Published: 17.03.2022 – 17:42
A massive power outage earlier this week has plunged Nigeria into darkness, with residents struggling to connect to private generators. With the war in Ukraine, barrel prices skyrocketed, causing a gasoline shortage that paralyzed the country’s economy.
The bad news came on Tuesday, March 15, in the late afternoon. “Due to the shutdown of the entire electricity network, we regret to inform you of a supply interruption,” one of the main energy suppliers in Nigeria explains on Twitter, drawing the ire of the population.
An old, yet another network failure has already plunged this entire country of 220 million people into darkness. If load shedding and other breakdowns in Nigeria are common, this time the situation seems to have reached a critical level. “Without fuel, without electricity, how could Nigeria function?” the surfer asks. “And we must continue to work in these terrible conditions, to earn money and pay for this useless government,” argues another.
For several weeks, Nigeria had to deal with sporadic power distribution. The country’s aging infrastructure partly explains this daily network tension. On top of these structural problems, the national oil company (NNPC) is now experiencing growing supply difficulties at the nation’s power plants.
“The reasons for our problems are, on the one hand, the war in Ukraine, and on the other hand, permanent vandalism against our oil pipelines. Normally, Nigeria produces enough to fill 250 tankers a month, but due to sabotage, only 142 ships. loaded,” explains RFI Muhammadu Lawal, board member of NNPC.
On Monday, an explosion occurred at the oil pipeline of the Italian giant Eni in southern Nigeria, which led to a reduction in exports and an oil spill. Another incident, also attributed to vandalism, took place a few days earlier.
Aircraft grounded
To overcome the shortage of electricity, Nigerians are turning to private generators, but with electricity shortages and doubling gas prices, running generators is becoming more and more difficult.
“There has been no electricity since yesterday and we are running on a generator,” Julius Adewale told AFP at his bakery in Lagos. Consequence: “Our cost of production has increased significantly.”
“I buy fuel on the black market. The price is a little higher than before, and I have to transfer this increase to my prices. Not everyone can afford it, so I’m losing clients, ”Solomon, for his part, laments. Iroh, a hairdresser, was interviewed by CGTN Africa.
This deficit also has implications for the air travel sector, which has barely recovered from the Covid-19 crisis. Several local airlines such as Air Peace or Dana Air have announced that they have to delay or cancel flights due to lack of kerosene.
“The situation is getting really worrisome. Prices for services and products are going up,” confirms Chinwe Osundu, correspondent for France 24 in Lagos, who describes the long queues in front of gas stations in the country’s economic capital.
Already struggling with inflation exceeding 15%, this energy crisis is beginning to affect the entire economy of the country. A blow to Nigeria, where more than a third of the population lives below the poverty line on less than $1.90 a day.
Oil producer but dependent
This deficit situation illustrates the paradox faced by Africa’s leading oil-producing country. Despite its gigantic reserves of black gold, Nigeria imports more than 90% of its fuel due to the almost complete lack of refining capacity.
“Nigeria is the only OPEC member suffering from a shortage of refining capacity. The use of low-quality fuel is one of the many costs for our dependence on imports,” laments the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard.
To meet its needs, the country entered into agreements allowing it to exchange crude oil for refined oil. However, world prices for black gold have skyrocketed since the start of the war in Ukraine. In recent days, the price per barrel seems to be stabilizing around $100.
This rise in oil prices is putting a huge strain on Nigeria’s public finances, as the government spends several billion dollars a year in subsidies to keep prices below market levels. At any cost, which must last at least until the next presidential election, scheduled for February 2023.