Peter Obi Accuses Tinubu, Of Inadequate Plans Over Iran W@r (Nigeria)

 Peter Obi, an opposition figure known for always speaking his mind on topical issues in Nigeria ever since he lost the  2023 presidential election to president Tinubu.

         Peter Obi.       Courtesy: Google 

This moment in history where there is an outbreak of the Iran w@r and its effects on Nigeria is no exception. 

This evening, Obi released a statement in which he said, "Many people wonder why any adverse development in the global economy quickly impacts Nigeria. A recent example is the tension involving Iran, which led to an increase in global oil prices and, subsequently, a rise in petroleum prices in Nigeria".

He complained that few weeks ago, petrol was selling for less than ₦1,000 per litre, but today it costs over ₦1,200 per litre, and that diesel, which was also priced below ₦1,000 per litre, is now over ₦1,500 per litre. Obi said hese rapid increases illustrate how quickly external shocks can affect the Nigerian economy.

"The reason for this is straightforward: most countries, whether they are oil-producing or non-oil-producing, maintain strategic petroleum reserves to cushion against supply or price shocks. This means that when there is a disruption in the global oil market, they can release part of these reserves to stabilize supply," pointedly adding, "However, Nigeria lacks such a buffer, so the impact is felt almost immediately.

He expressly accused Tinubu of lack of planing for the sudden w@r. "The underlying issue is a lack of planning. Countries that engage in planning create buffers against shocks, while those that do not, remain vulnerable to them. The old maxim remains true: when a country fails to plan, it has already planned to fail," he concluded.

But, this flies in the face of logic. The Ukrainian w@r which predates this current w@r had done a good job of causing economic downturn worldwide. With the advent of the cute administration at the moment when that w@r broke out definitely incapacitated effective enablement of a petroleum reserve. 

The NNPC, the national petroleum agency for the country, frittered away huge sums of money that could go turned the refineries around thereby setting the nation on that course. It's a good thing that Mele Kyari the former topshot at the corporation is now facing probes aimed at recouping the funds.