Nigeria National Fuel Strike Ends

On Monday, labour unions in Nigeria suspended a strike that was paralysing the economy, which is the third-largest on the continent, for over a week. The suspension followed President Goodluck Jonathan offering to partially reinstate a subsidy on fuel. The announcement came in a televised speech by the president. He said in the speech that Nigeria will use its vast oil revenue again to subsidise fuel prices at the pump at a fixed price of 97 naira per litre. This move will essentially reduce petrol costs by about one-third compared to the current price.

Additionally, Jonathan ordered troops onto the streets and public squares in major cities, where tens of thousands of demonstrators had met in protest of the high fuel prices, which had more than doubled after the president axed the subsidy on January 1. The subsidy had kept petrol prices at just 65 maira per litre and was scrapped in order to raise $7.5 billion to fund infrastructure. The government had argued that most of the $7.5 billion spent to maintain the subsidy every year was lost to corruption but would be better used for infrastructure – like revamping refineries, roads and maternity clinics. However, the public protested in a rare display of unity – Muslim and Christian communities joined each other.

Labour union leaders repeatedly demanded that the full subsidy be returned, but they called the compromise on Monday a victory. Nigerian Labour Congress president Abdulwahed Omar said that Nigerians demonstrated in the eight days of strikes, shutdowns, street protests, debates and mass rallies that they can’t be taken for granted. His union is the larger of the two involved.

However, Financial Derivatives Company Ltd., Lagos managing director Bismark Rewane says that this is only the beginning, as the public has discovered that the government can be vulnerable. This announcement isn’t a victory for anyone, as the government still has to administer the subsidy, which is full of corruption and has holes. The public is paying more and the unions have lost credibility, he added.

After the subsidy was partially returned, the country’s largest city, Lagos, was rather quiet on Monday while soldiers patrolled the highways. It hadn’t been unclear how the public would react to the president’s approach to the situation – using the military to enforce the new fuel price. The move marks a substantial reversal of policy for Jonathan, who is faced with one of the most challenging times in his two-year presidency. In addition to the national protests lately, he has had to deal with several attacks from Boko Haram, an Islamic militant group that has killed more than 60 people in the last two weeks.