The thieving fuel attendant

THERE are saddening indications that many Nigerians believe that virtues like hard work, transparency and integrity are inimical to real success in life. And as a result of this warped supposition, they have descended into the moral abyss in order to gain access to filthy lucre. Not a few believe that this sordid state of affairs is down to the collapse of societal moral values. It is, sadly, the case that some people rob, cheat and swindle innocent persons recklessly and sometimes they tend to blame their involvement in malfeasance on economic hardship foisted on them by seemingly hostile official policies. And they carry on as if their victims are immune from the same economic challenges.

Meanwhile, it is common knowledge that some of these delinquents were associated with aberrant  conduct even before the referenced economic hardship. The instant incident, where a driver reportedly connived with a fuel pump attendant to swindle his principal, is a perfect case in point. Many fuel attendants and drivers traditionally cheat their customers and their employers respectively. Pump attendants, in particular, are known to engage in sharp practices even in times of economic prosperity. They under-dispense fuel, collect bribes to admit patrons to fuel stations, and connive with black market operators to redirect products to them for sale to end-users at much higher prices than officially specified, during fuel scarcity.

 In the instant case, a driver reportedly instigated a pump attendant to dispense N20,000 worth of fuel into his employer’s car and pass it off as N50,000 worth, which was the effective demand of his principal! And the duo reportedly pocketed the difference, which represents a proceed of crime. But for a viral video that captured the sleazy incident, the car owner would have lost 60 percent value for money to the swindlers, including an employee who drew regular salary from her. And that would have happened with impunity. This, to say the least, is a terrible incident. It is really saddening that some people have no conscience at all. Why rob unsuspecting customers, many of whom may be buying fuel with all the money in their pocket? Why do fuel attendants regularly under-dispense fuel to customers and rob them with glee, causing them untold havoc? Won’t this culture of cheating lead to total erosion of trust and confidence among a people struggling with enormous socioeconomic challenges, thereby compounding their woes? 

To be sure, the challenges posed by the fraudulent conduct of fuel pump attendants often transcend the financial losses by the cheated: they include other unexpected inconveniences, including security risks. For instance, customers experience hell on the road when their vehicles unexpectedly run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere in a clime where outlaws are prowling all over the place to rob, kidnap or even kill innocent citizens. It is more worrying that often, stealing from customers through under-dispensing of fuel is often not the handiwork of fuel pump attendants alone. Supervisors, stations managers, dealers and even the owners of filling stations are said to be sometimes complicit. Happily in the present case, the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Retail Limited (NNPCRL) has reportedly sanctioned the erring officials associated with the theft and we commend it for doing the right thing. The company reportedly launched an inquiry into the incident and the outcome prompted it to take punitive measures against the officials. The complicit fuel attendant was dismissed for stealing while the station manager and dealer were respectively suspended and issued a formal warning letter, ostensibly for poor supervision of the activities of a subordinate.

The action of the NNPCRL is an eloquent demonstration of the fact that it distanced itself from the conduct of the errant staff. It also served the purpose of assuring its customers of its commitment to conducting its business within the ambit of decency and integrity. In the exact words of the company: “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Retail Limited wishes to state clearly that such conduct is completely unacceptable and runs contrary to our values of integrity, transparency, and premium customer service.” In addition to the one-off disciplinary action it has taken against its staff and partners who veered off the line in the conduct of its business, NNPCRL is enjoined to step up its monitoring and compliance mechanisms with a view to fishing out and prosecuting all bad eggs in its employ.

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Certainly, this is not a period when the average Nigerian can afford to be cheated or swindled by selfish and insensitive compatriots. The cost of living is already intolerably high consequent on official policies which have yet to deliver salutary effects on the economy as the government promised. Nigerians, even highly placed ones, have had to forgo certain luxuries — holidays, excursions, picnics and so on — in order to cope with the extant economic reality. They bring out money from their pockets with pain. Therefore, cheating and robbing the same people is tantamount to double jeopardy, because they are already victims of official policies that have necessitated a reduction in their standard of living. In other words, sharp practices that rob citizens of value for money, especially by staffers of a company like NNPCRL, which is wholly owned by the government, smack of insensitivity, and the culprits must be punished to the full extent of the law beyond the sanctions dictated by the internal disciplinary procedures of the company. The major marketers are also allegedly guilty of the same charge: they are reputed for cheating their customers. They, too, are urged to mend their ways and strengthen their internal control procedures to enable them to deliver quality service to customers with integrity.

 The kind of motivation that drove a driver and a pump attendant to connive to rob a car owner of N30,000 out of an expenditure of N50,000 on fuel must have fed copiously on base instincts and grave character flaws. Thus, ultimately, and without a doubt, a more efficacious and enduring solution to sharp practices and corruption in low and high places lies in reorienting and rebuilding the character of human persons in such a way that they can begin to willingly shun involvement in activities that are wrong, immoral and criminal, even when they stand to profit from such antisocial engagements.