Positive effects of fuel scarcity in Nigeria

Posted by Chidinma on Monday July 6, 2015 at 14:39:53:

Just last month, there was a massive fuel scarcity, the type that have not been seen in Nigeria before; the Fuel Scarcity nearly brought the Nigerian economy to its knees if not for the quick intervention by the government and some oil marketers. Everyone in Nigeria was badly affected by the scarcity, starting from top Multi National companies to the common man on the street, as the prize of fuel hiked to as high as N600 in some locations like Lagos and Abuja. Despite the many negative effects of the Fuel scarcity in the Country, we can surprisingly point out a few positive effects the fuel scarcity had.

They include;

• Payment Of Oil Marketers: The major cause of the fuel scarcity was that Oil marketers locked up supply of fuel in the country owing to the fact that the Federal Government had failed to pay the agreed subsidy fees for quite sometime, making the money to accumulate to the tune of 20 Billion dollars; the fuel scarcity forced the Legislative houses to call an emergency meeting with Oil Marketers to reach an agreement and make the required payment. The scarcity had positive effects for oil marketers.

• It exposed some shady oil deals: Due to inquiries and investigations from the new government on the real cases of the fuel scarcity and past oil deal, some shady deals have been exposed, especially as seen in the report written by the past oil minister, which is a welcome development for Nigerians.

• It drew more attention to alternative forms of energy: People became more conscious of other forms of energy available besides using petrol. Products like inverters, deep cycle batteries, solar panels and power banks were among the most preferred products

• It reduced vehicular traffic: They were less cars on the road during the fuel scarcity than usual. This made it easier for people to travel from one place to another on the road without being held in traffic

• It encouraged people to exercise: A good number of Nigerians have become lazy and are getting obese. Things like fuel scarcity encourage more people to walk rather than enter a bus and this help make them healthier.