For more than four months now, more Nigerians have taken to spending long hours at filling stations across the country in a bid to purchase fuel. At times they even end up spending the night at such locations which has deprived them of the comfort of their beds thus making them lose adequate sleep. Loss of sleep and profound exposure to the smell of fuel usually come with manifold consequences. Both occurrences unleash severe diseases and illnesses on individuals. In some instances, such victims may end up with shortened lifespan while the nation also loses some of its most productive manpower.

New Telegraph is worried that Nigeria’s economy is further undermined by the long hours spent by her citizens at the filling stations across the country. Some employees of organisations have ended up with little or no time for their work while entrepreneurs among the fuel-seekers have become unable to create wealth, let alone employ others or add value to the growth of the nation’s economy. Under such a scenario, economic growth ends up as mere wishful thinking, as what is obtainable is economic stagnation and contraction.

Nothing takes a country backwards like the referred contradictions. Nigeria’s petroleum challenges could be likened to the case of an individual who lives by the bank of the river and still lacks adequate water to utilise for drinking, bathing or cooking. Nigeria is one of the three largest oil-producing countries in Africa.

The two others are Libya and Angola. Interestingly, both Libya and Angola have functional and reliable refineries thus allowing Nigeria to live in the self-deceit that the absence of functional refineries and reliance on the uncertainty of importation would help guarantee stability in the supply and price of fuel. The populace are unlikely to be on the streets dancing and popping champagne over the inadequacy or deprivation of a commodity that is at best, one of the numerous endowments in their country. No matter, the level of logistic fortification extended to the relevant security agencies, they would continuously be challenged and be put to great test by the army of angry and dissatisfied citizens.

Their consequent anger and dissatisfaction would, of course, manifest in the disobedience of some laws of the country and refusal to aid their fatherland in one way or the other. Another manifestation of the public mood is likely to be in the loss of interest in the nation with the tendency of being anti- Nigerian becoming sky-high. Such persons would go to any extent to make good use of any slightest opportunity to leave the shores of the nation, even when the future appears bleak in their would-be host countries. In circumstances whereby such persons are professionals, the nation would be deprived of requisite human capital to continuously grow her economy. We find as anomalous the trend whereby more Nigerians have relocated to filling stations in search of fuel while squandering quality productive time.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who is also the Minister of Petroleum, has, in his almost eight-year stay in power actually been absent from duty, with regard to many matters including the fluctuations in the price and supply of fuel. For the umpteenth time, we urge President Buhari to be guided by the oath of office sworn-in to him at the Eagle Square, Abuja, first in 2015 and then in 2019, in dealing decisively with the petroleumrelated matters. The number one citizen could be said not to have done well in living up to the standards dictated by the oath.

The perceived willingness of the present administration to allow a private refinery to be the dominant player in the petroleum sector, especially with regard to the refining of crude oil, amounts to the foisting of a monopolistic market on the nation. We argue that this is a negation of the oath of office, sworn to by Mr. President, mandating him to be fair to every part/person regardless of gender, class, origin, religion or political affiliation. The reported lack of interest in the licensing of many modular refineries, especially in the oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta region, should be dispensed with, in order to help end the spending of long hours including productive periods, at filling stations.