This essay will discuss three troubling scenarios. The first is the severe fuel shortage. For more than five weeks, it has been a nightmare putting gasoline into our vehicles and generators. What exactly is happening?

The problem worsened recently when the report spread that kegs of petrol—with stickers reading Erelu Okin Foundation Installation Party—were handed as souvenirs at a party in Havillah Event Centre, Oniru, Lagos (which was later locked up by the Lagos State Government).

Nigerian celebrities are expressing their dissatisfaction with the acute fuel scarcity in a variety of ways.

In a sarcastic tweet, diva Atuaje Iruobe, well known as Waje, stated that she is willing to marry any man who will provide her with liters of petrol. “For the men that are interested in asking for my hand in marriage, the most important item on the list will be 100 litres of fuel,” she announced via Twitter.

In a 44-second video that also went viral, Nollywood actress Kate Henshaw was visibly upset over the hardships that Nigerians face on a daily basis. “We cannot continue like this; things are too bad,” she said in the video. “What are we going to do outside…?” You walk outdoors and there is no gasoline; you stay at home and there is no light. “What the hell is going on?”

The long and winding fuel queues that refuse to go away are like the yam farmer who goes to the market to buy yam every time he wants to eat pounded yam.

Vendors marketing petrol in plastic containers of various sizes right in front of filling stations are taking advantage of the situation. How terrible might things get? It presents an opportunity for brisk business and profit. Because gasoline is such an important commodity, the black market for polluted fuel is thriving. Then there’s the possibility of buying petrol on the side of the road, which can damage the engine.

There’s no point kidding ourselves; petrol currently costs between N200 and N350 a litre, and sometimes much more, if you can find it. N162/litre no longer applies. Why is the administration unable to express its viewpoint to Nigerians?

The pandemonium at filling stations causes traffic management issues that spill over into the adjacent roads. This circumstance caused Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to issue a warning to motorists who were blocking the free flow of traffic.

We’ve heard many variations of the same story from government officials about the ongoing fuel problem. Let us review the context. Our refineries are not functional, thus it is not unexpected that they are incurring massive losses in the billions of naira. Instead of selling off the refineries, we keep them with high turn-around maintenance expenses. It does not make sense. The other side of the coin is that we import gas—which is smuggled out to adjacent countries because they pay more per litre—via the famous exchange deals, and if you do the math, you will not be surprised at how much we have been paying on petrol subsidies each year. Nothing shocks Nigerians anymore.

After hinting that fuel subsidies might be abolished effective last month because they were no longer viable, the Federal Government backed down, fearing the wrath that would ensue. The politics of 2023 were certainly a big deciding factor. If the subsidy had been abolished, the pump price of petrol would have been N302/litre, according to the National Economic Council’s ad hoc committee suggestion.

The possible negative impact of subsidy elimination on the All Progressives Party’s political fortunes in next year’s general elections was not considered. But how does the scarcity of petrol benefit the ruling party? With extended shortage, anguish, wrath, and frustration, APC may face a night of long knives.

To salvage the party, President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) is prepared to spend N3 trillion—money we don’t have—on petroleum product subsidies this year. Ask the professionals, and they will tell you how much we spend servicing our loans with correspondingly low revenue. Our total foreign borrowing to date is approximately $38 billion.

Except for being misquoted, I strongly disagree with my brother, Femi Adesina, a presidential spokesman, when he stated that petrol scarcity is not a new issue for Nigerians. Femi, you’ve lost the purpose. Why should we suffer unnecessary hardship? Under the Buhari administration, the pump price of gasoline was raised to N162/litre, and the sky did not fall. So, what are we discussing?

Nigerians demand petrol, but it isn’t available. The NNPC, which is primarily responsible for assuring petrol availability, has failed miserably. Nigerians may be impatient by nature, but we are incredibly understanding and gracious to every regime in power. This gesture is often taken for granted.

In every unpleasant event, we have to bear the agony and adapt to the new reality. Even when shiploads of faulty petrol were imported lately, Nigerians complained, but nothing positive came of it. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting heads to roll because we live in a culture that lacks a sense of purpose.

Let’s take a look at our second example, which involves light. What is so amazing about providing Nigerians with consistent 24-hour electricity after more than 60 years of nationhood? The reasons for continual blackouts are the same each year; they are numerous.

We’re sick of hearing language like “power sector has been unbundled,” “the problem is not transmission but distribution,” and so on; stupid justifications that make no sense at a time when the world is talking about electric automobiles, robotics, space exploration, and augmented reality.

I thought the chorus, “Up NEPA,” had vanished from our Hall of Shame, but we are still in motion without activity. We require electricity for everything, so imagine life without it. When there is no power, make sure you have a tank of fuel or gasoline for your generator (including the I-better-pass-my-neighbor generator).

Homes, schools, offices, hotels, hospitals, places of worship, hairdressing salons, and other establishments require power. We also need light to charge our phones. Consider how much money is spent on gasoline and diesel to power generators around the country, not to mention the expense of generator maintenance. When you do the calculation, what is spent annually amounts to billions of naira.

Most Nigerians are bad debtors; they will use a service (such as electricity) but refuse to pay. However, with the pre-payment option, there is no place to hide anymore. The telecom corporations learned this secret a long time ago and requested that consumers prepaid to use their services. A prepaid electricity meter discourages anticipated and exaggerated bills. You pay for only what you consume.

Our third and final scenario involves the healthcare sector, which is in disarray. In many Nigerian hospitals, the story is familiar: there aren’t enough beds. When attempting to save a patient’s life, you may be routed to multiple hospitals until the patient dies as a result of a lack of timely medical attention.

But what can doctors and nurses do when the crumbling public healthcare infrastructure in every corner of Nigeria is beyond their reach? In a Facebook post, journalist Goddie Ofose described his elder sister’s death. On February 28, 2022, Ofose got a call from his nephew. This was around 11:00 p.m. “My mother, your sister, cannot speak,” his nephew, terrified, told him over the phone. Arit Eyo, Ofose’s sister, required immediate medical assistance at that hour of the night.

According to Ofose, his dying sister was transferred to Grace Hospital in Agbado, but was turned away due to a lack of bed space. She was subsequently sent to Longe Hospital on Iju Road, where she was similarly denied. The tricycle (Keke Marwa) transporting the patient could no longer make the emergency rounds due to a lack of fuel. Remember, the petrol shortage was still raging and hurting hard.

By this time, Ofose had arrived at Longe Hospital in his own car, where he was directed to the General Hospital in Ifako Ijaiye. “My sister is dying, please help her,” Ofose said. “We don’t have any bed space,” said the nurse on duty.

However, a female doctor was nice enough to administer first aid and advise Ofose to transport his sister to LASUTH right away. Again, there was no sleeping space. He was instructed to proceed to the General Hospital in Gbagada. This was around 2 a.m., and the scenario was the same in Gbagada: no bed space. Instead of going to LUTH to prevent another letdown, Ofose took his sister to a private clinic, where she was cared for.

“But in the morning, you just take her to Amadiaha Hospital,” the staff on duty informed Ofose. By the time he arrived at the hospital at 6 a.m., his sister had died.

Eyo, aged 63, is survived by her children, grandchildren, and relatives. May her soul rest in peace due to God’s grace.