Everything you need to know about fuel crises in Nigeria from the year 1977 to the present (video)
Fuel crises, without doubt, has been a reoccurring issue in Nigeria despite the country being an an producing state. But over the years, Nigerians had gone through hardships as a result scarcity of the product.
- The issue of fuel crises has become a yearly ritual in Nigeria as a result of the product scarcity
- Scarcity of petroleum started in Nigeria in 1977
- Nigerians have had to endure hardships whenever there is scarcity of the product
Fuel crises, without doubt, has been a reoccurring issue in Nigeria despite the country being an an producing state. But over the years, Nigerians had gone through hardships as a result scarcity of the product.
The fuel scarcity which was recorded in 1977 kick-started an era of subsequent scarcity of the product in Nigeria.
In this report, NAIJ.com brings to you the history of Nigeria unending fuel crisis.
"On Christmas Eve, President Muhammadu Buhari assured Nigerians the relevant agencies and bodies would curb fuel price hikes. President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and the Ministry for Petroleum Resources have all issued statements promising fuel availability and a significant improvement in the nearest time. Let’s embark on a virtual journey over the years and see if things changed when promised.
One. 2017 going on 2018
"This Christmas season, it became clear that many Nigerians would be hit by yet another wave of fuel crisis. Reports incoming from across the country showed fuel queues; commuters and motorists stranded by hikes in pump prices and public transportation fees; and lack of petroleum products.
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"The current government seems determined on bringing the situation under control, and we will know in just a few days if the woes of Nigerian people will end as promised.
Two. 2015
"How were the things looking, say, 2 years ago?
"In 2015, a dispute occurred between fuel importers and the then-Goodluck Jonathan-led government. The acute petrol shortage resulted in a near-total shutdown of the economy. President-elect Muhammadu Buhari was just preparing to take office after his victory in the presidential election.
"The fuel marketers said the outgoing Goodluck Jonathan administration owed them $1 billion in outstanding payments. But it is painfully evident that the problem has way deeper roots. Our oil sector is perhaps the best example of the corruption and mismanagement crippling our economy and blocking our sustainable growth. The 2015 crisis certainly was not the first time Nigerians have endured long lines at petrol pumps and blackouts at home and work, but it wasn’t the last, as we can now see.
Three. 2012
"In January 2012, then-president Goodluck Jonathan moved to end the subsidies that kept fuel prices around $0.40 a litre. By removing the $6 billion fuel subsidy, the government hoped to fix Nigeria's many basic infrastructure problems. But after the shock therapy, petrol pump prices doubled overnight and unleashed people's wrath. The Occupy Nigeria movement was born. Paired with several Boko Haram attacks, the protests practically shut the country down, and the Jonathan-led government was forced to partially restore the subsidies.
"In 2012, the problems before Nigeria were almost identical to today's: our 4 national refineries were barely functional, oil was imported and sold at about half the market rate, there was little control over where would the money go.
"What has changed since the year when Nigeria had an estimated 160 million electricity generators - roughly one per person? Remember the days when diesel cost hundreds and thousands of dollars per month?
Four. 1977
"Finally, we came across a 1977 issue of Daily Times, then-Nigeria's N1 newspaper. Plastered all over the front page of its June 7, 1977 issue is the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation statement: nationwide shortages of petrol and kerosene “may end next year,” they said. Next year for 1977 was 1978. Exactly 40 years later, the promised tomorrow never came.
The issue of fuel crises has become a yearly ritual in Nigeria as a result of the product scarcity. Credit: Google
"In 1977, Muhammadu Buhari was the federal commissioner for petroleum, and Olusegun Obasanjo, then a lieutenant-general, was the military head of state.
"Every other article about Nigeria starts with the note on Nigeria being one of the biggest world producers of crude oil, or Africa's biggest economy. So… how near is the nearest time?"
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that the group managing director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Dr Maikanti Baru, on Friday, December 29 said “the pains inflicted on Nigerians by marketers during yuletide was callous.”
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Baru, who said this to newsmen after a tour of some filling stations in Abuja, added that 1,733 trucks left various depots to various destinations nationwide to ease the fuel situation.
According to him, eight more ships with petroleum products berthed various ports: four in Apapa, two in Oghara and two in Calabar, hence, the queues will vanish by the weekend.
Fuel scarcity: This is getting too much for us - Nigerians lament - on NAIJ.com TV:
Source: Naija.ng