidized petrol for as high as N400, N500, and even N800 as the case was in the first quarter of this year while sleeping in filling stations. Again, marketers make double.
"Marketers also import above the daily consumption of 60 million liters as seen above and still force the federal government to pay subsidy on the excesses, which are usually part of what they smuggle to neighboring countries. Again, marketers dupe Nigeria.
"This entire scenario makes a mess of the good intention of the Nigerian government to make petrol affordable for Nigerians.
"This scarcity and high cost of the product despite subsidy leads to an arbitrary increase in the cost of living. Transportation, for instance, goes up crazily.
"Moves to Remove Subsidy & Reactions, he continues:"
"Therefore, successive federal governments, having seen the outright abuse of the subsidy policy, have always tried to cancel the policy so that market forces can determine the cost of petrol.
"More so, the huge amount of money paid into the pockets of Marketers can be channeled to other meaningful ventures such as infrastructural development, agriculture, social security, technology, health, etc.
"However, whenever the move to remove subsidy is made, the marketers are quick to shut down their filling stations and deprive Nigerians access to the already subsided fuel in their possession. This leads to an instant scarcity regime and hardship (like we are already witnessing).
"And while the marketers make more money on the one hand, they force and instigate Nigerians against the federal government with the hardship created on the other hand.
"Then, the innocent Nigerians who do not understand the politics behind subsidy go on strike, attack the government and force her to continue the subsidy regime. We pay more for our ignorance in the long run.
"The marketers are happy; they remain the top billionaires in Africa. Everyone loves them, wish to be like them, and celebrate them. Whereas the federal government counts her losses, takes the insult, bears the bad name."
He says the choice now lies with Nigerians to support the Tinubu administration to "break this barrier" and give it freedom or they remain adamant and spread the hate".
Mr. M.U Momoh, a veteran journalist says all hope is not lost for Nigerians to emerge victorious in all this if they can see the policy as a blessing disguise and learn the lesson desirable from it to better their life.
He, however, admits he is also feeling the hit emanating from the removal of fuel subsidy.
But he insists that one basic lesson of the fuel subsidy policy is that, Nigerians can no longer live the flamboyant life they were used to as they need to adjust their lifestyle to rhyme in tune with the current reality in the country.
" Those who used to fill the tank of their car before now should know that it is no more business as usual and so should adjust and contend with buying half tank.
"Those who drive their children to schools far from their houses may wish to withdraw such pupils or students and put them in schools near their residence to cut down the rate at which they use the car, among other preventive measures to enable them to cope with the reality starting Nigerians in the face," he urged.
"One thing I know is that the price of fuel will come down, drastically, in the next three months because once Dangote refinery starts production. and BUA kicks off, there will be no need for Nigeria to import oil that will subject us to the dictates of the foreign exchange system.
"As soon as the two private refineries come on stream and the government refineries in Kaduna Warri out into adequate production capacity, there will be competition which will invariably force the price of fuel to come down naturally," he envisaged.
Others stressed the need for private car owners to shun unnecessary journeys to buy less fuel to beat the pangs of the biting effect of an increase in fuel.
While organized labor, which has opposed the removal of fuel subsidiesngages the government to resolve the issue in contention and arrive at an amicable solution, the fact remains life may not be the same again for Nigerians as they will cope realityality of the removal of fuel subsidy for as soon as it lasts.
This is because as it is often said, nothing last forever, not even life. The important thing is for those who know and feel the pangs of increase in the pump price of fuel to toe the line of peace while the appropriate authorities find lasting and amicable solutions to the problem.
All the same, it will not be out of place to urge the Tinubu administration to put in place, palliative measures to ease the hardship created by the removal of subsidy of fuel on the people.
Dada Ahmed publishes The Reporters, an online publication. He is also a member, of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).
ahmeddada008@gmail.com.
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