Nigerians outraged as fuel prices suddenly double

Fuel prices have doubled overnight in Nigeria, sparking a wave of demonstrations in cities across the country. The sudden cancellation of a fuel subsidy program, which had kept prices at the pumps low for the past two decades, has caused widespread anger at the government.

In the economic capital Lagos, a march that started out peacefully on Tuesday was marred by violence after at least one person was reportedly killed. A small group of men on the margins of the demonstration also burnt tyres to impede traffic and vandalized several petrol stations. Protesters in several cities were met with tear gas.

The end of the fuel subsidy program was announced on Sunday, during a long holiday weekend. Since then, prices have doubled to about 0.80 euros a litre, in a country where most people live on less than 2 euros a day. This increase has already begun to send food prices spiralling.

For most Nigerians, the fuel subsidy was the only benefit of the country’s oil wealth. President Goodluck Jonathan has promised that the money saved by the termination of the program – an estimated 6 billion dollars – will go into improving the country’s infrastructure. However, decades of corruption scandals have left the population very distrustful of the government.

The price hike comes at an already-tense time for Nigerians. On Saturday, the government declared a state of emergency in some parts of the country due to a growing Islamic insurgency.

At the protest in Lagos, some people set tyres on fire to block the road. Photo courtesy of Lekan Stephen.

“This was just the last drop”

Lekan Stephen is a Web designer in Lagos.

Everyone is angry. We knew that fuel prices would go up eventually, but we didn’t think it would happen until the spring. Only last week, however, the government said they were still consulting oil producers. So we were all taken by surprise. If people had known this was coming, they might have stocked up on fuel and food. But they didn’t get the chance.

In the past couple of days, the cost of riding the bus has gone up 150 percent. Fuel has about doubled. So I no longer know whether to drive my car or take the bus. Some people can’t afford either. A lot of people haven’t been able to go to work.

It’s not just transportation. When fuel prices go up, food prices go up too. Everything is now about twice as expensive as it was last week.

“People are hungry. They’re still peaceful now, but at some point they will crack”

However, the protests in Lagos and around the country aren’t just about fuel prices. This was just the last drop. There are so many things making people angry in Nigeria. Our lawmakers are overpaid, and there’s too much waste. This is the opportunity to say no to this culture of corruption in government.

I expect many more protests in the coming days and weeks. If these protests are well-co-ordinated and sustained, I believe the authorities will have no choice but to yield, because the way they’ve acted, they’re practically calling for anarchy. People are hungry in this country. They’re peaceful now, but at some point they will crack and become violent.”