With the imminent lifting of subsidies, huge queues at petrol stations in Nigeria
The persistent problem of strategic planning by Africa's leaders is manifesting itself in the most populous and energy rich African country, Nigeria.
The fuel crisis in Nigeria occupies the largest part of the momentum throughout the country, as it fluctuates from time to time between a shortage of imports and their impact on global prices, and the absence of local refining capabilities and the stoppage of refineries.
Since Tuesday, huge queues have formed outside petrol stations across Nigeria, after new President Paula Tinubu announced that fuel subsidies would soon be scrapped, causing panic among consumers.
The new president, Bola Tinubu, 71, who was recently sworn in, said there would be no grant spending in his budget, in line with his campaign promise.
"Instead, we will redirect the money toward better investments in public infrastructure, education, healthcare and jobs that will improve the lives of our citizens," he added.
He pointed out that "support is fading," without specifying a specific date, which led to confusion among the population and prompted motorists to rush to service stations.
Yesterday, Tuesday, the president's communications team said that the subsidy will end at the end of next June, describing the panic buying of fuel as "unnecessary."
Nigeria trades its billions of dollars worth of crude for imported fuel (due to failed state refineries), which it then subsidizes to maintain an artificially low price in the market, creating a financial chasm.
Therefore, it is a very popular measure among the population, but it withdraws billions of dollars from the public treasury every year.
Over the past ten years, the authorities have attempted to abolish this subsidy on several occasions. But to no avail. Each time, they had to back down in the face of public anger that the unions amplified to the limit.
And in 2012, the Nigerian army took to the streets to keep calm during demonstrations against the removal of subsidies.
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