Christmas season is one of the most celebrated festivals in the world. The Christmas day marks the date of the birth of the Saviour of mankind. It is a tradition that some airlines in Europe and other parts of the world don’t normally operate their international flights that day because they expect their cabin crew and other ground/officials staff to spend Christmas with their families. It is a period characterized by high frequency of human movements through all forms of transportation including road, air, railways and waterways. Those who couldn’t travel for one reason or the other do make use of money transfer systems to send money to their loved ones. Courier service operators are not left out of this pleasant rush hour/ period as their clients/customers send goods in form of parcels and bulk items across to their family members and friends whom they couldn’t pay visits to because of other pressing demands. As a matter of fact, that is the time when most expatriates/foreigners send or repatriate money to their respective home countries.
In addition, the characteristics of the period encourage a lot of people to fix their social events within the season. Thus, villages/towns in the African settings are agog with community festivals, wedding, burial and chieftaincy and house warming ceremonies. It is also a time when old friends, acquaintances and family members meet with a lot of funfair.
Unfortunately for most Nigerian commuters who desire to experience and share the love of this yuletide season with their loved ones in their home towns/villages, that is the same period that the monster called corruption decided to bare its fangs and bite deeper into the nation’s oil sector; thus dashing the hopes of these Nigerians and as a result prevent them from attending scheduled important social functions or enjoy the Christmas festive mood with their loved ones. Those who made it had to pay through their noses as the transport fares jerked up astronomically. A story was told of a man who wanted to travel from Abuja to Lagos. On getting to the motor park he was told that the transport fare has skyrocketed to N15,000 from N6,000 – N9,000 (depending on the type of vehicle and park). The man therefore decided to transfer his transport fare through an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) to his family. Obviously, knowing the status of his account balance, the man might not want to risk a situation where he gets stranded on his return journey. Similarly, a brother/friend of mine who resides in Abuja informed me that he decided to cancel his trip to our hometown in Oyo state when he realized the status of his pocket after servicing his car and putting fuel into his car’s tank. He told me plainly that he would be stranded if he dare ventures to embark on the journey because he reasoned that he would find it difficult to get anyone in the town to borrow him money to facilitate his journey back to Abuja since he drives a big car in the reckoning of people at home. Even as at the time of writing this article, a liter of fuel/petrol sells for N400 per liter in Abuja municipality! And if the Federal Government does not remedy the situation within the next 48 or 72 hours, those who travelled out of their stations may be stranded; thus they may resort to borrowing or selling some of their personal effects like expensive phones, `ipads, wrist watches, etc to finance their trip back. A lot of transport operators and car owners may also be tempted to buy petrol into jerry cans and put in their vehicle boots to avoid being stranded on the road a situation/practice that is very risky especially during this dry season when fire can easily ignite at the drop of petrol on the exhaust pipes.
To underscore the seriousness that the Federal Government attaches to the ongoing fuel crisis, even President Muhammadu Buhari, known for his taciturnity on crucial/burning national issues had to quickly issue a letter from his own office and not through the offices of any of his media aides or the enigmatic Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. And for the benefit of those who have not come across this crucial correspondence from Mr. President on the social media or in the mainstream media, his letter reads: “Dear Nigerians, the fuel scarcity being experienced nationwide is regrettable. I sympathize with all Nigerians on having to endure needless fuel queues. I’m being regularly briefed, especially on the NNPC’s interventions to ensure that there is enough petrol available during this period and beyond. I have the NNPC’s assurance that the situation will improve significantly over the next few days, as new shipments and supplies are distributed across the country. I have also directed the regulators to step up their surveillance and bring an end to hoarding and price inflation by marketers”. The President concludes his letter which he dated December 24, 2017 on the eve of Christmas where he wrote, “ Let me also assure that the relevant agencies will continue to provide updates on the situation. I thank you all for your patience and understanding – Muhammadu Buhari, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.’’
