As transportation costs continue to rise in Nigeria due to the recent hike in petrol prices, the situation remains a source of anxiety for millions of Nigerians, especially low income earners.
For many, the daily journey to work, school, or the market has become a huge financial burden.
The situation is even more dire for low-income households, who are already struggling to survive on meager earnings.
Public outcry has been growing, with many calling on the government to address the rising costs.
It is one of the reasons for the recent nationwide protests with the hashtag #EndBadGovernance.
Protests have also been held in major cities, with citizens demanding immediate action to reduce the cost of living.
Findings by Bellnews revealed that the increase in petrol price has driven up prices of essential goods and services, exacerbating financial hardships for many, especially the low income earners.
The price hike, which came into effect early last week, has seen petrol prices soar to a record high of between N850/litre and N1,400 per litre depending on the area, adding to the already mounting pressure on household budgets.
Due to the hardship this has caused Nigerian citizens, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Dioceses, Archbishop Matthew Kukah, urged President Bola Tinubu and the leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to take measures to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians and also reverse the petrol price hike.
He said, “I once asked a girl if she is in the APC, PDP, or Labour and she said ‘I am hungry.’ And so, since I am speaking to those who are in power, please know that we, Nigerians, are hungry.
“Find a way of reducing the price of fuel. Find a way of keeping our country secure. That will be the greatest legitimacy of any government.”
In the same vein, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, also condemned the recent increase in the pump price of petrol and warned the federal government not to take Nigerians for granted.
The President-General of the forum, Yerima Shettima, in a statement criticised the hike in the pump price of petrol, noting that the government has lost touch with the reality of things in the country.
“The government urged Nigerians to refrain from protests with promises of improvement, only to exacerbate their struggles by unexpectedly raising petrol prices.
“For me, the federal government should have a rethink on the numerous challenges. President Bola Tinubu must allow Nigerians to breathe, because with the current state of affairs, angry and hungry Nigerians are being pushed to the wall, and the reaction of a hungry and angry person may be unimaginable,” he said.
Speaking to Bellnews, a cross-section of Nigerian low income earners lamented the hardship the hike in the price of petrol has caused them, appealing to the government to revert to the old price.
A sales representative, Amina Abubakar said, “I’m finding it difficult to balance my budget.
“The increase in petrol price has added to my transportation costs, and I’m struggling to afford necessities like food and rent.
“We expected so much from this government, but what we are seeing now is heartbreaking.”
Another FCT resident, Eche John, complained that he usually spent N800 to work but now spends N1500 since the announcement of the new fuel pump price.
He said, “This transport thing is something else. The truth of the matter is that salaries have not increased while many people are already losing their jobs.”
Another Abuja resident, Glory Adetunji, expressed concern about how the rise in fuel price has not only affected the cost of transportation but also started to drive up the cost of goods and commodities in general.
Ojetunde said, “The fuel price increase has already led to an increase in the price of goods.
“I bought a sachet of milk recently for N300 instead of N200 that it was sold initially before the fuel price increase.”
Another low income earner, Johnson Okpe, who is a Point of Sale, POS, attendant said the situation has deteriorated, adding that he may have to stop going to work for lack of transport fare which has just skyrocketed.
“I don’t know how I’ll manage to feed and still have money to spend on transportation.
“House rent is still there staring me in the face. If nothing is done to ease this hardship, hunger will kill everyone. I virtually spend my salary on transport fare.”
A sales girl, Chioma Eze who commutes from Mararaba to Wuse market in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, Nigeria, said her transportation fare has gone more than double compared to how it was in the past year.
“I used to spend about N1000 on transport every day, but now it’s over N2000. It’s really getting out of hand.
“I might be forced to stop this work because how much are they paying me that I will be spending N2000 on transportation on a daily basis, excluding feeding,” she lamented.
A secondary school teacher, Auwal Ibrahim, who did not mention the name of his school, shared his struggles thus:
“My salary hasn’t increased, but transportation costs have gone up significantly. I now have to spend nearly over 50% of my income on transport alone.
“It’s hard to see how this can continue without some form of intervention.”
A private security personnel, Hassan Abdul, who resigned from his job recently, decried the hardship orchestrated by the hike in petrol price, saying he is confused over the next line of action.
“My salary was N40,000 and I have a wife and a kid to cater for. Now, after calculating how much I would be spending on transportation alone, I discovered I would still be borrowing money to meet up.
“Instead of continuing, I had to resign and begin to think of what to do next. I don’t even know what next as I speak with you now,” he lamented.
A housekeeper, Ekaete Frederick, also said she had to resign because of the same issue of hike in transportation fare.
“Imagine I go from New Nyanya to Garki, in the FCT on weekdays on a N50,000 job and I spend N2000 daily.
“Calculate it and then subtract it from the N50,000 and see what is left. Instead I better resign and then look for another job close by or go into hawking sachet water,” she lamented.
A commercial motorcyclist, Uche Emeka decried lack of passengers and the pain of getting fuel for his motorcycle, saying most people have resorted to trekking and that has affected their work.
“These days, people no longer enter okada. They rather choose to trek to their destinations.
“I don’t blame them anyway, because after they must have spent over N2000 on transportation already, they would like to cut down on the cost. How much is even the salary? We are just in trouble in this country,” he stated.
As for Paul Owoicho, he fears that the new development would increase the already inflated level of criminality in the land, calling for urgent intervention to avert a lawless society.
“People are hungry. Someone who does not want to do anything evil before might be tempted to do so just to survive.
“There will be a high rate of uncontrollable social vices in the land and the innocent Nigerians are the ones at the receiving end,” he cautioned.