By Shamsudeen Abubakar
Muhammad Nasiru, aged 40, has been enduring the stress of queuing at the filling station but that of April 27, is still fresh in his mind—triggering him to wear a constant expression of anger, as the scorching sun adds to the intensity of his frustration.
Before Nasiru could fill his gallon with fuel, the intense heat had already surpassed his body’s tolerance—adding to his mounting frustration and testing his endurance to its limit.
“ My daily routine has been rescheduled to be among the top people queuing at the filling station. I am now spending two times the money I make as profit on fuel alone,” Muhammad Nasiru, an over-40-year-old driver, recounted.
“Per liter of fuel was sold at the rate of ₦600 as of two weeks ago, but when the scarcity emerged it is now selling at the rate of N2000, even N2,300 in some places,”
Nasir stressed that if he couldn’t find fuel at the filling station, he had no option but to resort to the black market.
“The black market is selling at the sum of over N2,000. It is so sad if we continue with this in Nigeria,” he bemoaned.
Optimism Amid Challenges
Similar to Nasir, Abubakar is also an experienced driver with over four years of experience. He expressed concern about the scarcity situation, noting the challenges it poses, such as potential fare increases.
“We are planning to increase the T-fare if this hardship keeps growing. Before we do so, we will have to meet with university management.”
Abubakar is optimistic that no condition is permanent as he has envisaged that in business, there will be profit and loss.
Another driver, Auwal, aged 32, has taken up the role of a night fuel hunter, spending most of his nights at the filling station instead of resting.
“As you can see there is a kind of injustice in the filling station; to have been opening at midnight,” he said.
The 32-year-old man lamented that many of his driver-mates’ mates had been forced to abandon their vehicles.
According to him, most of them cannot afford to buy from the black market at a price of N2,500. This would yield no profit for us in the end.
“We won’t Increase Fare”—UDUS Driver
In an interview with Bashiru Muasu, contrary to what Abubakar said on the increment of fare, he lamented the ongoing fuel scarcity for nearly a week. Despite this, he emphasized, ” We will not increase the transportation fare for students.”
“We never feel bad about still conveying the student’s actual money, because we believe that this situation is temporary, and everything will be good. Insha Allahu,” Muazu added.