For every dark cloud, there is a silver lining. The current
fuel crisis that have held majority of Nigerians on their knees begging for
mercy is not without its benefits; legally or illegally.
In this article, we look at 5 benefits of the current fuel
crisis.
i. NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF ENERGY
The current fuel crisis is a huge eye-opener on the need for
our dear country to look inward, strategize and develop/promote alternative
means of energy. With less than 7weeks of fuel scarcity, several high profile
companies in Nigeria including telecoms and banking have been reaching out to
customers informing them of a possible break in transmission or inconsistence
in quality of service. It is however now clear to most them that it is
important for them to start considering other sources of energy in other to
fore-stall future re-occurrence of the shortage.
ii. PRUDENCY IN POWER USAGE BY NIGERIANS
Unavailability of fuel has forced Nigerians with carefree attitude
towards power usage to begin to see caution. Nigerians for instance without
fuel shortage while on generator during day-time would put on everything in
their apartment from the TV set in the sitting room, bedroom to the smallest
bulb in the pantry but in the season of
fuel shortage, it was a different ball game. A fashion designer in my area for
instance who normally while on “better pass” gen would put on his 2electric
sowing machines as well as a radio and a fan refused to do so citing the need
for him to save energy and maximize the use of the little available fuel.
iii. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
The fuel scarcity while stylishly closing/leading to the
intermittent closure of several businesses and reducing the hope of starting
new ones is also providing a means of business or employment opportunity to
several others. It is no doubt that a lot of Nigerians want the FG to put
quickly put an end to the lingering fuel scarcity, a host of others simply want
it to continue. If you take a walk to Onipan through Fadeyi, Ikorodu Road,
Lagos during the peak of the scarcity, you will notice quit a number of able
bodied young men taking advantage of the situation by selling fuel in 10litres
jerry-cans popularly known as “black-market”. To these set of people, the plight
of majority of Nigerians has suddenly turned to a source of income and they hope it remain the same so they can
continue to put food on their table not minding the ripple effect- inflation it
may generate.
iv. HIGHER SOURCE OF INCOME
The lingering fuel scarcity has led to an increase in
inflation. Inflation in a lay man’s language is a situation whereby more money
is chasing fewer goods i.e demand is considerably higher than supply thereby
leading to a sharp increase in price of such goods/services. Business owners
have increased the price of their commodities owing to an increase in pump
price which has in-turn affected logistics. Some business owners who are not
directly affected by the crisis are also taking advantage of the situation to
make more profit. A shoe shiner (shoe maker) was contracted to help in
polishing a pair of shoe, the tall dark-skinned man said “oga…na N40 o. you
know everything don put money as fuel no dey now”. I began to wonder what fuel
crisis has got to do with shinning a shoe. As far as I know, the price of shoe
polish has not increased and fuel is not needed to power the hand of the
shoe-shiner. It is just an opportunity to make more money.
v. EYE-OPENER TO GOVT.’S HIGH LEVEL OF INSENSITIVITY
When over 200 girls were abducted and the govt. of the day
chose not to believe, investigate and take action for about 16days, some said
the govt. was not properly informed, some think they needed more time to be
sure they (#ChibokGirls) were truly abducted while others believe the govt.
failed.
The present administration has been termed by many as incompetent,
careless and clueless about the welfare of its citizenry but not many could
ascertain its level of carelessness and insensitivity to pressing issues. The current
fuel crisis which has been allowed to linger for too long to the extent that
small, medium and large scale businesses are begging for mercy is an eye-opener
for many. The govt. for a few weeks has alleged sabotage as the reason for the
crisis; but the question on the lips of many Nigerians is- who is to curb
sabotage? They wonder why the people elected to lead them keep passing bulk;
blaming others for their incompetence when they are in control of all apparatus
and can be more firm & decisive.
