The current fuel crisis in Nigeria has reached unprecedented levels in its history.
Prices of goods and services have soared beyond the reach of the vast population, and hunger looms over households like the rising sun.
Amidst these challenges, our policymakers justify the increase in pump prices and the deregulation of the petroleum sector by referencing global market rates.
The assertion by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited that the price of a litre of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is N2,000 on the global market is presented as a reason for Nigerians to feel fortunate to buy it at a lower price.
This reasoning is both ridiculous and insensitive.
Let’s set the record straight.
Our policymakers have overlooked in totality the earnings in the same global market that they use as a benchmark, in their pursuit of price parity in the petroleum sector.
In a country where the president struggled with labour unions to increase the minimum wage to N70,000—equivalent to just $44 at a conservative exchange rate of N1,605 to $1—
It is disheartening to compare this with wages in other countries.
For instance, in the global market, a worker in the United Kingdom earns £11.44 per hour, in Canada $20.16, in the United States $15.87, and in France €11.65.
When converted at a conservative exchange rate of N2,097 to a pound, a worker in the UK earns the equivalent of N23,990 per hour.
Considering a standard workweek of 40 hours, the monthly earnings in the global market are as follows:
• United Kingdom: N3,838,340 per month
• United States: N4,075,420 per month (at N1,605 to $1)
• Canada: N4,077,160 per month (at N1,264 to the Canadian dollar)
• France: N3,321,640 per month (at N1,782 to the euro)
It is in the same global market that our policymakers believe a worker earning only $44 minimum wage per month should compete.
This is unfortunate.
It seems our policymakers have lost touch with the economic realities of our time and are therefore completely insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.
Never before have we witnessed such a level of policy inconsistency in this country.
Nigerians are suffering and dying from starvation.
I therefore call on the government to act swiftly, while the National Assembly, as the true representatives of the people, must awaken from its slumber to prevent the country from self-destruction.
As the saying goes, “A hungry man is an angry man,” and “A stitch in time saves nine.”
*Anderson Osiebe.is the Executive Director,HallowMace Foundation Africa,, writes from Abuja
