Sanwo-Olu deserves commendation for slashing transport fares in addition to distributing food packs to the vulnerable, writes Kehinde Ajayi
Things are tough in Nigeria at the moment. The major source of these hard times can be traceable to shortages of petrol and cash. With petrol scarcity comes transportation hassles, below optimal production and general hardship in the form of hiking costs of goods and services. Industries and artisans groan. Consumers suffer.
Amidst the present fuel scarcity, some businesses simply fold their hands and close shop. Those that survive on alternative power pass on the costs to their customers – other Nigerians – revolving the hardship. Some Shylock petrol stations that have petrol jacked up prices to as much as N350 per litre. These acts have inflicted untold hardship on many Nigerians. Take transportation for instance. A bus trip from Lagos to Benin which used to cost about N4000 was recently going for about N8000. Within Lagos, the iconic yellow and black striped commercial buses also hiked their fares. Then, there is also the nuisance of traffic snarls caused by long queues around filling stations with petrol.
As usual, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has assured Nigerians that the situation would improve with more supply, this evidence is yet to be seen in the states as fuel queues still persist.
In addition to the pains of procuring petrol, Nigerians also started the year with uncertainty of availability of cash. Following the redesign of the N1000, N500 and N200 notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the bank issued a directive that Nigerians deposit the old naira notes by January 31, 2023 and that it would cease to be a legal tender by that date. As Nigerians began to comply with the directive, it became clear that the new notes which the CBN wanted Nigerians to begin spending were not well-circulated.
Hence, situations arose whereby depositors could not access the new naira notes either across the counters inside banking halls or from the automated teller machines (ATM). In desperation, scenes in banking halls like people stripping themselves naked and people fighting each other people as they demanded their monies played out. There were also fights at ATM centres with people on queues exchanging blows. A particular incident at the University of Benin showed students pouncing on and beating a soldier that shunted the ATM queues.
Though this currency redesign move was widely welcome by citizens, in some quarters, it has been criticised for lack of a proper implementation. In fact, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, admitted the CBN did not anticipate the problems. Yet, some Nigerians focused their resistance to any shift in deadline for the Naira swap based on a belief that the naira redesign was targeted at curbing vote-buying by politicians.
It is quite shameful that such thinking exists when average Nigerians are suffering from lack of cash and a deplorable technology ecosystem that has stymied electronic transfer of money. Amongst these, some politicians lent their voice to support the policy, possibly aiming to attack the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Thankfully, some state governments sued the federal government at the Supreme Court and obtained an order that canceled February 10 as deadline to quash the old notes till the case was deliberated upon. This move bought more time for and brought a temporary reprieve to Nigerians.
However, the Lagos State government has come to ameliorate the sufferings of Lagosians. And last Wednesday, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced a week-long reduction of fares by 50% on Lagos State transport services as well as distributing food packs to vulnerable Lagosians.
“I have directed immediately that from tomorrow, on all of our Lagos run bus system, all of our BRT buses on all of our Lag ride taxis, all of our ferries and all of our last miles buses and small buses that we have in the state, that they should be carrying passengers at 50 per cent of the current fare and this will continue to happen using their Cowry Cards,” Sanwo-Olu said. “And we want to further make this Cowry Card available to all willing citizens. We have over three million cowry cards that are out there that are being used. So for the next one week, on all the passenger route within all of our buses, ferries and taxis, passengers will enjoy a 50 percent discount from tomorrow morning.”
Regarding the fuel scarcity, the governor lifted the restriction on opening and allowed 24-hour operations by filling stations. A month ago, the state government had restricted the operations of filling stations located on major highways because of traffic congestion. As part of ameliorating the situation, Sanwo-Olu also announced that food banks will be set up around the state for vulnerable citizens.
“We are going to be identifying vulnerable spots in our communities and you would see us distributing food items, food stuffs that we are making arrangement for and we have tens of thousands that are ready and we will be identifying various locations in which we will be distributing these food packs so that we can cushion the effects on all our citizens,” he said.
It is commendable that Sanwo-Olu has the interest of the people at heart as they face the dual shortages of fuel and cash. Recognising the period as a trying one, the governor also briefly ceased his campaign for a second term to address citizen’s plight. Of course, it is his responsibility to serve Lagosians. This, like many interventions is worthy of emulation by other state governments.
Ajayi writes from Lagos
