The Social Economic Effects of Fuel Scarcity in Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

Just like water and air is important


to the living human being for daily duties and a hitch – free survival, the


importance of fuel to automobile cannot be over looked.  A typical


situation is in the cases halts because of the fact that there is shortage of


fuel.  The importance of fuels in this our developing and technically


inclined economy is fast like the mixture of oil and salt as far as the economy


forgets growth as one of its goals.  Fuel is used in a variety of


activities ranging from production, mobility, cooking, electricity, supply,


sources of foreign exchange, to mention but few, to this extend, one would


accept that fuel plays a tremendous role in the live of every citizen of the


country and the country as a whole. 

However, in recent times, there has


been a rampant shortage in the availability of the commodity.  It is on


this basis that the researcher intends to evaluate the causes and effects of


fuel scarcity in the Nigeria economy, but shall concentrate on Enugu urban as a


case study due to time and financial constraints.

EFFECTS OF FUEL SCARCITY

According to Longman English


Dictionary, fuel is a form of energy, fuel is a form of energy used for the


energizing of the machine used for production.  In that case, its scarcity


will affect the living standard of the people in various ways:

a.          It increase the cost of


transportation 

b.         Social unrest 

c.          Electricity faults

d.         The cost of food item and living

e.          Adulteration of fuel and so on

The effects of fuel scarcity in


Enugu metropolis cannot be over emphasize for its is one of the very prayer for


the entire economic attribute to more about.

During 1998 February 12, business


activities in Enugu state was brought to a light because there was no fuel.


 In the state vehicles were seen in long queue in the filling stations


even when there is fuel at the filling station or not.  Commuter were


stranded in the various bus stop with no hope of motor coming to take them to


their various destinations.

Consignment upon this prices of


commodities sky rocketed so much beyond the reach of the buyers.

“News watch publisher vol. 12


November is 1996”.  The perennial fuel scarcity in Enugu state has fired


production companies to produce at a low capacity, with high price, since the


fuel which is used as a nourishing material to the machine which is suppose to


be used in production is scarce to get and when gotten the price is 300% (three


hundred percent) increase more than the former price.  This is why most


company’s product is costly and these tend to scarce customers away from the


products.  Also from the statistics available transportations cost have


gone up considerably, making it difficult for customers to get to their various


destinations.  A journey that normally cost ten naira (N10) a drop now


cost twenty naira (N20) to fourty naira (N40) a drop which represent a total


increase of 200 percent.  Conversely, the daily spending of the average


citizen have increase due to the sky rocketed increases in food stuff which was


occasioned by the fuel scarcity.

Furthermore, lateness, to duty or


offices have been lighten as a result of lack of commuter bases and text to


take them to their various destination.  To this end, the effect of fuel


scarcity is so great that most indigenes of Enugu state metropolis are


suffering untold hardship.

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1        THE ORIGIN OF THE SUBJECT AREA

The Nigerian National Petroleum


Corporation (NNPC) appointed Shell Trading and Shipping Company (STASCO),


mobile producing Nigerian unlimited, Nigerian Agip Oil Company and EIF


Petroleum Products Nigeria Limited to import refined petroleum products Nigeria


limited to import refined petroleum product into the country.  They are to


replace Gilencore of Switzerland which had handled refined petroleum products


importation in the past.

The companies are to import


virtually all the refined petroleum products needed in the country as almost


all the refineries cannot meet the needs of the nation, at least for now, but


for Enugu refining and petrochemical company that is streaming at less than


70,000 barrels per day, which is about 60 percent of its installed capacity,


the nation would today have a zero refining capability.  Most Nigeria have


long coased to see it as incomprehensible.

To the traumatized Nigerian


populace, the economic of this arrangement would rather be left in the file for


future consideration.  But how to tackle the fuel supply situation in the


twilight of the 20th century and rather Nigerian has handled oil for over to


years remains the greatest challenge to the present government.

As the government contends with the


choice of sources and suppliers, a seemingly more daunting task lies in the


distribution of the products.  If it is not that vessels will not


discharge at the ports because of disagreements between Nigerian National


Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and parts authority, it could be that fewer


drivers nation wide on a strike because a cow hit one of them.

How almost any conservable


occurrence or thing could study fault the fuel supply situation and throw Enugu


state socio-economic activities into a frenzy has remained one of the high


points of government of the country in the past few years.  Experts who


reviewed the situations last week, with agreement between the federal


government and oil trading companies observed that the arrangement may not be


the solution to the recurring fuel scarcity in the country like Nigeria with


for refineries to impact fuel, means that the very factors that could conspired


to render the existing refineries in efficient would also combine to make


importation in effective. 

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