Nigeria; An Oil Producing Country Characterize By Long Queues.

By Stephen Peter Okangla

On Tuesday the 2^nd day of the month of March 2021 it
was like hell was let loose on Nigeria as there was outcry from all
corners of the country as a result of the fuel scarcity occasioned
in the country. In Maiduguri it is not different either as you will
discover the normalize abnormalities from the long queues that
characterize our filling stations and highways. Boom another fuel
scarcity scene has surfaced in the country, in fact this is a
regular visitor! Although this is the tradition and situation of
things in a country that produces million barrels of crude daily,
hence we have accepted this gory story as ours and have taken
situations the way we see it as the tunnel remains dark with no end
in sight.

The strange thing is fuel scarcity is normally witness during
festive and yuletide seasons as this season serve as period of
jamboree for corrupt and kleptomaniac individuals and marketers who
capitalize on ineffective government policies to unleash hardship
on the vulnerable masses, today fuel scarcity has defile the
occasional periods of visitation and now knocks at our door daily.
Anytime fuel scarcity visits, it is accompanied by:

1. high cost of food items;
2. high cost of transportation;
3. high cost of living and;
4. lack of mobility.

Who do we blame for this innumerable woes of ours? Should we
blame our aged parents in the village? Or the motorist? Should we
blame the independent oil marketers? Or the Government? I blame the
Government! At 60 one is not sure if Nigeria is a developing
country or a third world country! This is truly pathetic! It is
pertinent to ask ourselves if Nigeria is truly an Oil producing
country, because I have not in my journey so far in the world heard
of oil scarcity in Ghana, Niger, Morroco, South Africa and the
neighbouring Benin Republic just to mention a few. At 60 it is an
insult and embarrassment for Nigeria to be importing PMS and other
related product from Niger Republic and other countries. It is sane
if one demands to know our sins which is surely responsible for our
retarding and obesity growth. Are the gods truly angry at us? Have
we lost contact with God? What happen to our Refineries which we
spent billions of naira on turn around maintenance? Will heaven
fall if our Government build new refineries which we serve the need
of the people?

Is economic stability not supposed to be a fundamental
objectives of our government? Is the security and welfare of the
people not supposed to be the primary purpose of Government as
provided in Section 14 (2) (b) of the Nigeria constitution?

I groan deeply for this country, so do every responsible and
concern citizen. The vision and mission of Nigeria as championed by
our founding fathers have crashed and suffered an ill fate in the
hands of our successive democratic leaders. What a shame for a son
to render desolate the house he inherited from his fathers! Today,
Government policies are handled with levity, matched with ill-will
and execute by falsehood. Today, we witness long queues in our
filling station, suffer hardship for the product we own and pay
through our nose to put food on our tables. We are pronounced doom
even before birth! We bewitch thee O’ Nigeria? Why do we plant
cassava and expect to harvest yam? Why do we go fishing on a palm
tree?

Our undoing is that we fail to tell ourselves the truth, we
allow hungry men  creep into the corridors of power. In fact
we are the enemies of ourselves, we are too careful on accumulation
of wealth that we forget the course of leadership and
accountability!  We keep on repeating same thing severally and
expect a different result. Its real time we light our candle and
liberate ourselves from the shackles of self-inflicted poverty,
darkness and hardship.

Thanks as we heed the call to turn over a new leaf!

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Stephen Okangla writes from the University of
Maiduguri. He can be reached via:

Phone/WhatsApp: 08132040369,
Email: stephenokangla@gmail.com^[1] 

By Stephen Peter Okangla

On Tuesday the 2^nd day of the month of March 2021 it
was like hell was let loose on Nigeria as there was outcry from all
corners of the country as a result of the fuel scarcity occasioned
in the country. In Maiduguri it is not different either as you will
discover the normalize abnormalities from the long queues that
characterize our filling stations and highways. Boom another fuel
scarcity scene has surfaced in the country, in fact this is a
regular visitor! Although this is the tradition and situation of
things in a country that produces million barrels of crude daily,
hence we have accepted this gory story as ours and have taken
situations the way we see it as the tunnel remains dark with no end
in sight.

The strange thing is fuel scarcity is normally witness during
festive and yuletide seasons as this season serve as period of
jamboree for corrupt and kleptomaniac individuals and marketers who
capitalize on ineffective government policies to unleash hardship
on the vulnerable masses, today fuel scarcity has defile the
occasional periods of visitation and now knocks at our door daily.
Anytime fuel scarcity visits, it is accompanied by:

1. high cost of food items;
2. high cost of transportation;
3. high cost of living and;
4. lack of mobility.

Who do we blame for this innumerable woes of ours? Should we
blame our aged parents in the village? Or the motorist? Should we
blame the independent oil marketers? Or the Government? I blame the
Government! At 60 one is not sure if Nigeria is a developing
country or a third world country! This is truly pathetic! It is
pertinent to ask ourselves if Nigeria is truly an Oil producing
country, because I have not in my journey so far in the world heard
of oil scarcity in Ghana, Niger, Morroco, South Africa and the
neighbouring Benin Republic just to mention a few. At 60 it is an
insult and embarrassment for Nigeria to be importing PMS and other
related product from Niger Republic and other countries. It is sane
if one demands to know our sins which is surely responsible for our
retarding and obesity growth. Are the gods truly angry at us? Have
we lost contact with God? What happen to our Refineries which we
spent billions of naira on turn around maintenance? Will heaven
fall if our Government build new refineries which we serve the need
of the people?

Is economic stability not supposed to be a fundamental
objectives of our government? Is the security and welfare of the
people not supposed to be the primary purpose of Government as
provided in Section 14 (2) (b) of the Nigeria constitution?

I groan deeply for this country, so do every responsible and
concern citizen. The vision and mission of Nigeria as championed by
our founding fathers have crashed and suffered an ill fate in the
hands of our successive democratic leaders. What a shame for a son
to render desolate the house he inherited from his fathers! Today,
Government policies are handled with levity, matched with ill-will
and execute by falsehood. Today, we witness long queues in our
filling station, suffer hardship for the product we own and pay
through our nose to put food on our tables. We are pronounced doom
even before birth! We bewitch thee O’ Nigeria? Why do we plant
cassava and expect to harvest yam? Why do we go fishing on a palm
tree?

Our undoing is that we fail to tell ourselves the truth, we
allow hungry men  creep into the corridors of power. In fact
we are the enemies of ourselves, we are too careful on accumulation
of wealth that we forget the course of leadership and
accountability!  We keep on repeating same thing severally and
expect a different result. Its real time we light our candle and
liberate ourselves from the shackles of self-inflicted poverty,
darkness and hardship.

Thanks as we heed the call to turn over a new leaf!

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Stephen Okangla writes from the University of
Maiduguri. He can be reached via:

Phone/WhatsApp: 08132040369,
Email: stephenokangla@gmail.com^[1]