As a result of the Middle East crisis, fuel is now more expensive worldwide. Not just in Nigeria. Below is a quote from America’s ABC News yesterday. You can Google it:
“An escalation of conflicts in the Middle East in recent weeks has triggered a sharp increase in oil prices, raising uncertainty about where costs will head in the final weeks before Election Day. Oil prices surged about 13% over an 11-day stretch ending on Monday.”
That fuel price has gone up is an undeniable and inescapable reality. However, there are options.
CNG is still cheap. There is a ‘Convert Now, Pay Later’ program where you can convert your car to CNG on credit. But returning to the past where government subsidised fuel is not an option.
Nigeria simply cannot afford it. We are now the third most indebted nation in the world to the World Bank’s International Development Association. We cannot keep borrowing to spend on consumption.
What Nigeria needs now is a unity of vision. The Nigerian Labour Congress and civil rights activists should objectively look at the situation we find ourselves in. We were living beyond our means. Most of our revenue is now used to service debt, and then you want us to take more loans?
Borrowing to subsidise fuel and printing money to pay local debts may temporarily lead to a reduction in fuel prices. But it is not good governance. It is irresponsible governance. We are only postponing the evil day.
It will lead to inflation, depletion of our foreign reserves, devaluation of the Naira, and reduction of our credit rating, which will reduce foreign direct investment. It will ultimately increase hardship in the years to come.
You say Nigeria is oil rich? No. Not at all. Please fact-check me.
Saudi Arabia has a population of 35 million and makes $350 billion annually from oil. That is $10,000 per citizen. Nigeria has a population of 220 million people and generates approximately $36 billion from crude annually. That is $150 per person. At 2.6 million people, Qatar is just one per cent of our population. Yet, their annual revenue is $68 billion. Two and a half times that of Nigeria.
Nigeria is not “oil rich”. We are oil-poor. On a per capita basis, Ghana is more oil-rich than we are. We produce 1.5 million barrels per day for a population of 220 million people. Ghana produces 200,000 barrels per day for a population of 32 million.
The elections are over. This is the time for governance. Let us engage in endurance because Nigeria does not have abundance.
In the meantime, what can you do to make your money last longer? Here are some ideas:
Cook at home and reduce or avoid eating out.
If your old phone still works, do not upgrade it.
Cut out smoking, drinking, and other habits that cost money without adding health benefits.
Walk anywhere less than seven miles. I am fifty, and I do it.
Avoid Aso Ebi parties, or go with the clothes you already have.
Grow some of your vegetables at home in your backyard, balcony or kitchen.
If you implement these suggestions, you will have spare money to invest your way out of poverty.
For those who would prefer to insult as usual, please let me hear your solutions after insulting. Insulting is very easy. Like Speed Darlington, anybody with a mouth can do it. However, solutions are like Grammies; only people with a brain and some real talent can have them.
Sources: Reno Omokri