TO speak up in your small corner of the country now has become a means of attracting eyes on you. There are prying eyes all over watching who is saying what and how they are complaining. The watchers and the watched both know that it is not funny anymore and that living without occasional squirms is no longer the case for ordinary people. Nowadays, the good life for hardworking people in Nigeria can easily be categorised as photism. Not a few but millions of Nigerians, in all demographics, are ‘no longer at ease’ with many things about the country. The preponderance of these millions of toiling people believe that only the government can really help the situation and come with some form of relief or veritable remedy. The thinking is that when the snail moves, his shell will move along, and there is no movement of one without the other. When the government does decide to make a move to genuinely reset our country, the people – all peoples – will tag along or they would be dragged along. That conversation is still validly ongoing and Nigerians are still patient with the privileged team at the vanguard of the affairs of the country. They asked for that from us.
It rained aplenty on Friday (yesterday) morning in Ibadan. It started just before 8 O’clock, like a joke. The rain soon began to ‘drum hard’ on every roof and it caused a variety of people to act in variety of ways that would suit their earlier plan for the day. The plan of the man who has a car in good condition would be different from that of the man whose car is not suitable for a sensible drive on variegated mud roads, in the heavy rain. The man who has no vehicle at all would also plan, but he will plan differently. He would, among other things, also consider the vagaries of a public transportation in our system, in our kind of environment. There would be alterations and altercations occasioned by the heavenly downpour, which would induce excuses.
However, the rain was a common denominator. It did not discriminate while sending its pole from the heavens – as it is metaphorically referred to as the pole that connects the land and heavens. The rain’s impartiality is such that the man with the very comfortable car might not be able to leave his bedroom for his proposed business because the other man, who would do his job, could not find the way to their rendezvous. That is a natural occurrence. A ‘natural phenomenon… Like that original ‘yellow fever’ in Fela Anikulapo’s song with the same title, it is the real thing and there is usually very little anyone can do about a situation like that.
Another common denominator in the current Nigerian environments – cities, towns and villages – on the same Friday, 23 August, 2024, is acute petrol scarcity. So, apart from the original, which was the morning rain which pounded the vast Ibadan landscape in unfettered manner for three unrestrained hours, there is also fuel scarcity. Scarcity of petrol at filling stations has put a fanciful leash on many of us. It affects all of us but… One of the characteristic of this common denominator is that it affects both the ordinary and special citizens. It is however understandable that its impact would vary according to the financial strength or position of each individual. Yes, because – as the Ibadan say – when death strikes in the general family compound, it would hit some families harder than some others.
The current ravaging fuel scarcity, like the opposite of the original ‘yellow fever’ in the same song by Fela, is artificial. It is also a farce and indeed a phenomenon. According to one online dictionary, ‘phenomenon’ is “a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question.” Fuel scarcity exists in Nigeria, it is happening right now as it often does in Ibadan and other parts of the country, and its cause and sundry explanations of the development by the authorities, are in question. The cause of the current fuel scarcity and the explanations offered by the NNPCL and others, who should know, are as unconvincing as they elicit definite questions.
The current fuel situation has left lots of questions on the lips and worry in the minds of the people because we still do not understand what caused it. It has reinforced and renewed the hardship, and has also added a new unbearable tinge to the suffering borne by toiling Nigerians. Our expectation was that, since we were convinced and convicted that removal of subsidy on petrol in Nigeria is the next best thing after the discovery of jollof rice, we should not then no more be experiencing this type of inexplicable petrol scarcity. The fuel subsidy removal was portrayed as the silver bullet for the Nigerian perennial fuel queues and pricing confusion. That policy was given as a one-stop solution to the corruption in that sector and the ruckus we witness at petrol stations every other market day. It is, therefore, sad that the recurrent fuel supply issues have defied solution despite the removal of subsidy. What then are we battling with exactly? Who will help us out? Why can we not be told the truth about our crude dealings, and about our messy downstream sector?
Since the advent of the Tinubu administration, Nigerians have persistently raised their voices in agonising lament over food inflation. A pocket without money is usually a huge cause for anxiety, but a home without food is indeed the grandfather of all unease. Agreed, when Nigerians cried out over the spiking hardship their mouths were stuffed with rice. However, now that their mouths and stomachs have become empty again, they have renewed their cries. This time round, the expensive petrol has heightened the wailing. The difference now is that they have been told to cry to their governors too. While they are being played like ping pong, hunger and inflation are still reigning supreme in their majesties over our land.
Perhaps, if the new national minimum wage had been activated by now, there might have been a new song in certain sectors of the Nigerian economy. One wonders why the government agencies that promised to come out with the new minimum wage template in a jiffy have all gone quiet since late July. What could be the cause of the delay in making the minimum wage template available? The Ministry of Finance said it had concluded work on the document. Well, it might need to pass through other levels of approvals that are considered not as expedient as buying new jets and armoured vehicles. The National Assembly will also have a look at it to be sure if it suits the pocket of Nigeria. That would be in two plies. The House of Representatives will do their ritual on the template. Then our senators will also brood over the material and, if it suits the pleasure of our distinguished excellencies, they would approve the N70,000 as new minimum wage per month for Nigerian workers. We must note that President Tinubu had approved the proposal by the negotiation teams since July 29.
One of the most prominent presidential aides is Mr. Bayo Onanuga. He wrote about “the many silver linings” of the Tinubu government when the administration clocked seven months in office. It was published on December 24, 2023. Onanuga’s preachments then were that Nigerians should show understanding while also defending the policies of the government. He knew, from the things that could be inferred from the article, that there was despondency in the country. He also knew that some of the policies announced by the administration were not just the cause of the misery but that they were also the bitter pills that would cure and reverse the inherited rot.
It is approaching another December and Nigerians now buy petrol at N1,000. What will they tell us now? We are still patient, and we are still hoping that our governors will do something.
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