Society
The Gripping Pains, Anguish – Narrated By A Resident – As Gov Halts Supply Of Petrol To Border Towns
Kehinde Akinlade
Kehinde Akinlade, a resident of a border town, brings the gripping pains and anguish of government to halt the supply of petrol to communities that are 20 kilometers from the border in this highly engaging write-up that reads.
It is no longer news that Nigeria’ border is under lock and key. It was in order to stop smuggling that the Federal Government closed the border deploying the military and paramilitary forces to join the Nigeria’ Customs Service to ensure a tightly closed border.
Now that the closure is still on, Nigeria’ Customs Service just announced the banning of petrol in communities that are 20 kilometers to the border because of smuggling.
What then is the gain of border closure with the entire security agencies of the nation when petrol has to be banned to stop its’ smuggling in communities within 20 kilometers to the border?
Petrol is very crucial to life and living in this nation of poor electricity supply that has made many to depend on petrol consuming power generators to.keep businesses going.. Very many trades and vocations depends on the commodity.
If this ban is allowed to stay, members of ACOMORAN, RTEAN, NURTW in the affected border communities will be out of jobs. Their families will suffer the effect of this ban. Cost of transportation will hit the skies for the already impoverished.people of border communities.
Women and men that are millers will also be affected. They will not be able to grind pepper, cassava, beans, shell maize, Rice and so on. Their pockets will suffer.
There is risk to life and properties as the announcement of the ban will trigger panic buying, and storing at home which may lead to fire outbreaks that may result in deaths and destruction of properties.
Teachers will find it hard going to schools likewise pupils. Traders will find it difficult accessing markets. Youths working as filling station attendants will be out of job and of course it may mean the end of some filling stations as some owners may not be able to service the debts that keep them.in business.
Not bad taking actions that are capable of helping the economy but this kind of actions will kill Nigerians. Most of our health centres run on Generators that need petrol. Petrol is needed to move to where drugs can be bought.
The FG should consider stopping the Nigeria’ Customs on this. Why should a closed border not be able to stop petrol from illegal leaking to the other side? After all, the army, police and other security agencies are on the border manning it with the customs
Stopping petrol from getting to the border communities is like cutting the head off to.spite the nose. There are thriving commercial centres close to the border. People live close to the border and that means trading, manufacturing are going on there. Definitely, petrol going to the border towns are not primarily meant for smuggling.
Yes the commodity do get across the border illegally. The right move is to deploy intelligence and to give the security agencies the matching order to fix the leak tight. That is why they are there. Stopping life and living in border communities by stopping petrol from reaching them is not a good policy. The Federal Government should review the idea.
Kehinde Akinlade is the secretary of Faces of Yewa Indigenes Foundation ( FYIF), he wrrote in from Iboro-Yewa, Ogun State.
