The latest hike in the pump price of petrol has exacerbated the sufferings of people, particularly those considered to be poor and vulnerable. It has plunged them deeper into poverty with a feeling of despair. The reality is that they have to grapple with the unrelenting and suffocating specter of inflation. It is a very sad situation, a somber moment for them.
This is not the "Renewed Hope" the Bola Tinubu administration promised. The benefit of the doubt Nigerians gave this government despite the questionable outcome of the 2023 presidential election has been betrayed. The recent hike is heartless and a merciless assault on their collective psyche.
Today, fuel sells for about N1,300 to N1,500 in most urban cities, while it is twice that amount in rural communities. This was after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) raised the pump price of the product from its former prices of between N568 to N617 per litre to between N855 and N897 per litre at its outlets nationwide. Independent marketers joined, and the resultant impact has wrought havoc on the meagre budget of the average Nigerian.
The NNPCL, which has become one of the nation's nightmare, chose to make the increment at a time Nigerians were going to celebrate the commencement of the production of fuel by Dangote Refinery. The feeling among the people was that at last, relief had come. But their anticipation has been dealt with a heavy blow.
In a country where the price of fuel affects nearly everything, mainly transportation, food, and other essential commodities, the fragile livelihoods of the beleaguered poor have again been ravaged. They have been thrust into an abyss of hopelessness.
One would have thought that considering how this government emerged, how it's policies has led to economic ruin in the last one year, the number of protests and strike actions they have encountered, they will be walking on eggshells. But that is not the case. Even more sad is that the various palliative schemes have also not been effective. To this administration, it seems the distribution of rice is the only intervention they know.
We can emphatically state that the burden of the fuel price hike will lead to an increase in crime rate, social unrest, and massive uprising. There is a limit to stretching the patience of people. Nigerians are no longer afraid to die. Since poverty has been so weaponized there is no need to sit back and die but to come out and face a brutal regime that sees no wrong in buying an exotic and glamorous armoured Cadillac Escalade and a state of the art Airbus A330 presidential jet for the president. Such a show of opulence in the midst of the sufferings confirms how insensitive the Tinubu administration is.
We join well-meaning Nigerians, including members of the organized labour, to condemn the fuel price hike and call for its immediate reversal. It is not a birthright for Nigerians to continue to suffer and live in abject poverty. The poor cannot be making sacrifices while the rich, especially the political class, will be squandering the nation's commonwealth.
Battling the twin problem of insecurity and economic woes is depressing. We don't want suicide cases to increase. Nigerians need succor, a lifeline. It is time to allow the poor to breathe, and Tinubu should provide the fresh air, not a toxic one.
It is, therefore, imperative for President Tinubu to take a second look at the management of the NNPCL. For too long, they have held Nigerians hostage. We urge the president to take decisive actions to save this country from the dungeon. He needs to rethink his economic policies. Like the Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah said, reducing the current price of fuel will be the greatest legacy of the president.
