I was not prepared for the rude shock of my life that morning. I woke my boys up at about 6.15am on Saturday morning and asked them to follow me to go look for fuel. I ignored Tobi’s pleas to let him sleep, as I assumed he would get over it once we hit the road.
We set out and began the slow drive down the long highway that has nothing less than five petrol stations, very hopeful that I would beat a lot of people to the front of the queue. But, after a couple of times driving through the long highway, it was evident no petrol station was selling fuel.
My boys were softly snoring at the back seat, and it was a huge relief otherwise Tobi would have been bombarding me with questions. As I did another round of my search for fuel, I noticed the commuters had come out, and were standing – stranded. One of the commuters beckoned to a motorcyclist, but a fierce exchange ensued and the bike man drove away in anger. Call it empathy or curiosity, I drove up to the woman who was visibly shaken and almost in tears. My first take was that the bike man may have snatched her purse. I stopped by her and wound down my glass. “Mummy have you bought fuel? Mummy why are you stopping? Do you know this woman?” Who else but my Tobi asking. “Tobi I’ll speak to you in a minute”, I assured him.
“Madam na wetin happen?” I asked. “My sister no be that okada man. Him say make I pay two thousand naira for market wey I dey take two hundred naira go. That na my market money now. If I pay that kind money how I wan take buy the vegetables wey I dey sell. This government people God go punish them” she swore vehemently.
I was shaken. I was weak, and so sad as I saw first hand the shattering impact of this fuel scarcity. I couldn’t go to the shops or visit friends, but here was a woman who probably has children and some other relatives to feed from her small vegetable trading. Now multiply that woman with the thousands of other businesses and services that have been badly affected, and this equates to the lives that would be affected one way or the other by this fuel scarcity. And this has gone on for weeks!
How much suffering can a people bear? To remain in Egypt may have been our best option, as it seems Canaan is beyond reach today. God please lead us through this wilderness of sorrow, pain and confusion.
My dear readers it’s so much to take! Even some organisations are closing because they can’t power their stations. I quote from a text message I received on my phone: “Dear valued customer this is to inform you that due to the nationwide fuel crisis our services may experience some strain. We are doing everything possible to manage the situation. Thank you very much for understanding.”
How did we get here? The people involved, don’t they fear God? The trickledown effect of this fuel scarcity will plunge us into a darkness that only God can save us.
So tired and worn out!
Till I write again as always I love you for reading.
Ada.
Photo-Credit: https://www.thefocusng.com/