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*Tuesday's hike in price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) from N617 to over N850 is a reliable barometer of government's insensitivity to the plight of the downtrodden masses of Nigeria
Wondering why there is much anger, protestation, hunger and poverty in the land? The answer is not farfetched. The federal government has the answers to the question. But are they ready to provide the answers? It is a matter for conjecture.
But from one wrong policy to another, it is clearly obvious that the government is not ready to roll out people-centred policies that will ameliorate the hardships faced by the mass of the population.
At a time when more than 120 million Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor, occasioned by ill-considered and bad policies of the government, Nigerians are again badly hit by another unthinkable hike in price of petrol that has ripple effects on all spheres of socio-economic life of the people.
What does the current hike portend for the hopeless and distraught masses? It simply means that anybody who chooses to die can die. It also connotes that the government and its relevant agencies don't care a hoot about the sufferings the majority of Nigerians are going through.
It also implies that the government did not learn any atom of lessons from the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest which shut down the country for 10 days between August 1 and August 10 with humongous amount of money lost to the demonstrations.
What about lives lost and properties destroyed? They appear not to mean anything to the government and the political class that have held the citizens by the jugular. Instead of apologising to Nigerians for the economic hardships they currently face, the government has developed the effrontery and decided to punish some of the innocent and unfortunate Nigerians who allegedly participated in the nationwide protests.
Those arrested were taken to court and have been remanded in custody. Others were declared wanted with a bogus claim that they allegedly plotted to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu.
This allegation is indeed unfair! The whole charade does not bode well for the citizenry. On the flipside of it, it is the citizens that are supposed to accuse the government, whose officials are the supposed servants of the people whom they are planning to exterminate with wicked and inhuman policies.
As if that was not enough, the organised labour was cajoled by the government into a meeting to halt the protests for a dialogue on ending the impasse. At last, the minimum wage conundrum was resolved with the labour accepting N70,000 as the least pay for the least worker in the country.
In all honesty, to many Nigerians, though the government and the labour unions reached a rapprochement on the N70,000 minimum wage, it is like a drop of water in an ocean, no thanks to the high cost of living, inflation, hunger and starvation pervading today's Nigeria
Curiously, just barely a month after the N70,000 was signed into law with many states yet to start the process of paying the new minimum wage, but like the proverbial evil gift, the same government that promised labour it would not increase fuel price had reneged on its promise. With the hike in pump price of petrol, it has slammed 45% fuel hike on Nigerians.
This is just akin to giving someone something with the left hand and taking the same thing fast with the right hand. It is as bad as that and Nigerians are not smiling about that.
As the ugly news of another fuel hike still reverberates, many Nigerians still believe that it is time for our leaders to wake up and realise the dire situation facing the Nigerian populace as a whole.
It is not enough to throw crumbs at the masses and expect them to be content. True change and progress can only come when leaders prioritise the well-being of their citizens and work towards sustainable solutions.
We cannot afford to have our people living in abject poverty while a few enjoy the luxuries of power. It is time for a change that puts the people first and works towards a better future for all Nigerians.
We must hold our leaders accountable and demand better governance. The time for empty promises and half measures is over. It is time for real action and meaningful progress. Let us stand together and demand a better Nigeria for all.
It is important to note that this increase in fuel price by the NNPC has sparked outrage among Nigerians who are already struggling with high cost of living and inflation in the country.
Many are calling on the government to intervene and provide relief to the citizens bearing the brunt of these price hikes.
The situation is further excerbated by the fact that Nigeria is a major oil producing country, leading many to question why its citizens suffer such high fuel prices.
Many are still in the dark about the reasons behind the sudden increase as feelers from the relevant authorities only painted a picture that suits their fancy.
Today, whether Nigerians like it or not, the proposed fuel distribution chain has only a monopoly, a single seller, called the Dangote refinery, and a monopsony, a single buyer called the NNPCL. Under the arrangement, the NNPC will still determine the price of Dangote refinery petrol. Is there going to be any headway for Nigerians bearing in mind that the same NNPCL has been the behemoth behind fuel crisis in the country? What are the benefits of the arrangement for the downtrodden masses of the country?
It is curious that at a time Dangote Refinery is about to roll out its petrol to the public, the government is increasing the price of a commodity that binds almost all other goods and services.
One thing is clear: it is either the government is wicked or that they are working in cahoots with Dangote refinery to give it a soft landing and to leverage the existing exhorbitant price, at least in Nigeria's context, to recompense the oil mafia threatened by the emergence of the multi-billion dollars refinery.
We don't need to delve into details. But the fact remains that for the oil mafia to make the government to increase the pump price of petrol at the same time that Dangote refinery is rolling out its petrol to the Nigerian public is too coincidental to look the other way. This coincidence needs to be interrogated.
It is also argued that the cabal that has held the petroleum sector captive for many years do not want Dangote to be seen as a messiah. But in the reckoning of discerning Nigerians, the price hike is evil, abominable and wicked as it portrays the government as not applying human face to its policies towards its citizens in dire economic straits.
Nigerians' concerns touch on a significant issue, reflecting the frustration many people feel about the timing of the price hike in relation to the upcoming rollout of Dangote Refinery's petrol. The increase in prices, especially for essential commodities like fuel, often has widespread implications, affecting the cost of goods and services across the board.
There's a perception that the government might be either indifferent to the public's suffering or, it is possibly working in concert with the refinery to ensure a smooth market entry.
The idea that certain powerful groups might be influencing these decisions to protect their interests further complicates the situation, raising questions about transparency and fairness.
It's essential for the government to communicate clearly and act in the public's interest, particularly in sensitive sectors like petroleum, where price changes have immediate and widespread impacts.
The situation demands careful consideration and, ideally, measures to mitigate the effects on the most vulnerable populations are needed.
Recall that two days after the NNPC cried out that the burden of petrol price had pushed it into over $6 billion debt, it increased its pump price of fuel from N617 per litre to N897 per litre.
This is an increase of over 45 per cent. Let it be known that Nigerians have endured to the breaking point and if the needful is not done to address the situation, the push may come to shove.
May God help our country and the leaders to know the right thing to do to avert the country teetering on the brink of an abyss. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
