Doubtless that it changed the government and governed relationship, the echoes of the one-week strike over the hike in the pump price of fuel still reverberate across every sphere of the nation’s life. Things have changed and NICK UDENTA captures the enduring flux of the strike.
Some weeks back, the nation`s economy was brought to its knees as a result of the strike called by labour unions and civil societies in Nigeria. Analyses coming from various quarters of the economy show that Nigeria lost over N500 billion during the one-week strike. But as the nation continues to count its losses some believe that there is the other side of the coin which many people have refused to look at.
Mr. Albert Aboh deals on second-hand items that include shoes and clothes. He buys his goods across the border in Cotonu, capital of Benin republic, and brings them to Abuja through Lagos. Aboh is always on the road, either on his way to or back from Cotonu. A very busy man, Aboh hardly makes out time for his family and even for himself.
However, the little time Mr Aboh would have spent with his three kids and wife is often spent at one of the joints in Mararaba area of Abuja where he lives. On effects of the strike, he said, “The strike was bad because it didn’t allow us to find food for our children and most of us who depend on daily earning found it difficult to feed.” However, he added that the strike offered him the opportunity to give quality time to his family.
He said, “I was forced to stay at home whether I like it or not and both my wife and children were happy that I was with them.” According to Albert all the drinking joints were closed thereby forcing him and his drinking pals to stay indoors.
As for Mrs Aboh, who is a hair dresser, the strike was a blessing in disguise because what they lost in money was gained in family bonding.
Also for Mrs Jane Johnson, who is a banker and a single mother, the strike was a moment of sober reflection for everybody. “I used the moment to pray and reflect on my life. It also offered me the opportunity to stay with Uzoho, my only daughter.”
Apart from family bonding, the one week strike also provided a fine opportunity for procreation according Dr. Joseph Akago, a gynaecologist who runs a private hospital in Wuse, Abuja. He said that the chances of getting pregnant are more under such relaxed atmosphere and couples who wish to make more babies had their stars to thank if the woman was in the mood.
Besides the impact at the family level, the nation also felt tremors of the strike and its aftershocks.
Mr. Osahome Etum, a political scientist and a social analyst says: “The strike actually provided a rallying point for the masses, cutting across ethnic, regional and religious boundary. That is good for the polity as it tends to bring the country together amidst the attempt by the militant group, Boko Haram, to create disaffection among the various ethnic and religious groups in Nigeria.”
However, he says that whether the event will bring along good tidings or bad ones will depend on how the government manages the situation.?
While Osahome took a look at the management of the crisis, Barrister Agnes Okagbue is concerned about the shocking revelations that keep coming out by the day. “You can see what is going on at the ad-hoc committee [of the House of Representatives] set up to probe the fuel subsidy regime. These revlations would not have been possible if not for the strike. Also you can see that the Petroleum Industrial Bill (PIB) is getting some attention and the people are now better informed about this subsidy.”
The issue of being well-informed of the subsidy matter was also re-echoed by Miss Josephine Oche, a student of Chemical Engineering at Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). She says if not for the strike the typical Nigerian will never bother to know what fuel subsidy is all about. “But the strike has offered the ordinary man on the street the opportunity to even know how much is being paid as subsidy and other details concerning the petroleum money,” She says.
With the strike forcing the government to swallow its pride and reduce the pump price of fuel to N97 per litre from the all-time high of N141, most Nigerians believe that the one-week strike has provided the government a rare opportunity to tackle certain contentious issues that were avoided in the past. It also means that the government has been given the opportunity to fish out some individuals who have been milking the country dry as well as those who seem untouchable. As one Nigerian said, “The government should hit the iron while it’s still red hot.
They should capitalise on the opportunity provided by the strike so as to ensure that all the blood wasted during the ‘KataKata’ is not in vain.”