It took Dora Akunyili to enlighten Nigerians about the criminals using fake drugs to send citizens to untimely departure from Planet Earth. Now, we have Tunji Bello, taking the bull by the horns and daring petrol bandits who rob under the cover of market forces.
Not many attached much importance to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) until Bello assumed office as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/ Vice Chairman in June 2024. You know, there are so many funny Federal Government parastatals. Some of them exist only on paper, for political and quota system relevance.
The Strait of Hormuz did not mean much to Third World petrol consumers until Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu took war to Tehran in the bid to decimate Iran. When Ayatollah Kameni was taken out, it signaled the beginning of woes as global economy wore a terrible look.
Iran resorted to oil politics and refused to die. Whatever affected Iranians was also felt by the rest of the world. For the crooks who decide the next billionaires from Niger Delta resources, war became good business at the expense of compatriots.
Before that Gulf War, the pump price of petrol in Nigeria had gone down to below 700 naira per litre, from nearly 1000 naira earlier. When President Bola Tinubu was inaugurated in May 2023, his first act was to remove subsidy on petroleum products. Hell was let loose and from below 200 naira per litre, marketeers began to asphyxiate consumers.
