President Jonathan, we can’t get petrol

In 1986 after a meeting of the Armed Forces Ruling Council, Ibrahim Babangida, our self-styled military president, asked the Inspector General of Police then, Etim Inyang, “My friend, where is Anini?” A highly manipulative person, General Babangida was at his best in front of cameras and he ensured that the exchange shifted the burden on the police. Fortunately, Anini, a notorious robber was caught and his reign of terror cut short.

I recalled this story after reading various reports of a thanksgiving and farewell service in honour of President Goodluck Jonathan and his family at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Gwarimpa, Abuja. In the accounts, I did not read anything about petrol which is the most important substance in Nigeria as at today. It might look funny to citizens of other countries as we are an oil-producing country, but the reality of our lives is that we are in the throes of another fuel scarcity. Like a perennial cycle, most Nigerians are spending the better part of their days and productive hours in fuel stations hoping to get the elusive product. Possibly, it was only under the late Sani Abacha that we had it so bad like now. To compound the pain, electricity supply is not better too thereby raising the pressure for citizens.

One would have thought that the president would say a word about the suffering Nigerians are going through just to survive in their country. While it is not sure if journalists were granted access to the president after the service, it would have been good for our State House colleagues to remind Jonathan that we can’t get petrol. Forget the economic jargon the Finance Minister fed us about two weeks ago and the additional information that importers would be paid soonest; it’s a tale of woes upon woes across the land.

We all know the usual refrain – refineries not working, we export crude and import refined products, price fluctuates and government adds more money so that importers can import otherwise known as subsidy. Only God knows how long we have debated whether to remove subsidy or continue to sustain it but we can all see the results. Fair enough, President Jonathan attempted to remove the subsidy in 2012 but we all remember the aftermath. Whenever I hear stories of those who buy petrol more than the official price, particularly those who live outside Lagos and its adjoining cities, I always assumed that it is their problem if they could allow themselves to be cheated. This was until I had to buy petrol whenever I travel outside Lagos. Let’s face it people, N87 per litre is only for Lagos. Colleagues in the south east usually say they can’t remember when last they bought at the official price.

That is why it was painful for me that Jonathan did not say anything about petrol. Yes, we may talk about transition committee and its affairs just as our president-elect too can stylishly continue to dampen expectations by saying that he will be president at the wrong time, but the fact is we can’t get petrol. Good enough that the Jonathan government reminded us that until May 29, it is still in charge of our affairs so let it step up and be counted by giving us petrol. Jonathan cannot afford to play the victim as he did at the thanksgiving service by saying that he and his ministers would be persecuted because of the “hard decisions” his administration took while in office.  “I believe there are reasons for everything. Some hard decisions have their own cost; and there is no doubt about that. That I have run the government this way that stabilized certain things, the electoral process and other things that brought stability to this country. They are very costly decisions which I must be ready to pay for,” the president said on Sunday.

While it would be uncharitable to lay the blame for all our woes at Jonathan’s feet, it would be a lie too to deny that his government is responsible for our inability to get petrol. Granted that the most popular game in town now is the kick-Jonathan-as-much-as-you-can, it is apparent that this government does not have a firm grip on the fuel situation. We have had enough excuses and the government seemed to have run out of answers but citizens still queue and buy petrol at rates different from the official price as high as N200 or N300 per litre. So, perhaps you don’t know, dear President Jonathan, we can’t get petrol. And not just for our vehicles but for our generators too.