My Journey Back Home and How the Cost of Fuel Almost Got Me Strande

Hello, everyone.

_{Designed on canva}

I welcome you all to my blog. We all know about the recent developments in Nigeria, including the swearing in of the president elect, even though many Nigerians are not happy with the results of the election conducted in March 2023. I'd say a ruler was forced on Nigerians because clearly the rigging was obvious and even the blind could see the dirty game and manipulation of the results, but powerless Nigerians can do nothing other than sit and watch things unfold.

I finished exams last week on Wednesday but decided to stay in school for the rest of the week and then go home in this new week. The recent developments in the east since Nnamdi Kanu's arrest, where every Monday is sitting at home, made me postpone the journey to Wednesday as the president elect was to be sworn in on Tuesday.

After swearing in, the price of fuel, goods, and services skyrocketed overnight. The president-elect talked about the removal of fuel subsidies, and that changed the whole story. I budgeted 10,000 naira ($21.48) for my journey, which started at around 6 a.m.We normally pay 300 naira ($0.65) from school to town, but on Wednesday I paid 1,000 naira ($2.18) to town, which is three times the normal price.

Permit me to say that Nigerians are wicked; the fuel being sold at 600 naira ($1.3) is actually old stock, not like they got new stock. They sell at such a price at the expense of the masses, and some gas stations even had to shut down while waiting for an official price, but some are using it as an advantage to milk innocent Nigerians.

_{my packed bag and laptop bag.}

I arrived at the mass transit park at around 6:55 a.m. The bad road in Umuahia is really something else and causes delays. As there will be hold-ups in movements, on arrival I paid for my ticket, and this is where I got the shock of my life. On normal days, we pay 3,000 naira ($6.50) from Abia State to Abakiliki, but we paid 5,000 naira ($10.84) due to the rise in the price of fuel. The driver still complained that he wouldn't make any profit from the trip after buying fuel, but he would take us anyway.

At around 8:30 a.m., we were en route, and we arrived in Abakiliki at around 11:14 a.m. I was going to Cross River State, so I had to board another bus going to Cross River State. On normal days before the hike in the price of goods and services, we normally pay 2,500 naira ($5.45), but on reaching there, they told me they now charge 4,500 naira ($9.81).

_{Me waiting for other passengers at abakiliki, already tired and exhausted.}

All I had on me was 4,000 naira ($8.72); I had no extra cash on me, but I needed an extra 500 naira ($1.09) to pay for my transit back home. They said they don't accept transfers, and I have to go look for cash. POS attendants nearby said they had no cash to give me. Stranded in a strange land, what do I do? was the only question going through my mind. I checked over three POS stands, and they had no cash to give. It was now looking like my village people were after me.

I just entered one shop and was pleased with the woman. When I told her my situation, she agreed to help without even thinking about it, and that's when I got a sigh of relief. Thank God I arrived home at around 4 p.m., though late due to the delay while waiting for other passengers. I was served good food, and I missed home-made food.

_{Home sweet home.}