NewsOil & GasFuel Scarcity: We Survived. We Will Survive Again. Las las – Femi Adesina

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ABUJA — The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina says Nigerians will survive the current fuel scarcity.
Nigerians have been battling with fuel scarcity which is said to have been caused by the importation of adulterated fuel since February.
According to a report by the PUNCH, oil marketers estimated that about 100 million litres of contaminated petrol were imported into Nigeria and had been recalled by the Pipelines Product Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the NNPC.
The recall caused severe queues in Abuja, Lagos, Niger, Nasarawa and many other states, as the few petrol outlets that dispensed products were crowded by motorists and other PMS users.
Also, many other filling stations had been shut down for lack of products to sell, while black marketers have greeted various major roads in Abuja, Lagos selling products to interested consumers at higher prices.
Reacting to the crisis, Adesina said that fuel crisis had been a recurrent event in the country, adding that heavens would not fall over the current fuel scarcity and Nigerians will survive like always.
In an article titled: “KNOCK, KNOCK. WHO’S THERE?” shared on his official Facebook page on Thursday, he said Nigerians have survived petrol shortages and that “we will survive again. Las las.”
While admitting that the fuel crisis had worsened the living conditions of Nigerians, Adesina noted that president Buhari is working assiduously to restore normalcy.
The article read in part:
It’s obviously not the easiest of times in our country currently, what with severe fuel scarcity exacerbating the other existential challenges we have been coping with. In some areas, there’s no fuel, no electricity, thus translating to severe energy crisis.
 
Yet some other people have children, wards, dependents, relations in Ukraine, currently being bombarded by Russia. I have one, daughter of a family friend. When I spoke with her last week, she was hiding in a bunker, talking in whispers. But amidst it all, no fuel, no electricity, anxiety about Ukraine, general insecurity, Government continues to work. The Heavens won’t fall, and sanity would be restored. The current situation is called SNAFU: Situation Normal All Fouled Up. Normalcy will definitely return. “Be patient, my soul. Thou hath suffered worse than this.” (Thomas Holcroft).
 
“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence.” Psalm 42:5.
 
President Muhammadu has promptly approved the sum of $8.5m for the evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine. Good. That’s what a responsible father does to family members in distress. He’s also working night and day, ensuring the country has fuel, power, infrastructure, and all the good things of life. Be patient my soul…
 
Knock, Knock, Who’s there? Yes, do you remember the title of that book by James Hadley Chase that we read in the 70s and 80s? Were you old enough then?
 
Do you also remember the song we used to listen and dance to then? Written by Aaron Schroeder and Sid Wayne, released in 1959 by Isley Brothers, and it became a global hit. Were you old enough then?
 
“I’m gonna knock on your door, ring on your bell
Tap on your window too,
If you don’t come out tonight when the moon is bright
I’m gonna knock and ring and tap until you do.”
 
Are you like King Lear at his gloomy worst? I’ve come to knock on your door. Are you saturnine and lugubrious ‘cos there’s no fuel, no light, no power? “Dem go reach bed power no dey, shuffering and shmiling,” Fela Anikulapo-Kuti had sang long ago. ‘Be patient my soul, thou hath suffered worse than this.” There were cases of bad fuel before in this country. We slept for days, weeks on end at petrol stations, queuing for fuel. We survived. We will survive again. Las las.
 
I’ve come to knock and ring and tap on your door today, to remind you that it is not all doom and gloom in our country. However overcast the sky is, there’s always a shimmer of light.
 
Fuel crisis will come and go. Energy crisis will be resolved. Nigerians who appreciate good things will be made happy progressively. That is is why I’m knocking on your door. Ringing on your bell. Tapping on your window too. And if you don’t come out to enjoy the bright moonlight, “I’m gonna knock and ring and tap until you do.”
Femi Adesina’s post did not go down well with many Nigerians who have taken to social media to air their grievances.
One of the criticisms came from Ayo Obe, an activist, and lawyer. According to her, Nigerians did not elect the government to preside over fuel shortages, noting that petrol scarcity is one of the reasons the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan was voted out of office.
The lawyer tweeted:
“Yes @FemAdesina we did. It was even worse. But that’s one of the reasons why the government responsible then was voted out. It wasn’t because Nigerians said: Let a different set of people preside over our fuel shortage.”
By Ezinwanne Onwuka (Senior Reporter)

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