A Nation In Turmoil: Fuel Subsidy Crisis And The Media’s Indifference

Have you ever traveled in a car filled with political enthusiasts? Sometimes, it gets really annoying, however, if you are patient enough, you might learn new things from them. A few days ago, I traveled from my parents' place to school. I traveled in a commercial bus, and almost all the passengers including the driver were political enthusiasts. They were going on and on about societal issues, causing uproar and tension inside the bus. One thing about me is that I always avoid discussions about politics. Don’t quote me wrong, I am not giving off the impression that I am politically apathetic, I’m just always careful. Here in my country, politics is a touchy subject, so you have to be careful about when and where you engage in topics related to politics.

“Ever since He became the president, what has he done for the country?” A passenger posed a question to the driver who happens to be a big fan of the president. “He has done a lot, you all are just not seeing things in a positive light.” He replied. “The government just announced a hike in electricity tariff at a press in Abuja and you call that a positive light?” This topic piqued my interest and I had to listen attentively. A few days before that time, I had heard news about how the government plans to remove subsidies on electricity. I didn’t know anything about subsidies until last year when the government removed subsidies on petroleum.

Subsidy removal isn’t such a complex term. It means that the government stops providing support to certain services or industries. Fuel subsidy or electricity subsidy removal means the government stops providing financial support for fuel/electricity, causing a hike in prices. In simple terms, how about we use this scenario as a case study: A lecturer recommends a book for all his students. The price of the book is $5. However, the class governor takes it upon himself to pay $2 out of the $5. Meaning, that each student will now buy the book for $3 instead of $5. Now, subsidy removal is when the class governor decides to stop paying the $2, making the students buy the book for $5 (the original price.) While subsidy removal has its perks, the pitfalls outweigh the benefits in my country. One of the benefits is that the resources will be channeled to other sectors of the economy, on the other hand, there will be an increase in the price of products.

A year ago, the federal government removed subsidies on fuel. They promised that the resources generated would be channeled to other sectors of the economy. They lied! Several months after the removal of the subsidy, we don’t see any impact anywhere. What’s new? The federal government plans to remove subsidies on electricity. What’s worse is that the country is in a state of turmoil. Due to Naira devaluation and greed on the part of traders, the country is currently dealing with inflation. The increase in the price of goods and services is gradually pushing the country towards chaos.

A few weeks ago, I went to the vet store to buy a drug for my pet. I was shocked when I was told that the price of that drug is now two times what it used to be. There’s a persistent increase in the price of goods and services. Sadly, no one is doing anything about it. Citizens are lamenting, Wailing, and complaining about the increase in prices of goods and services. Instead of finding a solution, the government hits us with another problem- electricity subsidy removal.

Moving on, the importance of media in society cannot be overemphasized. The role of media is to be the watchful eye of society, pointing out the ills, exposing corruption, and holding those in power accountable. It is sad to see that in my country, both the media, especially the electronic media (social media platforms) have lost sight of this vital mission. Instead, they are focusing and prioritizing irrelevant and frivolous gossip.

Currently, the country is in a terrible state. Instead of finding a solution, the media is prioritizing irrelevant gossip. All they care about is the clicks and revenue they generate from their blogs.

NOTE: All images in this post are mine.

Thanks for reading.