It’s been an eventful week in Lagos. A fuel scarcity has forced Nigerians to face hardship in a gruesome manner.
Virtually everyone has a ‘fuel story’ because we are all affected.
I never saw it coming! Yes it was pretty bad last week with some queues here and there at some filling stations but life was pretty normal. Last Friday, I was scheduled to be out of town, so I stocked up on fuel and that was it. I returned Saturday night and by Sunday I had began to sense a showdown.
Monday morning was like a dream. It was as though PMS had disappeared from the earth and the few places where the product was available had long queues (I mean as though a village had gathered to buy). Enter, black marketers. Black Markets pushed the price of the product to N250 a litre (against the pump price of N97).
Fuel queue in Nigeria
Life becomes worrying in this kind of circumstance. The price of transportation doubles, and if you drive, you probably spend a productive bulk of your day buying petroleum. I panicked on Monday as I wondered how the week will turn out.
Today is Wednesday and I dare say I have seen God’s hand taking care of me this week especially in the nation’s current situation.
First off, God has provided for me to get around town. Miraculously, I even found a cheaper way to get to work that I hadn’t thought of before. Secondly, power supply has improved this week so there is less pressure on running generators. And there has been wisdom to decide how to conserve energy in all this. This situation has thought me gratitude. “God, I thank you because it could be worse” is all I say when I begin to reflect on how an irresponsible leadership has put the polity in this most uncomfortable situation.
Is there something to be thankful for? Oh yes! Protection is one! People carry kegs of various sizes containing petrol around town in their cars and on the bus too, now that’s a risk. A little spark and an explosion could occur anywhere. So far I haven’t heard of any and it hasn’t happened to me.
The lesson I’m learning in all this: God ALWAYS takes care of his own in every situation and this a fact. My faith is strengthened as I reflect on this truth. This is not just for Christians in Nigeria but all over the world. There are challenges everywhere.
Just as I and my colleagues were ranting on-air about fuel being sold for N250 a litre by black marketers, one of our esteemed listeners from the Netherlands politely informed us that fuel sells for N400 a litre there. Of course, there was a bit of argument about this, but she made her point: there are challenges everywhere.
I recall getting a message last Thursday, from someone in Ukraine asking for prayer for the state of Crimea and it just hit me that all across the world, there are Christians facing challenges. How can I forget the people in North East Nigeria who live under the threat of Boko Haram?
I had quite an unpleasant conversation with someone who had survived the religious crisis in Jos last week as well. He did a great job of painting the picture to me of what life can be like in such circumstances. Hmmmm….!
In all these, as we uphold one another in prayer concerning the challenges different countries have, and how the sanity can easily be threatened, let us remember: God always takes care of his own!
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6
Written by Tim Konyehi @TimKonyehi
