How the fuel scarcity has frozen people to their homes
Due to the hardship of piecing together enough cash for their travel, some Nigerians cannot get to the offices where they hustle, which then puts them at the risk of starving.
Before the petrol scarcity disruption can go away, federal officials anticipate that first, a 15-day rapid shipment to Nigeria already underway ought to be allowed to play out but workers who need to commute can’t afford a delay, which sometimes means getting rooted in their homes without the opportunity to make a living.
As at Tuesday, 30 April, up to 325 million litres of petrol had been imported to the country through Lagos ports and more are to be expected round the week to cover the two-week period that the government expects fuel queues at filling stations to be over.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority South-West Regional Coordinator, Ayo Cardoso, confirmed the figures in a Punch News report but that is obviously not improving the supply under his catchment.
Many things are happening as a result of this fuel scarcity, says Mrs Adeyemi Oni while while waiting at a bus-stop for a ride to her destination in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
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Due to the hardship of piecing together enough cash for their travel, some people cannot get to the offices where they hustle, which then puts them at the risk of starving.
The poor are now poorer and hungrier because they can’t even get to where they work due to high transport fares and lack of vehicles on the road. I can only appeal to the government to do something urgently.
Being hands-on for many is walking miles until and if they ever get to meet a commercial vehicle that is not filled empty or was not asking them to pay a fare they could not afford.
Although some filling stations still sell petrol under ₦600 per litre, at other places, the pumps dispense fuel at a rate reaching ₦900, which bus drivers take out on the rider. This is why many people have found themselves waiting out the shortages at their residence.
Where consumption is usually low compared to megacities like Lagos, the exorbitant price of a litre of PMS is hitting residents too. For example in Osun State where the scarcity has encouraged The Osun Mastermind, a civil society association to recommend pausing schooling for a few weeks until supply improves in the state.
The long lines of queues in Lagos trickle down to neighbouring southwest States, and have reached the usually somewhat calm Osun State.
We recommend the shutting down of schools, maybe for a few weeks, while this scarcity lasts to avoid the children and their parents suffering unduly.
Let the ministry of education announce with a fiat from the governor that schools be closed and civil servants working days rationalised while the issue of fuel scarcity lasts, a statement by The Osun Mastermind at a Tuesday news conference had asked.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
