Fuel Scarcity-Govt has brought Untold Hardships on Nigerians-Labor Leader

The lingering fuel scarcity in Nigeria has brought about untold hardships on Nigerians. This assertion was made by the chairman of the National Union of Allied Health Professionals(NUAHP), Oyo state council, who doubles as the chairman of the University College Hospital(UCH) branch of the union, Comrade Oladayo Olabampe. ''Our leaders have brought untold hardships on us. People are suffering. We Nigerians are known to be rugged people and whatever our leaders throw at us, we find a way of maneuvering and coping. So we are coping. The filling stations are selling the Petroleum Motor Spirit(PMS) at very high prices and there are also those selling kegs along the road, the black market, for those who can afford them. People spend as long as a whole day in petrol stations just to get fuel. We should not forget about those who don't have cars and rely on public transport. The transport fares have gone up beyond their reach.'' ''Nigerians are paying because they have no choice, while others who cannot afford the very high transport fares have resorted to trekking long distances to their destinations. The last fuel scarcity was attributed to flooding, but now that the scarcity persists, no reason has been given for it.'' Comrade Olabampe lamented that the issue of subsidy removal ''seems to be like a mustache that you remove and later grows again.'' He noted that Nigerians no longer asked questions, saying,'' the more you look the less you see. Only God knows where we are heading to. If care is not taken, workers will revolt. Everything is on the high side and salaries are still where they were years back. What Nigerians want is the improvement of the economy. We want to see improvement in the economy, otherwise workers will revolt.'' festival Similarly, the chairman of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Riders And Owners Association(ACOMORAN), Comrade Solomon Oulgbode described the increase in the price of PMS as wicked, saying, ''the increment in the fuel price for whatever reason is wicked, it is not a masses friendly policy, especially this time when the festival period is fast approaching, people are going through a lot of stress. The cost of fuel, which hovers around N185.00, N280.00 and N300.00, this has affected the rate at which passengers are conveyed to their destinations. People spend a reasonable part of their time searching for fuel. The high cost of motorcycles and instalmental payments have made life unbearable for both transporters and commuters. This should be a lesson for us. We cannot continue this way in 2023. We should carefully look at those we want to be voted into office.''
Solomon Adewunmi is the Editor-in-Chief of New Federation (news2day.emyspot.com), People(2day.emyspot.com) and Federationewsday(one.emyspot.com) He attended Ajeromi Ifelodun High School, Olodi-Apapa, Lagos and the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. He possesses - * BBC/EC CERTIFICATE IN NEWS JOURNALISM (FEB. 2001) * CERTIFICATE IN ARTS AND CULTURE CRITICISM (NANTAP MAY 2001) * CERTIFICATE IN PEACE JOURNALISM (JUSTICE, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE COMMISSION) *CERTIFICATE IN CONFLICT ANALYSIS[UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE ONLINE TRAINING PROGRAMME, OCT.2004] *CERTIFICATE IN INTERFAITH CONFLICT RESOLUTION( UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE, JAN. 2009).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Understanding Repression

Image
The bad harvest of 1792 in England, the grave discontent among the people, the high rate of unemployment, the prohibitive prices of food items, repression by the government among numerous other factors had adverse effects on its socio-economic and political development. In Nigeria in 2021, insecurity, hunger, poverty, the high unemployment rate, violent crimes, incompetence, misplaced priorities, mediocrity, the beautification of lies and falsehood, the condemnable activities of state actors and their agents have visible prints in every part of the country for the people to see. Indeed, the insinuation is that leadership at all levels has derailed. The ignoble roles played by the likes of John Castle, Oliver, and George Edwards, all provocative agents of the government and spies, have further dented the image of the leadership and also eroded its credibility. The actions of Pitt in the House of Commons and Grenville in the Lords resulted in the passage into law of the Seditious Meetin...
Read more

Emerging Natural Factors

Image
In most countries around the world, the interest of an individual has never been greater than those of these countries. However, this is not the case in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa.Indeed, a political party that has attained political power, is at an advantage to address the fundamental national question revolving around equality and justice. Unfortunately, in Nigeria today, the political party in power is proud to have regional and ethnic alliances which have ensured a divided country. The rule of law is increasingly being rubbished on a daily basis while political and religious intolerance is now the culture and tradition.The unabating state of insecurity and the unending violence which has claimed several thousands of lives, suggests that the former and the latter have become means to various ends for Those in Authority. A political party ought to be a medium for the expression of the choice of the electorate and the avenue through which like-minded people may expr...
Read more

The Last Resort of The Common Man : Nigerians Keep Hope Alive On The Judiciary

Image
The Justice Kayode Esho panel report on the Judiciary of 1994, indicted several Judges in Nigeria for wrongdoing.  Although the report recommended most of the Judges, including Justice N.S.N Onnogben, then a Judge of the Appeal court , Calabar, Cross River state, for retirement/dismissal, the Judicial review panel headed by Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin gave most of them and Justice Onnogben a clean bill of health, thereby nullifying the recommendations of the Justice Esho panel.  Justice Onnogben was a high court Judge, when the recommendation was made, but was however, promoted to a Judge of the Appeal court.  Again, the Justice Babalakin panel reversed the recommendation by the Justice Esho panel that Justice E.I.D Emeordi of the Delta state Judiciary be dismissed.  This reversal did not go down well with the Delta state government, which eventually retired Justice Emeordi and Justice G.O Akoro. While justifying his retirement, the then Attorney General and...
Read more