What Do We Say To The God of Inflation? - Not Now Please

In my last publication, I discussed Nigeria's problem with oil as discussed in the outstanding debut novel by Chimeka Garricks, Tomorrow Died Yesterday. Few years before Nigeria got her independence in 1960, oil was first discovered in a part of Bayelsa state. Shortly after, it was discovered in other parts too, particularly in the Niger Delta region. One would think that this would lead to great national wealth. In some ways that is true but oil has posed as one of Nigerians biggest problem. How is it possible that an oil producing country cannot boast of a functional refinery? Isn't it foolishness on the part of the government that Nigeria exports crude oil to other countries for it to be refined instead of investing in the construction of one? And money isn't even the problem, at all but trust Nigerian leaders to spend money on frivolities rather than doing the right thing.

There's always one problem or the other with this country. But today I'm so pissed about the fact that we suffer fuel scarcity in Nigeria. Make it make sense please. This is a country that produces oil in abundance so why is petroleum scarce and expensive? Why do the prices keep going higher and higher everyday? At this point, it is infact a state of concern. We need petrol for generators and cars. Okay, let's take a step back. Why do we even need generators? Nigeria is too rich for us not to be able to boast of 24 hours electricity. This is a whole giant of Africa. During every election period, all presidential aspirants make so many false promises, including provision of 24 hours stable electricity and when they win, nothing improves. We import generators from countries that don't use it because they've eliminated the issue of power but my dear country is still left behind. With all the money Nigeria has, we should also be able to boast of constant power supply like other countries.

I'm a freelancer and the scarcity and increase in the cost of petrol has reduced my work productivity. In my area, a litre of fuel costs N180. But here's the interesting part. So many filling stations are closed. This is in a bid to create artificial scarcity thus leading to inflation in the price. There are few stations still opened but there are not enough to cater to the needs of hundreds of citizens, queued up in the stations.

The last time I went to get petrol, the queue was so long to the point that cars, tricycles and motorcycles were lined up outside the station, extending to the road. I didn't even bother joining because I didn't have the physical and mental strength to put up with that kind of stress. As a Nigerian, you know the only thing to do in situations like this is to go home without petrol or patronize the black market. I chose the latter. The price of a litre of fuel in the black market is 400, more than twice the station's price. I didn't have a choice but to buy it because I had to charge my devices for my job which requires power.

All these long, tedious process of getting petrol, putting on the generator and spending more money than originally bargained for automatically puts me in a bad state of mind therefore affecting my productivity. The noise from the generator is enough to give one a headache and how is it possible for me to create good quality work when I'm not physically sound?

I don't know how long I would have to continue buying fuel from the black market but it's not sustainable in the long run. I'm spending more while earning the same. And this is the sad reality Nigerians have found themselves in. There's daily inflation while salaries are still the same amount. The minimum wage is almost useless to cater for one's monthly needs, seeing as it cannot cater for half of the month's expenses. How is the average Nigerian supposed to survive? Everyday I hope Nigerian leaders would learn to be accountable and do the work they were voted into political offices for. Until then, it is unfortunate that I would have to deal with the whole trouble that comes with being a Nigerian living in Nigeria. And if I'm lucky enough, get the hell out of here before I lose my sanity.

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