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The recent hike in the price of the Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, by 45 per cent has dealt a devastating blow to many Nigerians who are already depressed, wretched and famished
The recent callous and unthinkable hike in the prices of petroleum products in Nigeria at a time the cost of living crisis, hunger, starvation and poverty have spread at an alarming rate, is indeed cataclysmic.
The unfortunate reality and dire consequences of the inconsiderate adjustment in the prices of petroleum products have further devalued the lives of many a person.
The independent petroleum marketers and black market operators have sorely cashed in on the awful situation, thereby making petrol, the determinant commodity that controls the prices of goods and services to skyrocket beyond the reach of the ordinary Nigerians.
The worst case scenario is that petrol despite the astronomical hike is not still available for consumers to access.
Today, without exaggeration, many Nigerians who could access and purchase fuel from the greedy rapacious merchants at filling stations buy it at a cut-throat price of between N1,000 and N1,400 even though the regulators claimed they increased it from N617 to N897.
It has yet to be fathomed what the government is doing and what it intends to achieve with the deliberate and intentional decision to punish the citizens.
Yes, the national minimum wage has been signed into law but have the Nigerian workers started receiving the new wage? What about the touted Dangote Refinery that is supposed to transit Nigerians to the El Dorado? The refinery is still held by the jugular.
The oil mafia is still not sleeping. They are bent on entrenching the status quo so that instead of Nigeria leveraging the product from Dangote, they will still buy the imported fuel from abroad reportedly owned and managed by the oil mafia working in cahoots with foreign collaborators.
This is the best time for Nigerians to unite and fight the oil mafia holding the country down. We are truly in despair and can't afford to allow wicked and rapacious business cartel to rob us of our commonwealth.
For the government, it appears that they still pandering to the whims and caprices of the oil mafia.
If not, they should have known that allowing fuel price hike at this time when many Nigerians are despair, hopeless and in economic quagmire is not the appropriate time to offend their sensibilities.
Even though the #EndBadGovernance appears to have been quelled with threats and propaganda, arrest and prosecution of some innocent and unfortunate protesters, it is not yet Uhuru for the government.
They should be guided by the saying that he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. With the ugly turn of events in Nigeria, the people are seriously angry with the government and they should watch it.
The government can't have their way all the time. Those who are crying still see. The suffering in Nigeria has reached the breaking point and if care is not taken, the push will come to shove.
Tempering with fuel price at a time Nigerians are seriously bleeding is like touching the tail of the tiger. It is well known that once that happens, even the hell will be let loose and the disastrous consequences will manifest in manifolds.
By that time, it will be too late to pontificate and sermonise patriotism which the policies of the government have long since made useless and meaningless.
We want to believe that the federal government is not adamant and insensitive to the plight of Nigerians. However, to demonstrate their sincerity, seriousness and empathy on the downtrodden, Nigerians sure need practical and practicable steps to solve this petrol conundrum in the country .
The government should listen to the voices of reason and do something urgently to ameliorate the sufferings Nigerians are going through because of another insane and wicked hike in petrol price by the government.
Policies are made for man and not man for policies. Policies that anti-people should be jettisoned and not foisted on Nigerians willy-nilly. The citizens have the right to welfare, security, good governance, among others.
The consensus of the majority of Nigerians is that this recent fuel hike which has thrown many Nigerians into more poverty and hunger is antithetical to national growth and development.
There is no way Nigeria can develop in this direction. Any policy targeted at suffering and strangulating the people is what it is - anti-people and it should be resisted vehemently.
It is believed that any good government knows what to do to ameliorate the sufferings of the people because that is the primary objective of government (welfare). But when this is lacking, it simply means the government is wicked, tyrannical and undemocratic.
The time to revisit the pump price of fuel is now. Nigerians are dying by instalments and something drastic must be done quickly to reverse the ugly trend to avoid another round of protests that may be difficult to contain.
To be forwarned is to be forearmed.
