Recurrent kerosene scarcity
For several weeks now there has been an acute scarcity of kerosene all over the country, which millions of Nigerian families use as the primary fuel to cook their meals. The current scarcity is only the latest one as kerosene scarcity has become a recurring decimal for Nigerian homes. With kerosene both hard to find and very expensive to buy, many households have instead resorted to the use of firewood and charcoal as alternative fuel. Resort to firewood by millions of families is a setback for the government’s decades old policy of encouraging the use of kerosene in order to save our hardpressed forests and bushes from further depletion, which in terms enables desertification to march southwards.
At present, kerosene is sold for N400 per litre in Kaduna. In Calabar, it ranges between N350 to N400 per litre. In Plateau State, the price doubled from N200 per litre before Christmas to N400 per litre. In Benin, it rose from N150 per litre in filling stations to N350 per litre. The dismal story is the same everywhere. Not surprisingly, the price of cooking gas also increased as many families converted to it. The 12.5kg cylinder that sold for N3700 in Abuja increased to N6000.
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC] blamed oil marketers in the country for the kerosene scarcity and the high price of cooking gas. NNPC’s Group General Manager, Public Affairs Ndu Ughamadu denied that the scarcity was a ploy by NNPC to increase cooking gas and kerosene prices, as often happened in the past. He said that though NNPC has been consistent in bringing petroleum products into the country, its efforts are not complimented by the marketers who refuse to bring in products. He said Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) market is fully deregulated and NNPC cannot compel marketers to bring in the products.
Alhaji Olanrewaju Okanlawon, factional Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in Kwara, attributed the hike kerosene price and its scarcity to unstable foreign exchange supply. It looks like the blame game between NNPC and marketers will not go away anytime soon. Whatever be the truth of the matter, it is incumbent on government not to allow its citizens to suffer unduly in so crucial matter as kerosene for cooking most Nigerian families’ food.
After much suffering by the people, NNPC announced that the country’s four refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri have resumed production of diesel and kerosene. It is important going forward to ensure that the refineries do not stop production of these crucial commodities without stocks maintained to ensure regular supply during the period of closure. That is the responsible thing to do in this situation.
As it is, people are already overstretched financially due to the economic recession in the country, so the last thing they need is kerosene and cooking gas scarcity. The policy of encouraging the use of kerosene instead of firewood for household cooking has already made much progress in this country. Our expectation was that we should now be pushing on to enable as many households to use cooking gas instead of kerosene, of which this country has huge reserves. But the recurrent hiccups in kerosene supply threaten to unravel even the gains already made and throw us back to the firewood era, rather than move forward to the cooking gas era.
It is a blight on our national honour and dignity to see housewives, children and retailers shoving and jostling at petrol stations for a supply of kerosene. We urge government and NNPC to put a stop to recurrent shortages and to ensure that there is enough kerosene in stock to last the period of refinery closures, as so happens with petrol.