AprokoNation, good morning! Or should I say, 'Good Mourning'?! Because honestly, my people, I can't even open my eyes properly this morning. Everything blur!
Just as we were managing the ginger and trying to recover from the December 'temporary price support intervention' (as some big man called it, abeg!), they dropped another bombshell on our heads. Another unannounced jump in fuel price! This one wasn't even a jump; it was a full Olympic High Jump straight through the roof!
See gist: The pump price for PMS has officially hit a new high, with NNPCL retail outlets now selling for around N835 per litre in major cities like Abuja and Lagos. And if you patronise some of the other marketers, Omo, you are buying your fuel for up to N900 per litre!. It's giving 'Petrol is the new diamond.'
The ripple effect? Vawulence! Commuters are screaming blue murder because transport fares have gone through the absolute roof. We're talking about trips that used to be N400 now hitting N1,000 to N1,200. The commercial drivers simply said: 'My Aproko sister, the refiners said crude oil price is now over $70 per barrel, so my fuel is not free'. They are now selling us pure air and their high cost of operation.
Forget the official reasons; the consensus on the street is that the average Naija pocket is currently weeping profusely. The political vawulence in the comments section of every news blog is enough to fuel a generator for a week! The memes are hilarious but painful: people are sharing pictures of using their own saliva as engine oil because they can no longer afford lubricants. Some even suggested we use pure tears.
Let me tell you the secret: If you see your neighbour trekking to work and they are looking extra fit and doing press-ups when they stop, please, my dear, they are NOT exercising or preparing for an Olympics marathon. They are simply budgeting! Trekking is the new Benz! They are trying to save that N1,000 for transport, which is now looking like a week's food budget.
AprokoNation, wetin we go do now? Are you trekking? Did your bus conductor use the new price to slap you this morning? Drop your hot gist below!