A very crucial point that can be noted from the above letter is Mr. President’s allegation that some marketers are hoarding the fuel product and arbitrarily inflating the price for their own selfish purposes against the nation’s discomfort- an unpatriotic practice which can spark off mass protests and national uproar against the Federal Government if the ugly situation is not quickly addressed on time. The President through his letter to the nation is saying the obvious and what is already known to the public. The responsibility now lies on the Federal Government to rise up to the challenge with a determination to curtail or stop these sharp corrupt practices among the marketers and ensure that the hoarded products in their petrol stations are sold to members of the public at the regulated price. In addition, some unscrupulous members of the public should be discouraged from storing – up petrol in their vehicle tanks, shops/offices or residences to avoid fire accidents.
To buttress Mr. President’s allegations against the oil marketers, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu wondered how the nation’s daily consumption of petrol suddenly jerked up from 30 – 35 million litres to 80 million litres, if not for corrupt practices of hoarding or diversion of the product to neighboring countries. Apart from the marketers, the minister also suspected other stakeholders in petroleum industry. Since our local refineries are either dysfunctional or not producing at their installed capacities, no one needs a prophet to tell us that the other unmentioned stakeholders being referred to by the HMS maybe some political big shots/influential Nigerians who own petroleum refineries outside the shores of the country where they take our cheap crude – oil to and sell the same product to the country in a refined form. Some of these Nigerians belong to exclusive elite socio – economic and political club popularly known as A.G.I.P (Any Government In Power). Their existence transcend the life – span or tenure of any government. And they are the untouchables. The government’s watchdogs can sometimes roar and bark at them , but they dare not touch talk less of biting these sacred cows.
While the Federal Government’s concerns on the petrol/ fuel scarcities especially at yuletide seasons are appreciated and noted, the only way to tackle corruption in the petroleum industry and thus find a lasting solution to the perennial problem is to create an enabling and a conducive economic environment in which we refine our own crude -oil for our local consumption and for exports. In this respects, our moribund local refineries should be overhauled to operate at their optimum installed capacities while new licences should be granted to those who may wish to invest their capitals in the sector. In addition, the operators of modular cells should be encouraged and licensed instead of tagging their operations illegal. And as we approach the New Year 2018, let us pray that the LORD will imbibe Nigerians (leaders and the led) with the spirit of patriotism. It is lack of patriotism that makes ordinary Nigerians to cheat on their fellow Nigerians. And that is the spiritual angle to tackle the menace of corruption that has become endemic and even systemic in our society.
In the same vein, on the political scene, it is this same cankerworm of corruption that has ravaged the system that makes some serving State Governors to still be owing their workers’ salaries of between 6 – 24 months in arrears after collecting another tranche of the Paris club from the Federal Government more than 6 weeks ago despite strong advice from Mr. President that such monies should be used to pay their workers’ salaries up till December, 2017. Other than embarking on white – elephant projects which do not have direct bearing to the economy of their states and living like emperors because of their lavish lifestyle and those of their immediate family members, some of these governors do not have concrete evidence of developmental projects on ground in their domains despite their unpreparedness to pay the salaries of their workers as at when due. As a matter of fact, shortly before Christmas, the photo of a luxurious and exquisite private estate comprising of some mansions allegedly belonging to a former governor of Edo state was trending online. The aerial view of the estate that is reportedly been guarded by a police station and a detachment of Mobile Police Force (MPF) seems to be located in a jungle. While in power, there was a time this former governor was reportedly owing his state workers’ salaries of up to 17 months in arrears! And when he reportedly paid 7 months out of this accumulated salaries arrears, the workers burst out in wild jubilation for receiving what should be their rights and not privileges. Ironically, this same former governor belongs to the vanguards of the ruling APC that is fighting corruption today. The membership of such a character and his likes are obviously a minus to the noble course of fighting corruption which the ruling party is professing unless the party leadership does not want the Nigerian electorate to believe them and their party’s manifesto.
To fight corruption, the government cannot do it alone. But the leaders can show leadership by examples in that crucial fight which we must win as a nation.
