‘We dey make profit as trekking don increase sake of subsidy removal’

Some shoe shiners and repairers for Kano state inside Northwest Nigeria say dem dey experience rise in business activities and profit sake of say pipo dey trek longer distances due high cost of fuel.

Nigerians across di kontri still dey grumble over di recent fuel subsidy removal by goment wey make fuel stations dey sell fuel at over N600 per litre in some locations.

Dis development na im make some pipo abandon dia vehicles and motorcycles for public transport while for some oda poorer pipo na ‘trekking galore’ dey happun.

Tricycle alias Keke napep na di major means of transport for Kano and di riders say increase in wetin dem dey collect from passengers dey necessary sake of say fuel don cost.

Cost of transportation around Kano city don triple since di removal of di subsidy as places wey pipo dey go inside keke for N100 don become N250 or N300 for some places.

Dis na di reason wey make pipo wey no fit afford o pay di new transport money to dey use dia legs dey waka go dia destination if e no too far.

Muhammad Auwalu wey dey repair and shine shoes along Zoo Road for Kano city tell BBC News Pidgin say business dey boom in recent days no be small.

“Yes na true say our business dey boom at di moment and dis na as a result of say many pipo don embrace trekking wey dey make dia shoes dirty or make am tear.”

“Sometimes pipo dey line up for my front all wanting me to attend to dem and dis na unlike bifor subsidy removal.”

“How I dey take handle di influx of pipo be say pesin wey dey in a hurry fit beg pesin wey first am come so dat i go first repair or clean im shoe.”

Muhammad add say no be say im dey happy wit di current situation but na so God create life in such a way dat when some pipo dey sad odas go benefit from di situation.

'Dem dey rush us'

Anoda shoe shiner wey also dey repair shoes Sani Tukuntawa tok say despite di boom in business dem no get any plan to add money on top wetin pipo dey pay for dia services.

“We no wan add insult to injury we know say pipo dey face a very difficult time and despite say dem dey rush us at di moment we go still maintain our usual fee for shoe repair and shoe shining.”

Sani also tok say di quality of shoes wey pipo dey use nowadays don drop wey make am dey easily get wahala after just small trekking.

“Na bifor quality shoes dey but now di quality don drop and dis na why after small trek repair must happun.”

Both Muhammad and Sani say dem dey pray say Nigerians go soon enjoy and di problem go end.

Who remove fuel subsidy for Nigeria?

Nigeria fifth president since return to democracy for 1999 end decades of petrol subsidy wen im say "fuel subsidy is gone," for im inauguration speech on 29 May 2023.

Di 71-year-old politician no give timeframe or any details on how im plan to go about di mata but tok about how e go be "gradual process".

Within hours of Tinubu first address, hundreds of pipo rush enta street wit dia car or kegs to buy fuel.

Only few pipo bin dey lucky to buy petrol as most fuel stations claim say dem don run out of di product.

Afta di chaos na im di president team come out to clarify say scrapping of subsidy no go take effect until end of June- in line wit di outgoing administration budget.

By dat time e don too late to stop di panic.

And by Wednesday, e become official say goment don stop subsidy di state-owned oil company NNPCL announce say dem don raise di price of petrol.

Wetin be Fuel Subsidy?

Fuel subsidy na form of goment intervention to reduce di cost of fuel.

Goment dey provide direct financial support to oil companies, so dem go fit reduce di price of di product to consumers (Nigerians) to make am dey affordable for dem.

Nigeria na one of Africa largest producers of crude oil and e dey rely heavily on dis resource for dia economic growth.

Sake of say Nigeria no get refinery, dem gatz export dia crude oil go anoda kontri come import di refined crude oil. Di money wey dem go take refine dis crude oil dey expensive and make e for no be burden on consumers, goment dey pay some part of di money to marketers.

Dia fore goment dey control di price and na di amount dem tell marketers to sell, dem go sell am.

Dis na how common pipo dey benefit from goment, according to dem.

Di official reason for oil subsidy na to reduce di effect of rising global oil prices on Nigerians.

Fuel subsidy don dey di kontri since di 1970s.

E become normal tin for 1977, under di regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo wit di promulgation of di Price Control Act wey make am illegal for some products (including petrol) to dey sold above di regulated price.

Between 2006-2018, Nigeria don spend about 10 trillion Naira on petroleum subsidies.

African kontris wey don remove fuel subsidy

Nigeria - Bifor goment remove subsidy fuel price, na 185 naira ($0.40, £0.32) per litre for petrol for di kontri.

Now wey goment don remove subsidy, di price range from 480-550 naira ($1.18).

Ghana – Di west African kontri remove fuel subsidy many years ago.

Fuel price for Ghana na £1.44 ($1.80) or 14 cedis ($1.24) respectively for a litre.

Angola- Di second largest oil producers for Africa withdraw fuel subsidy on Thursday.

Finance Minister Vera Daves say di withdrawal of fuel subsidies come as a result of a sovereign decision by Angolan goment.

E follow goment decision to raise di price of petrol from 160 kwanza ($0.27) to 300 kwanza ($0.51) per litre, wey come into effect on Thursday dis week.

Di new measure no go affect public service vehicles and motorcycles - di operators go get a non-transferable pre-paid card wey dem go use buy fuel.