Fuel crisis: Students battle for survival

• Published date: 02 February 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

Fuel scarcity and hike in petrol price have left many students across the country frustrated and dismayed. It is a battle for survival amid the inclement economic situation. PRECIOUS ADESHINA and HUSSEIN ADOTO (UNILORIN) report.

Across various universities, it is tale of woes from students with the outrageous price of petrol having a great effect on fares.

From the University of Illorin to University of Benin to University of Lagos, it is the same story of hardship and frustration.

From missing classes to having to spend more on transport and essential commodities, students are having a hard time with the ongoing fuel scarcity.

The country has been facing a nationwide scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise called petrol, as marketers and fuel stations complain of inadequate supply by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Motorists and other fuel users spend hours on long queues at the few filling stations where fuel is available, and sold above the official pump price.

In some filling stations in Ilorin, fuel is sold between N300 and N400 per litre, while it as high as N500 per litre in the so-called black market.

These factors have combined to make life harder for students especially at the University of Ilorin. Some students who spoke with Campus Life told of the hardship of adjusting to the reality of fuel scarcity as they pursue their studies on campus.

A 500-Level Medical student, who wished to remain anonymous, said the fuel scarcity has made life unbearable for him off-campus.

'Students need a certain level of comfort to study well, and fuel scarcity is taking that away. I stay in an area with poor power supply, so we depend on a generator to charge and pump water. Without it (fuel), we can't charge and read. The fuel has caused an increase in transport fare to school,' he said.

For Onimisi Sunday, a second-year pharmacy student, fuel scarcity complicates his school life.

'The scarcity of fuel came at probably the worst time to be a student and even more worse if you are a UNILORITE. The cost of transportation and commodities have been on the rise for some time, and the sudden scarcity of fuel had made it even worse,' he said.

He said he had to leave early to catch a bus to school on time.

He said: 'Before, if I wake up late, then I'll have to go queue for like 30 minutes before I could get korope (small buses), but now I'll have to queue up for several hours, which is very tiring and discouraging. There was even a day that I had to give up...