Lagosians are neither smiling nor laughing! And the reason is this – the fuel and water scarcity currently ravaging the State won’t just abate. As a matter of fact, the two essential goods are just getting more and more difficult to come by.
Nearly all the filling stations in Ikeja and Ojodu areas of the State were not selling fuel as at Tuesday, November 17, 2015 when YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine went round. And the few that had fuel were battling what could be summed up as almost interminable queues, with angry motorists and other buyers resorting to quarrel and abusive languages at the slightest provocation.
One of them was overheard shouting:’I hope this is not the change APC promised us o. Buhari and his people should better resolve this fuel matter. The thing is becoming too perennial and we are not happy about it. How can we not get fuel; common fuel that we produce in this country, to buy? Even water is now scarce. The whole of Akiode and Ojodu environs, we’ve not had water now for about 2 weeks.
‘And just as some of us can’t get fuel to buy and therefore are resorting to black market, that is also what is happening with water. The Mallams who sell water now do shakara for us. They’ve also increased the prices of their water. How long must we continue like this? Buhari, Ambode and APC had better resolved the critical issues before things get out of hand.’
Our investigations revealed that the few filling stations that have fuel sell above the official pump price. Instead of N87, they sell for N100 or more, per litre. And for water, a truck of ten which hitherto sold for N250 now goes for N500. But because they are now so scarce, many are still buying, but amidst so much grumbling and even gnashing of teeth.