Now that fuel scarcity has refused to go

I watched in disappointment how queues have returned to filling stations in Nigeria. I didn’t know it was an issue when I drove out on Sunday, February 6, and ran out of fuel. I tried to branch into an NNPC fuel station but the gate was unusually closed and two of their attendants signalled to me that they were not selling.

I drove to the next filling station, Mobil, and also found their gate closed. I managed to get fuel from one small private filling station without many worries if a major problem was looming. But on the next day, there was fuel scarcity and there were queues at the filling stations that are privileged to sell the product.

On hearing the causes of the fuel scarcity, it indicates one thing, and that is the fact that Nigeria is porous and exposed to all forms of dangers at all levels. Land borders, airports, seaports, immigration, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, customs. All of them can expose Nigeria and Nigerians to dangerous living.

Nobody is doing their job, except if that job is directly putting huge unmerited money in their bank accounts. Thousands or millions of people can suffer, it’s pretty okay as long as those few people are cashing out at the detriment of the general public’s health, lives and safety.

It is hard to fathom how the NNPC could import 100 million litres of contaminated petrol into the country and allowed it into circulation without knowing. To make matters worse, it has refused to take responsibility for the damage it has caused and instead resorted to blaming MRS, Oando and others for the unacceptable failure. Without wasting time, those private oil companies have all denied being the importer of contaminated petrol. As the blame game persists, Nigerians continue to suffer the consequence of a regulatory lax.

While the NNPC may choose to be irresponsible, it is under the spotlight and cannot run away from many questions begging for answers. NNPC is in the spotlight because the regulatory body deliberately or otherwise, failed to do their job, and a loophole in the system was exploited to get these cargoes from Belgium into the country and in circulation.

When the ship berthed in Nigeria, what was the procedure taken before it was loaded into tankers and distributed? Who received the product at the seaport? Who certified the product fit for use in the Nigerian market? Was due process followed? These questions must be answered and all companies and government officials involved, punished.

One thing is clear here, someone or people failed to do their job or compromised the country’s standard and has caused severe damage to Nigerians. This is a clear indication that Nigerians are not safe in their own country, they can suffer health issues, car damage and all kind of preventable losses because government agencies fail to do their job and allow some greedy smart guys to take advantage of loopholes in the system.

We were told that the fuel scarcity will disappear in a matter of days and by last weekend, everything will return to normal, but as of Sunday, February 13, queues are increasing at filling stations, causing terrible traffic on the road. People are now panicking, getting desperate as they are unsure what the week will look like. The black market business has returned even right at the filling stations that do not have petrol to sell to motorists. The price of petrol has skyrocketed to as high as N400 per litre; it is a chaotic situation.

Nigerians are now exposed to untold hardship, one they did not prepare for. Nobody knows how bad it will get, and certainly, no one, not even the NNPC group managing director, Mele Kyari, knows when this suffering will come to an end.

Transport fare has gone up, trust our commercial bus drivers and conductors, they are good in that space. Okada, Keke Napep too are not left out of the unceremonious price increase. What about food prices in the market? Your guess is as good as mine. The price of tomatoes two weeks ago is not the price as at today. Inflation is the order of the day, and ordinary people are suffering what they know nothing about.

My major concern is that Nigeria does not have the mechanism to bounce back quickly from a crisis. The situation has entered week two yet it has not been managed. We thought the scarcity will disappear latest by Friday, but here we are still groaning in pain as things get even worse. I even read that the NNPC is yet to evacuate the adulterated fuel that has thrown Nigeria into a state of anarchy.

Though President Buhari has ordered a full-scale investigation into the issue, I think that is not enough. Everyone involved in the importation of adulterated fuel into Nigeria must not go unpunished to serve as a deterrent to others who think they can toil with the lives of others and get away with it.

NNPC must man up to take responsibility for its actions and inactions, and apologise to Nigerians. So many lives have been affected, businesses have suffered, cars have been damaged with many owners wailing in mechanic shops trying to figure out how to fix their cars. They deserve an apology, at least, if the NNPC is a responsible entity.

The NNPC must also ensure the adulterated fuel is evacuated and does not find its way back to the market, because as is usual of a greedy Nigerian, they may want to sneak the bad product through the back door into the market or better still, mix it with the good one to reduce the adverse effect. This must be prevented at all costs and that is why the NNPC must not waste time evacuating the contaminated petrol.

By all means, situations like this must be prevented in the future. Nobody should toil with the economy of a country as big as Nigeria, and purveyors of such crimes must know that they will always be exposed and dealt with.

Ojoko is a Nigerian journalist and can be reached via [email protected]