FEMI ADEOTI COLUMN
All the vows, all the threats, all the orders, all the warnings, all the prescriptions, all the directives!
Tragically, all came crashing. Just like a house of loose cards. They came to nothing, brought to naught. Even their promises failed them. Woefully too! They collapsed on their heads. Worse still, instead of things getting better, they’re getting worst. Reason: Their intentions stand on fallacy and fantasy. They never meant well for us. All their policies, plans, blueprints were geared to scheme us out of existence. They hit us hard on all fronts. And they do it with reckless affront. We have become pawns in their hands. A chessboard for them to manipulate at will.
They switch us on and off. Depending on their moods. We’re explored, exploited and violated. In line with their whims and caprices. Flashback: Perhaps, fuel scarcity first happened to us in 1974. That was the year it debuted and reared its ugly head. General Yakubu Gowon held sway then. It was barely four years after the bloody 30-month civil war. The nation was bewildered. Unusual long queues sprang up in filling stations. It was stranger than fiction. When the scarcity faded out.
We jumped for joy. We thought it would be first and only. How we erred! There was a deadly comeback scarcely three years after. General Olusegun Obasanjo’s junta ruled. And the then Colonel Muhammadu Buhari supervised as Federal Commissioner for Petroleum. So? That 1977 fuel scarcity fell on his laps. And this was how he confronted it. Daily Times, Tuesday, June 7, 1977, reported in its banner headline: “Fuel crisis ‘may be over next year.’” Energy crisis has become our albatross but a cash cow for them. They feast on it with relish. They won’t wish it away. That’s why they keep bringing it back. Each time they engineer fuel scarcity, they go to their situation room. They stay glued to their nefarious crystal ball. All night long. We groan. They celebrate with all their wicked hearts.
The more we moan, bleat and wail. The more they roister, revel and rave uncontrollably. They are in their best elements. The queer character in them comes out into the open. They begin to roll out uncommon strategies. They vow and swear. They speak from all sides of their loud, dirty and ugly mouths. The energy sector is clearly in the messiest mess. It’s in total disarray. Things have completely fallen apart. The centre can no longer hold. The situation is under alarm. And there is no need for control.
Multiple orders, directives are being churned out indiscriminately. Almost on a daily basis. All sorts of claims and counter-claims. Some are laughable, some are unenforceable. They are like the biblical Babel of voices. One such was fired on Thursday, December 8, 2022. The strange salvo came from the unexpected. The Department of State Security (DSS) was it! It was like a kite, novel in approach. We were puzzled. The curious salvo jolted us by no small means. We became sceptical, dumfounded. DSS spokesman, Peter Afunaya, sounded a strong warning: “It is no longer going to be business as usual in the petroleum supply system. “Anyone who is obstructing the distribution of fuel will be made to face the full weight of the law.” Not only that: “Such elements will be treated as enemies of Nigeria.” Going forward? Afunaya was quick to respond: “DSS is to carry out operations across the country to deal decisively with those obstructing the distribution of petroleum products to Nigerians at approved official rate.”
The intelligence agency gave reason for its action: “It is our core mandate to detect and prevent threats to national security. We’re also charged with the responsibility of investigating national crimes and economic sabotage. “If that is established, we will go all out to fish out those involved and deal with in accordance with the laws of Nigeria.” To walk its talk, DSS gave a 48-hour deadline to oil dealers. They were to restore normal supply of petroleum products at officially approved rate or face the consequences. The order covered every nook and cranny of the country. Close to two months now, what happened to the order? It has gone the way of its predecessors, down the drain. It was a tall order, extremely difficult to enforce. It would take even Hercules to execute. Then came insult upon our injury. It’s ridiculous and amusing. President Muhammadu Buhari suddenly birthed a 14-man committee. He chairs the body as Minister of Petroleum Resources. And guess what! It is to “immediately end the nightmare and return tranquillity to the rancorous downstream sector of the petroleum industry.” Just imagine. What do they take us for in this clime?
Anything in any form or mode? Minister of State, Timipre Sylva, doubles as alternate chairman. Others include, Minister of Finance; Permanent Secretary, Petroleum Resources; National Economic Adviser; Director-General, DSS; Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS); Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Commandant-General, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). Its engine room is the steering committee. Sylva heads it. Members: Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission; Nigerian Midstream and Member Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA); Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd and Special Advisor (Special Duties) to the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources. Technical Advisor (Midstream) to the Minister of State Petroleum Resources is its secretary. Sylva swore to high heavens: “The Federal Government will not allow misguided elements to bring untold hardship upon the citizenry and attempt to discredit government’s efforts in consolidating the gains made thus far in the oil and gas sector of the economy.” Great doubt. This is huge deceit. Na today we dey hear this! It is ludicrous and absurd. This committee is almost dead on arrival. It may go the way of those before it. There have been excuses and blame games since ages. That shameful style is wickedly sustained till date. Nothing has changed to change their approach. And it’s deliberate.
For all intents and purposes, fuel scarcity has become legendary. It has refused to let us be. It continues to defy all known and unknown solutions. And those at the helm are not helping matters. Buhari holds the ace. He remains the longest serving petroleum minister. He served Obasanjo as one. That was between 1976 and 1979. Close to eight years now, he has been serving himself as one. Isn’t this quite intimidating? It is! His records are equally frightening and terrifying; unbeaten. What do we get from all of this? Sorrow, tears and blood. Even more than that. What we have at hand are scary and alarming: Incessant and endless energy crisis aka fuel scarcity. It’s triggered by its unkind cousin, subsidy.
That’s our own eerie way of life. Like it and live it. No viable choice for now.