Long-Term Petrol Scarcity Is Contemptible

It is shameful that there is now a shortage of quality motor spirit (petrol) in the country.

Nigeria, the largest producer of crude oil in Africa, has a dysfunctional state government and economy, which is reflected in the protracted fuel shortages the nation experiences, especially around the holidays.

However, there have continuously been fuel shortages for more than three decades, so this is nothing new. Four months ago, scarcity started to appear again, defying all logic and cures.

The government and its departments are illiterate, uttering disjointed remarks and acting incoherently. The State Security Service recently issued a ridiculous order requiring the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and other stakeholders to find a solution to the current fuel crisis within 48 hours!

The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, and Petroleum Tanker Drivers Union were among the organizations that the service also “directed.”

If the lines did not go away within 48 hours, the secret police threatened to pursue the marketers. The bizarre order first seemed to have been followed by the lines, but the relief did not last as the shortage became more serious and angry Nigerians are now spending many valuable hours at dispensing stations, some of them overnight.

The SSS claimed that it was being proactive by preventing anything that may instigate unrest in the nation during the Yuletide, adding that their action was meant to avoid any security implications or bad aspects that could result from the present fuel shortage.