This iReport is part of an assignment:
Nigeria unrest
More from davholla
More iReports you should see
Occupy Port Harcourt
while the citizens of the nation awake to the sudden news of the fuel subsidy removal which
brought about an untold hardship immediately on the citizens...
here in the city of Port Harcourt where i am,the price of petrol soared by over 100% and that
affected transportation cost drastically people are trapped at various parts of the country cause
they suddenly realize that they cannot pay for the bus fares back home from their holidays as the
increase in fuel prices just double the cost of bus fares. places you pay just about 2000naira to
get to now goes for 4,000naira to 4,500naira the effect is devastating.
few months back the Nigerian labor union demanded the minimum wage for workers in Nigeria and in
a show of retaliation the federal government suggested the removal of the fuel subsidy as a way
to pay for the increase in wages for workers, labor kicked against it and i thought it has been
laid to rest. i never thought they will eventually tip the Nigerian citizens over the edge with
the removal of fuel subsidies on the 1st of January.
the south south region is a delicate area militancy and the rate of crime as been kept under for
a while and we are enjoying some peace in the Niger delta cities i am afraid the fuel subsidy
removal will give way for another wave of violence from the dormant trouble areas. already the
ijaw youths has joined the protest in the south south Area blocking a major highway joining
rivers state and Bayelsa and also connecting the south east/south west region that will no doubt
resurrect militancy and increase crime once again the cost of the aftermath of the subsidy
removal will far outweigh the cost of the subsidy itself and added to that will be an emergence
of another type of Nigerian people that we have never seen before.we are well informed now.
what was intriguing to me was the fact that Goodluck Jonathan, Nigerian president and his team
where out commissioning the BOI (bank of industry) building in abuja while the people suffered
almost as if the government never had a care in the world what the citizens just suddenly had to
go through it was not spread at all it came down on us too heavy all of a sudden and the government is insensitive about it. it is not clear yet how much they would have spent on logistics to perform the function i
am sure it will be in its tens of millions of Naira like always and fuel subsidy has to be
removed?
to properly highlight the effects of the removal of the fuel subsidies i will like show this
illustration. Nigeria is totally dependent on petrol. for years businesses have become reliant
only on petrol for power generation to run their businesses. the road infrastructure is so poor
throughout the country that already it is expensive to move from one end to another and we barely
manage to cope. the sudden rise in fuel prices is going to affect everything from the price of
food items,housing,education and communication already it has been seen. telephone cards now cost
more, school buses now charge more the food market has hiked the prices of basic food items like
tomatoes and pepper dramatically cause these items come from the northern part of Nigeria mainly
and the cost of transportation has now more than doubled so affecting the cost of the food items
they bring...
also electricity, that we don't have, as a result every home has a power generating set. every home
use generators everyday this runs on fuel and now that fuel prices have doubled it is going to
mean total blackout for the most part as it is going to be difficult to afford the commodity. a
gallon of petrol cost about 300naira before now it is 700naira. where will the people draw the
extra cash from?
this is will be an aggression against the middle class citizens who are the driving force for the
Nigerian economy and are right now in the middle has the hardest hit. by the sudden increase in
everything. the Nigerian government has directly imposed a tough sanction on its own middle class
in Nigeria and the entire nation.
brought about an untold hardship immediately on the citizens...
here in the city of Port Harcourt where i am,the price of petrol soared by over 100% and that
affected transportation cost drastically people are trapped at various parts of the country cause
they suddenly realize that they cannot pay for the bus fares back home from their holidays as the
increase in fuel prices just double the cost of bus fares. places you pay just about 2000naira to
get to now goes for 4,000naira to 4,500naira the effect is devastating.
few months back the Nigerian labor union demanded the minimum wage for workers in Nigeria and in
a show of retaliation the federal government suggested the removal of the fuel subsidy as a way
to pay for the increase in wages for workers, labor kicked against it and i thought it has been
laid to rest. i never thought they will eventually tip the Nigerian citizens over the edge with
the removal of fuel subsidies on the 1st of January.
the south south region is a delicate area militancy and the rate of crime as been kept under for
a while and we are enjoying some peace in the Niger delta cities i am afraid the fuel subsidy
removal will give way for another wave of violence from the dormant trouble areas. already the
ijaw youths has joined the protest in the south south Area blocking a major highway joining
rivers state and Bayelsa and also connecting the south east/south west region that will no doubt
resurrect militancy and increase crime once again the cost of the aftermath of the subsidy
removal will far outweigh the cost of the subsidy itself and added to that will be an emergence
of another type of Nigerian people that we have never seen before.we are well informed now.
what was intriguing to me was the fact that Goodluck Jonathan, Nigerian president and his team
where out commissioning the BOI (bank of industry) building in abuja while the people suffered
almost as if the government never had a care in the world what the citizens just suddenly had to
go through it was not spread at all it came down on us too heavy all of a sudden and the government is insensitive about it. it is not clear yet how much they would have spent on logistics to perform the function i
am sure it will be in its tens of millions of Naira like always and fuel subsidy has to be
removed?
to properly highlight the effects of the removal of the fuel subsidies i will like show this
illustration. Nigeria is totally dependent on petrol. for years businesses have become reliant
only on petrol for power generation to run their businesses. the road infrastructure is so poor
throughout the country that already it is expensive to move from one end to another and we barely
manage to cope. the sudden rise in fuel prices is going to affect everything from the price of
food items,housing,education and communication already it has been seen. telephone cards now cost
more, school buses now charge more the food market has hiked the prices of basic food items like
tomatoes and pepper dramatically cause these items come from the northern part of Nigeria mainly
and the cost of transportation has now more than doubled so affecting the cost of the food items
they bring...
also electricity, that we don't have, as a result every home has a power generating set. every home
use generators everyday this runs on fuel and now that fuel prices have doubled it is going to
mean total blackout for the most part as it is going to be difficult to afford the commodity. a
gallon of petrol cost about 300naira before now it is 700naira. where will the people draw the
extra cash from?
this is will be an aggression against the middle class citizens who are the driving force for the
Nigerian economy and are right now in the middle has the hardest hit. by the sudden increase in
everything. the Nigerian government has directly imposed a tough sanction on its own middle class
in Nigeria and the entire nation.
- TAGS:
- protests,
- subsidy,
- occupynigeria,
- subsidies,
- gas_prices
- GROUPS:
What do you think of this story?
Select one of the options below. Your feedback will help tell CNN producers what to do with this iReport. If you'd like, you can explain your choice in the comments below.
Be and editor! Choose an option below:
More from this assignment - Nigeria unrest
iReport welcomes a lively discussion, so comments on iReports are not pre-screened before they post. See the iReport community guidelines for details about content that is not welcome on iReport.
© 2011 Cable News Network. 
Comments