Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari (C) sits with Aisha Buhari, the new first lady of Nigeria (3rd L) and outgoing president Goodluck Jonathan (R) during his inauguration in Abuja, Nigeria 29 May 2015. Muhammadu Buhari was inuagurated as president of Nigeria at a ceremony in the capital Abuja. May 30, 2015| Credit: Anadolu AgencyWritten by Simon Ateba, who is touring Abuja and other cities across Nigeria to assess the Buhari Presidency a year after taking office in May last year.
The fuel scarcity paralysing Africa’s most populous country was meant to have ended in Abuja three days ago, according to assurances from the Minister of Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu.
But on Sunday morning, April 10, TheSimonAtebaNews checks across the Nigerian capital revealed a worsening situation with fuel queues growing longer, leaving many Nigerians struggling with dark houses and stranded cars.
Mr. Kachikwu had announced last week that by April 7, fuel queues would have disappeared in the commercial city of Lagos and the capital Abuja. But a trip from Lagos to Abuja by TheSimonAtebaNews showed those assurances have failed to materialise.
At vituarly all petrol stations from the main city to the outskirt of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, long queues have stubbornly persisted.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who is departing Abuja today for China, is leaving behind a traumatised city and a nation where many people have begun to wonder if the change they had voted for a year ago was a total mistake.
Mr. Buhari had promised more than a year ago that if Nigerians could trust him with power, he would reward them with leadership and a better life.
But across the country, up to 27 states owe workers many months of unpaid wages. The Nigeria Labour Congress is threatening to go on strike along with medical doctors. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria is warning that many companies may collapse because of the unavailability of dollars to bring in raw materials.
Many workers had already been sacked, in addition to electricity which has completely collapsed with power being generated now at its lowest level since the independence of Nigeria 56 years ago in 1960.
To many, with no electricity, no fuel and no money because of a budget that takes time to be signed, the country is almost shutting down. The situation is bleak. Africa’s most populous nation and biggest oil producer is on the brink.
In a small church in Garki area of Abuja, a young singer reminded worshippers on Sunday that during the election “we used to hear ‘Sai Baba’, ‘Sai Buhari’, but the truth is ‘there’s only one Baba, one original Baba, he’s the Almighty Baba’, he added, explaining that only ‘original Baba’ can provide real solutions to man’s challenges.