Borno Residents Wail as fuel scarcity continues
By: Collins Mbakwe
Residents in Borno State have let their cry and frustrations known to the public following the prevailing scarcity of petrol in several cities of the country which has left millions struggling to keep up with their daily activities and businesses.
For weeks, the country has faced a fuel shortage caused by the importation of low standard petrol into the country. Many fuel stations have run out of fuel as the government tries to retrieve the dirty fuel and distribute cleaner volumes.
In Maiduguri, Borno State capital city, black market petrol sold as high as N650 a litre on Wednesday as motorists and Keke riders spent hours at fuel stations trying to buy the product for their cars and generators.
This ugly situation has further compounded the problems of residents of the state, as they have been in total blackout for about a year, still running.
Amidst the continuing scarcity, several residents of Maiduguri Metropolitan City MMC had been left frustrated and social and economic activities grounded as people cannot access petrol.
Northeast Star Magazine who went around the city of Maiduguri reliably gathered that the situation is horrible for the residents, as they bemoan the regrettable situation.
Fielding questions from Northeast Star Magazine Mr Mohammed Yusuf who was seen trekking to Post Office from West End said that he had to trek like many others in the state, as the petrol scarcity with its attendant hike in price has affected everything in the state.
“Not many can afford transport fare in the past few days. For those, who may afford the fare, the get a Keke or taxi is quite difficult,” he said.
One of the many students, Halima Musa, trekking from the Post Office area to Bulunkutu told Northeast Star Magazine that since the petrol scarcity began, most students had been missing school while many others arrive late to school, as they cannot easily get a Keke or taxi.
Her words: “Many of us have not been coming to school since the past few days. There is no Keke anywhere, and if you see one, the price is much from what we used to know. Not many families can afford it.”
A commercial driver who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that life has become unbearable to people in the country and has become worse since the price of petrol went through the roof as a result of its scarcity.
His words: “We were already suffering from an untold hardship about the one-year total blackout and other mitigating factors plunged residents in the state into. But with this fuel scarcity, we are finished. We can’t even work to feed our families, as we cannot get petrol.”
Mr Paul Emmanuel, a private school teacher who spoke to Northeast Star Magazine expressed disappointment on what he described as insensitivity on the part of the government.
He appealed to the authority to come to the aid of the suffering masses.
“The scarcity of fuel with its resultant in price hike speaks volumes of how insensitive our leaders are. We have been suffering, but the suffering is now unbearable. Before now, N300 take me to my place of work but now, I spend not less than N700. Times it to two weeks, you will see that my salary is already gone. The situation is terrible and worrisome.”
A cross-section of Maiduguri residents decried how devastating the past few days have been to the people owing to the fuel scarcity coupled with the existing total blackout.
