THE EFFECT OF FUEL SCARCITY ON NIGERIAN ECONOMY: A SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ENUGU URBAN:

ABSTRACT

            Fuel is a form of energy, according to Longman English Dictionary; fuel is a form of energy used for production. In that case, its scarcity will affect the living standard of the people in various ways.

1).        It increases the cost of transportation

2).        Social unrest

3).        Electrical Faults

4).        The cost of food items and living

5).        Adulteration of fuel

            The effects of fuel scarcity in Enugu metropolis cannot be over emphasized for it is of the very player for all economic attribute to move on.

CAUSES OF FUEL SCARCITY:

1.                  Lack of qualified personnel

2.                  Hoarding of fuel

3.                  Smuggling of fuel

4.                  Inconsistent and poor governmental response

            All these draws a set back on the smooth running of fueling industry. The industry is manned by people who are unpatriotic. They engaged themselves in business activities that lead to scarcity of fuel so as to meet up with their own selfish end. In most cases the facilities are miss-handled by the people without properly looking into it to know if it is capable to produce at a capacity or not.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

1.1       GENERAL BACKGROUND TO THE SUBJECT MATTER

1.2              PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER

1.3              PROBLEMS THAT THE STUDY WILL BE CONCERNED WITH

1.4              THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING THE AREA

1.5              DEFINITION OF IMPORTANT TERMS

1.6              REFERENCES

CHAPTER TWO

2.0       LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1       THE ORIGIN OF THE SUBJECT AREA

2.2              SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT RELEVANT TO THE

            PROBLEMS OF THE STUDY

2.3              THE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT WITHIN THE SUBJECT AREA

2.4              DIFFERENT METHODS OF STUDYING THE PROBLEM

2.5              SUMMARY

            REFERENCES

CHAPTER THREE

3.0       CONCLUSION

3.1       DATA PRESENTATION (HIGHLIGHTS OF THE STUDY)

3.2       ANALYSIS OF THE DATA--------------------------

3.3       RECOMMENDATION-------------------------------

3.4       CONCLUSION---------------------------------------

3.5       REFERENCES--------------------------------------

CHAPTER ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION

1.1       GENERAL BACKGROUND TO THE SUBJECT MATTER

            Just like water and air are important to the living human being for daily duties and hitch-free survival, the importance of fuel to automobile cannot be over looked. A typical situation is in the case halts because of the fact that there is shortage of fuel. The importance of fuel in this our developing and technically inclined economy is fast like the mixture of oil and salt as far as the economy forgets growth as one of its goals. Fuel is used in a variety of activities ranging from production, mobility, cooking, electricity supply, sources of foreign exchange, to mention but a few. To this extent one would accept that fuel plays a great role in the life of every citizen of the country and the country as a whole.

            However, in recent times, there has been a rampant shortage in the availability of the commodity. It is on this basis that the researcher intends to evaluate the causes and effects of fuel scarcity in the Nigerian economy, but shall concentrate on Enugu urban as a case study due to time and financial constraints.

Effects of Fuel Scarcity

            Fuel is a form of energy, according to Longman English Dictionary; fuel is a form of energy used for the energizing of the machine used for production. In that case, its scarcity will affect the living standard of the people in various ways.

a.                   It increases the cost of transportation

b.                  Electrical faults

c.                   The cost of food items and living

d.                  Social unrest

e.                   Adulteration of fuel and so on.

            The effects of fuel scarcity in Enugu metropolis cannot be over emphasized for it is one of the very prayers for the entire economic attribute to move about.

            During 1998 February 12, business activities in Enugu State was brought to a light because there was no fuel. In the state, vehicles were seen in long queues in the filling stations even when there is fuel at the filling station or not. Commuters were stranded in the various bus stops with no hope of motor coming to take them to their various destinations

            Consignment upon this prices of commodities skyrocketed so much beyond the reach of the buyers “News watch publisher Vol.12 November in 1996”. The perennial fuel scarcity in Enugu State has fired production companies to produce at a low capacity, with high price, since the fuel which is used as a nourishing material to the machine which is suppose to be used in production is scarce to get and when gotten the price is 300% (three hundred percent) increase more than the former price. This is why most companies’ products are costly and these tend to scare customers away from the products. Also from the statistics available transportation costs have gone up considerably, making it difficult for customers to get to their various destinations.

