The good, bad and ugly sides of the fuel subsidy

NAIJ.com analyses the good, bad and ugly sides of the fuel subsidy which was removed by the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari. The removal has generated different reactions from citizens.
Mr Chukwudi Odinkalu is a regular traveler on the Onitsha-Lagos road. He deals in electronics at Alaba international market, Lagos. He also has a shop in Onitsha; an extension of his electronics shop in Lagos. As a businessman he has a vehicle, but when transporting his electronics from Lagos to Onitsha he makes do with public transport.
As usual, he uses any of the transport companies operating on the Onitsha-Lagos road. He has done this for years. He pays the usual fare from Lagos to Onitsha. He pays for himself and for the space his goods occupy on the bus. At times, his goods take over almost two rolls and he pays without blinking an eye.
But following the increase in the price of fuel, he miscalculated. He thought the fare would be as usual and went to the park with the same cash he was used to taking. He was embarrassed to discover that the fare had sky-rocketed. But luckily for him, he had his ATM card, and he had to quickly run to the nearest machine to withdraw the balance.
That was in January 2012 when the former president Goodluck Jonathan took Nigerians by surprise when he attempted to remove the fuel subsidy. Nigerians fought against Jonathan’s move.
There were massive protests across the nation. Lagos was the worst hit. Ojota, Oshodi and other areas of Lagos became home to massive protests which were allegedly sponsored by the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) against the Jonathan government.