In nightmare, there is always the tormentor who is the airy demon or ghoulish being, who will definitely appear to jigger the sleeper’s dream with horrific scenes, warping his/her serenity, and taking him/her through a passage of awry circumstances which s/he does not definitely have power over in the present coiled up sub-conscious composure. Whatever manner in which the horror movie comes whether in 3-D and 5-D nightmare is strongly influenced by realities outside dream. In the case of Nigeria’s dream, our constant nightmare seems to be petroleum and its pump price. Such dream however should have been allayed in a country blessed with oil; where instead of being a blessing, oil is a curse in disguise. Why are we so blest with such nightmare? The response depends on the answerer, and as long as there is erratic price for petrol pump price, as eternal is the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ will be. It is no gainsaying that Nigeria’s fondest woe is characterised with presence of oil and the way the blessing is under-used has gone insanely highly. For some countries, it is the better: Middle-East nations, say Dubai and Qatar have enlivened and bettered their development through the presence of oil. While we are at it, Dubai has morphed out as one of the largest tourism centre in the world; the 7-Star largely coming out of the revenue generated from their oil revenue. Also, the East superpower, Iran, has resourcefully utilised their revenue in laying a fold of strong economy.
Petrol pump price is one of the ugliest nightmares parading the country’s dream. As the largest oil producer in Africa and world 6th, one would think such gloomy situation should be pacified and subtracting us from this national tragedy should not be a problem since the resource is home-grown, instead of constituting the hydra. In that phase of the dream, we wouldn’t have demons of black marketers who are ever ready to pilfer the masses of their last sovereign. In such terrain of dream, there is no beastly size of kegs used to hoard petrol, or for reserve owing to the scarcity of petrol. In such episode of the dream, the price of oil would not be rehearsed phrases in different parts of the country because the price is astronomically high and different, all depending on the location. Oil presence is actually Nigeria’s biggest woe; and it has put the hex of disunity in the midst of multifarious ethnic groups we have in Nigeria, despite the dream being laid on peace and unity.
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While oil becomes the spine carrying the economy of the country, however, boulders such as lack of refineries, looting officials, unpopular polices have derailed the benefits that are supposed to be generated from this oil boom. For sure, the concentration on oil as our sole source of national income constitutes that drab of unmovableness clogging the wheel of national development. Number one out of the gamut of country’s nightmares is leadership fulcrum which is loose and filled with self-serving entities. Nigeria was birthed and put on the taxi of development with strong dreams before the country started bathing in the disillusionment of national cake, obviously, oil revenue.
Cornering this piece to a focus, petrol could be factored into every department of life, and it is parametre dictating virtually everything. For instance, a man who has travelled to Jos to import a trailer of tomatoes with expensive transport fare will input his transport cost and let it affect the rate he is going to retail his sale to Mama Put. However, Mama Put who has bought this soup ingredient will not hesitate to take her pound of flesh on each plate of meal she bills her customer at her eatery. Before the 1980s quagmire of oil fall, existence of refineries did put this nation on the road to development. Eventually, everybody is running, from the root to the top, to eat of the national cake (cake) they did not bake.
The recent drama—removal of subsidy—and the creation of its looters have not only suddenly exacerbated the condition of pump price of petrol, but even deepened its fluctuation and neck-breaking price a litre of petrol goes for sale in Nigeria. And we begin to ask, apart from this: do we not have money-launderers who divagate the public fund into their personal account? Do we not have governors who owe teachers more than six months salary despite his monthly salary and wardrobe allowance much bigger than entire career salary of a primary school teacher? Do we not have masses, that are chiefly disillusioned and hungered, who are ready to accept that five hundred naira as a tip for their vote instead of empowering looters? Do we not have a senator who does not even know the present grievances of his senatorial people and cannot even dig a borne hole but is ready enough to collect a staggering amount of salary every month?
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In past few weeks, the pump price of petrol is dictated not only by legal marketers but illegal marketers. The price has gone irredeemably and insanely high from the official 87 naira. The filling stations sell at the price that please them as there is no regulation on at what price petrol is sold to the masses. We have been conditioned to believe that, it is an opportunity getting petrol at such outrageous price and still be happy we get it.
But what if Nigeria’s revenue is not concentrated on oil again? What if this curse in disguise a result of acerbic mismanagement? What if we do not have stomach-stuffing myopic leaders? What if corruption can attract heavier punishment? What if...? Apparently, Mister A considering flying a bike to point B might re-decide his mind to trek because the horrendous charge comes from this carelessness of oil management from the government.
As the saying goes by Chinua Achebe in TFA, since man has learnt how to shoot without missing, bird has learnt how to fly without perching; since this situation cannot be remedied until the wait for change is completed come May 29 (maybe we will learn how to fly again), I will consider taking a bottle of odeku than flying a bike for 250 naira on a ten minutes journey.
Queuing continues....
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