            A journey that normally costs ten Naira (N10) a drop now costs twenty Naira (N20) to forty Naira (40) a drop, which represents a total increase of 200 percent. Conversely the daily spending of the average citizen has increased due to the sky rocketed increases in foodstuff, which was occasioned by the fuel scarcity.

            Furthermore, lateness to duty or offices has been heightened as a result of lack of commuter buses and taxis to take them to their various destinations.

            To this end, the effect of fuel scarcity is so great that most indigenes of Enugu State and non-indigenes of Enugu State metropolis are suffering untold hardship.

1.2              PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER

            Problems associated with the effect of fuel scarcity in Nigerian are as follows:

Lack of Qualified Personnel

Poor Management and Maintenance

Hoarding of Fuel

Inconsistent and Poor Government Responses

            All these draw a set back on the smooth running of fueling supply. Hoarding fuel is a big problem because it makes some drivers to pack their cars at home and break to where they are going or enter transport. It is also a problem to students because sometimes student don’t go to school simply because there is no fuel in the filling stations because vehicles cannot move without fuel.

1.3              PROBLEMS THAT THE STUDY WILL BE CONCERN WITH

            The objective of this study is to provide solutions to the above problems the following hypothesis will be looked into.

Good management and maintenance

Consistent and good government response

Government should enact embark on policies

       that will facilitate easy flow

Government should try and reduce the price of

       fuel to be affordable by everybody.

1.4              THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING THE AREA

            Fuel scarcity is a big problem now in Nigeria and it has caused so many things in our country Nigerian. The importance of studying the area is:

To know how to organize things in other to achieve the set down goals or objectives.

            The fuel industry is not a place to exhibit favoritism.

There was a case of a young daughter of a    Minister, a graduate of English in one of the Nigerian Universities. She was employed in the fuel industry to head a department tagged with the allocation of fuel to different parts of the country. Is she supposed to be there? No is the answer. She messed up the economy by not allocating purely on the basis but on a system no one can explain. “Tell on 24 Nov. 17, 1996”.

            Moreover, the important is to know how to handle the facilities used for production of fuel;

to avoid the increasing breakdown of facilities and consequently going up in flames like Kaduna refinery. The fuel is very important product to the country’s economy and for its economic attributes to work out well, it must be readily available anytime it is needed.

            Another importance of studying the areas is to know knowledge of does and don’t of the fuel industry not to be interested on how to make our own quick money by all available means.

            To stop hoarding of fuel so that there will be easy flow of fuel, because this hoarding of fuel contributes in punishing the innocent citizens by creating artificial scarcity.

            To stop struggling of fuel because it is now a common thing in the society. The news is not new to the people.

In 1992 Nigerian lost about N54.8 million out of N22.1 million due to smuggling of fuel.

1.5       DEFINITION OF IMPORTANT TERMS COMMUTER

            It is a person who makes a regular journey of some distance between home and work especially by trains.

ROCKETED

            It is the rising quickly and suddenly of the price.

CONSIGNMENT

            It is the act of sending something to person or place for sale

METROPOLIS

            It is a chief city or the capital city to a country

RAMPANT

            Widespread and impossible to control.

CONSTRAINTS

            It is the threat or use of force to direct the action of others.

HITCH

            It is to fasten by looking a rope or metal part over another object.

MOBILITY

            It is the state or quality of being movable or able to move quickly and easily. Not fixed on one position.

SMUGGLING

            It is the act of taking from one country to another unlawfully especially goods without paying the necessary tax.

HOARDING

            It is the act of storing secretly especially more than is allowed.