Practically five decades ago, the Federal Military Government, headed by Gen. Yakubu Gowon, outlined some strategies to combat the incessant fuel crises that have beleaguered the nation. Precisely, this was about fifteen years after independence:
“The Federal military Government plans to construct oil pipelines from Warri to Kaduna, from Port Harcourt to Enugu and from Warri to Ibadan or Abeokuta…” the statement read in part.
It must be categorically stated that the fuel puzzle remains unsolved not as a result of a lack of finesse on the part of the nation’s leadership, nor has the monster remained unchallenged due to insufficient strategic firepower. If about fifty years ago- the address by Gen. Gowon was in 1975- the country reeled out steps to take in order to tackle a self-inflicted malady, then we cannot be said to be clueless.
Nigeria can proudly be referred to as a mecca for crude oil, yet its dearth at very crucial points beats the dumbest imagination. Among others, the highlights of the “Strategy to beat fuel crisis” were: two liquefied natural gas plants with a capacity of one million cubits feet each to be built, oil pipelines to connect Warri to Kaduna, Port Harcourt to Enugu and Warri to Ibadan or Abeokuta and mobile refineries to be established as a temporary measure to ensure continuous supply of fuel.
Some of the highlights border on other sectors and how to improve them, but the focus is on fuel crisis and how it has defied solutions. A couple of Nigeria’s past presidents have had to double as president-cum-minister of petroleum, but that has not remotely alleviated the pain of the populace. Nigerians writhe in pain under the weight of misrule and are therefore not alien to long queues at fuel stations.
How safe will it be to assert that fuel crisis is not a spiritual problem, otherwise the country parades religious stalwarts after the order of the prophetic with staggering stature enough to re-enact the Samaria experience:
Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD, Thus saith the LORD, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel…. (2 Kings 7:1)
The “measure of fine flour” and “two measures of barley” can pass for a litre or two of petrol, not minding the ailing prices of foodstuff and other items in the country. The issue here is not in the prophecy but a plan airtight to keep the nation afloat. Without a sustainable plan devoid of the ills of cancerous administration, we shall be driven back to the abyss of corruption.
We certainly do not need half a century to battle to fix a problem. It only smacks of national idiocy and brazen ineptitude. A country astoundingly endowed as ours should not lack the know-how to bring to being the Nigerian dream, except she is intentionally at sea, as is evidently the case.
In order not for the “Giant of Africa” to be a misnomer ( a reality that has forlong stared us in the face), let the leadership of the country rise to the occasion, look the monster in the eye, grab it by the collar and drag it determinedly out.
Nigeria, thine enemy is within thee. Somewhere I read, “The enemy without can do you no harm if there is no enemy within.” Corruption must not remain synonymous with a country on her way to redemption.
