Jonathan and the two-day fuel scarcity

Nigerians, on Tuesday, November 30, woke up to be confronted by the nightmarish experience of long queues at the gas (filling) stations- something they have taken for granted since the administration  of President Jonathan as belonging to the past. Although the problem this time was not scarcity per se of petroleum products in the country, […]

Nigerians, on Tuesday, November 30, woke up to be confronted by the nightmarish experience of long queues at the gas (filling) stations- something they have taken for granted since the administration  of President Jonathan as belonging to the past. Although the problem this time was not scarcity per se of petroleum products in the country, the refusal by members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, to lift the products from depots to the gas stations. All the same, across the cities, long vehicular queues spilled into the streets, as motorists queued up, sweating it out in attempts to get the all-important fuel to power their vehicles from the few gas stations that remained opened to the public for business.

The sudden appearance of long queues at the gas stations were precipitated by the seven-day warning strike embarked upon by the NUPENG members who were using the strike to express their grievances on three issues, namely, the unjust killing of one of its members, Mohammed Saidu, allegedly by some military officers in Jos; eventual disappearance of two trucks allegedly detained by military men in Port Harcourt and the financial crisis between some of the petroleum, jetty and Tank Farm owners and  banks, arising from huge debts.

However, just as in the case of the strike action embarked upon a fortnight ago over minimum wage, President Jonathan responded swiftly to save Nigerians from the occasioned hardship. Through the minister of labour and productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, the government was able to engage the NUPENG leadership in a constructive dialogue that resulted in the calling off of the strike barely 24 hours after it began.

Some salient points therefore need be underlined over the manner President Jonathan has piloted the ship of the country’s young democracy so far. First, when President Jonathan and his late boss, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua, came to power in May 2007, they made it clear to Nigerians that they were dedicated to known basic tenets of democracy, which included respecting citizens’ rights to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, etc. It is on the bases of these principles that have warranted that unlike Nigeria of old when the labour and NUPENG leaders would have been haunted and clamped into detention, and their other members tear-gassed, the Jonathan administration has rather toed the democratic path of dialogue and reasoning to address grievances. What this approach obvious demonstrates is President Jonathan’s strong belief that every Nigerian is a stakeholder in the Nigerian project and so has refused to carry himself as if as the occupier of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, he is more Nigerian than other compatriots. His disposition as a listening leader obviously also explains why he had to cut short his trip to Lagos in the heat of the NLC –led minimum wage strike to personally dialogue with the labour leaders with a view to persuading them to call off the strike- which he did very successfully, indeed to the dismay of political opponents, who were already gloating over the hardship the strike could impose on fellow Nigerians. That strike action coming on the heels of the Sallah holiday could have hurt the country’s Muslim faithfuls profoundly. Had the President not ensured through constructive dialogue and genuine commitment that the strike was called off, not only would the country have been shut for that period, but also the Nigerian Muslim population could not have been able to access their monies in the banks to enable them celebrate the Sallah festival.

The government’s attitude clearly shows President Jonathan as a strong believer in the principle of rule of law. His administration has demonstrated that this is indeed a new Nigeria; one in which sovereignty belongs to the people; one where no one is above the law; one in which every citizen is required to respect the fundamental human rights of the others whatever the societal status. President Jonathan has indeed breathed fresh air into the Nigerian political firmament.

Before resting this discourse, it may be necessary to draw the attention of Nigerians to an issue, which while it could pass for a sidetrack and though not exactly within the context of the NUPENG warning strike, yet remains relevant to the issue of petroleum products in Nigeria. In October this year, a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman House Committee on Petroleum in the downstream sector, Mr Clever Ikisikpo had ruled out the possibility of a new regime of fuel scarcity in the country. Ikisikpo had disclosed that the cartel within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, that specialized in the creation of artificial scarcity had been put out of business and assured Nigerians that for as long as the president, Jonathan remained in office, it would be difficult for the cartel to resurrect, stressing that the House, in partnership with the presidency had dethroned the cartel for good.

Recalling what obtained in the past, the Honourable member noted that “there is no state in Nigeria that did not have the effect of fuel scarcity. Even, there was a time that adulterated fuel was loaded into the nation and if you remember my motion on adulterated fuel, when the committee saw it, it took it upon itself and the issue was arrested. With the joint effort of the committee and that of the president, there cannot be anything like fuel queues again.”

Those long queues at the gas stations last Tuesday, though on a different context, it would not be out of place if Nigerians wondered whether the vanquished cartel had outwitted the administration and returned the country to the old regime, which is not the case however. That Nigerians continue to enjoy uninterrupted flow of petroleum products is indeed something to cheer about and for which President Jonathan deserves great kudos.

Abubakar writes from Kaduna