The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, a man whose first name is the name of my favorite beer has just made a pronouncement which will make our lives 500% more difficult.
He has directed the NNPCL to start to sell petrol at a price higher than the landing price which they claim to be N1,117:00. That is exactly double the current price of N600.
He has done this without the government in which he serves saying anything about what plans, if any, they have to mitigate the effects on 215m people. That is—you and I.
Is life not hard enough as it is?
Apparently not, according to the Minister.
“Get ready to suffer a little bit more because we are inefficient at the border,” he says.
I find that laughable.
If I were a security officer earning 100k a month and I had three mouths to feed and you posted me to the border, I would immediately start my own business of becoming a mobile petrol station.
I will purchase ten—50 liter jerry cans.
And why not?
Because my mother did not give birth to a fool.
It’s as simple as that.
So, fellow citizens, we are being asked to pay for the inefficiencies of our government.
Questions arising.
What happened to the President’s directive for Crude to be sold to Dangote in Naira?
What happened to Dangote Refinery’s promise to begin to deliver petrol to marketers by mid-August?
What happened to the Minister’s several promises that the Portharcourt Refinery would begin operation, the latest being last July?
Well, we are in August already.
Does this new instruction for NNPC to sell fuel at a price higher than their landing cost mean that all the questions raised above will never be answered?
Does the instruction also mean that Nigeria will continue to import fuel?
Add to this, the extra burden of “Band A” electricity bills.
I got a taste of it two days ago. Usually, I purchase N10,000 worth of electricity every week which gives me 135 units.
Now, N10,000 gives me 41 units.
We are still investigating the anomaly. You should have seen my shock when I finished loading my device.
I screamed!
If it is true, what this means for me is a simple proposition. If I want to continue to enjoy my lifestyle, I should be prepared to pay N40,000 every week for Band A.
Add to that, the fact that the Central Bank increased interest rates about two weeks ago.
This means that existing businesses will not be able to expand while new businesses will have difficulty opening up.
Here are some coping mechanisms.
Put on your thinking cap.
It’s time to go completely solar.
You need two jobs.
But you need to get the first one.
Bad news.
The economy is shrinking.
You are not likely going to be able to get the first job.
So, you will not get the second.
Therefore, your life is going to be more difficult.
What other options do you have?
The thing is—if I told you, you won’t like it.
This may be the time to go back to your village. There will be no hope for you in the city for some time to come because you cannot rent an apartment or a room.
No one will house you.
Not because they don’t love you.
Not because there’s no space on the floor for you to sleep.
They will not house you because they can’t feed you.
Food is very expensive.
Go back to the land. At the end of the year, just one year of working the land in the village, you will be better off than the friend you left behind in the city one year earlier.
Please believe me.
If you don’t believe me, try the city for one more year and tell me the results.
As for the government, what can they do?
I’ve said it before. The government needs to appoint a Food Czar. Here’s my reasoning. If we cannot solve the petrol problem, let us at least try to solve the food problem. These are the two pain points in Nigeria right now.
Please share this article until Mr. President reads it.
Michael Ovienmhada.
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief,
Egogonewshub.com
