BBC — Lagos entrepreneur and resident Taiwo Ogunloye, 39, tells the BBC's Fidelis Mbah how he foresees the general strike planned for Wednesday affecting every aspect of life, just as the fuel price increases have done to the Nigerian people.
Here below Mr. Ogunloye speaks in his own words:
“Many Nigerians sell fuel for a living. The recent increase at the pumps has virtually affected every aspect of day-to-day activities.
“Before former President Olusegun Obasanjo handed over power, the price of petrol was 55 Nigerian naira ($0.43) per litre. Now it has gone up to 75 naira ($0.59).
“Invariably that affects the price of kerosene and I depend on the trading of kerosene to support my family.
“I buy the fuel in bulk and then my wife decants it into small bottles and sells onto people who can only afford to buy small amounts at a time to for their cooking.
“With 1,000 naira I used to be able to buy 15 litres. But now one litre costs me 85 naira ($0.67) and so I can only buy 12 litres.
“Our family income is reduced by 20%.
“But everything else has gone up in response to the price hikes - tomatoes, bread, all foodstuffs, clothes, transport... a loaf of bread used to be 100 naira ($0.78) but now it is between 120 and 150 naira ($1.18).
“Even rent has gone up because landlords have seized this opportunity to also increase their rates.
Master over the servants
“Those who are in power don't really know how we feel. They have opportunities at their beck and call. If the president wants to go out now, he doesn't need to buy fuel.
“The president doesn't feel what we, the people, are feeling.
“On Wednesday, me and my family are going to be part of the strike. I will stay at home, watch TV, that is if there is light because the strike will affect every aspect of life now.
“Before we know it, the social life of people will stall.
“Today, in the banks there are queues of people waiting to withdraw their money. The planned strike has sent an alarm into homes. ‘Go and collect your money,’ meaning that if your home is not well-stocked financially, you might be stuck at home.
“If there is no compromise between government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) then the result of the strike will be terrible on the state of the nation. It will almost kill every aspect of commercial activity.
“But I foresee the strike going ahead because the government will not be seen as a coward. They want to be the master over the servants.”
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LAGOS — Nigeria's main cities were reported to be very quiet on Wednesday, June 20, the first day of a general strike called by trade unions.
Office blocks were empty in central Lagos, with long queues at petrol stations. Schools and offices were shut in the northern city of Kano.
Police have cleared some barricades in the capital, Abuja, set up by strikers.
The government offered concessions on fuel and value-added tax rises on Tuesday, but the trade union federation said it was "too little, too late".
Nigeria's Labour Congress also wants the government to reverse the sale of oil refineries.
Strike voices
"Today's action is a boom for my business" Abuja bus driver
The strike is seen as the first major test for new President Umaru Yar'Adua since he took over last month.
The BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says that for the strike to really hurt the government, it has to have an impact on the oil industry that provides 90 per cent of its revenues.
Local staff at oil companies in the Niger Delta, have joined the strike, but it will probably be some time before oil production is affected.
In the past strikes have not lasted long.
The government has already reached a separate deal with oil and transport unions who went on strike last Friday, leading to fuel shortages.
Bus fares doubled
Correspondents say that in major cities, most schools, banks, businesses and government offices are closed.
“ Those who are in power don't really know how the people feel,” aaid Taiwo Ogunloye of Lagos. 'I will stay at home'
Lagos's streets are deserted and there is no public transport in Abuja where some strikers set up barricades to stop other traffic.
Police either dismantled the barricades or directed cars around them. At one barricade a small bonfire was lit by the strikers.
The unions were angry at a series of measures pushed though in the last days of the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo, who stepped down last month.
The price of petrol was increased from 65 naira (51 US cents) a litre to 75.
The government has now reportedly offered to reduce this to 70 naira (55 cents).
Transport fares have doubled in some areas following the fuel price hike.
The government has also offered to increase civil service salaries by 15 per cent — another union demand.
Our reporter says that subsidised fuel is one of the very few benefits Nigerians have seen from their oil wealth since the government has failed to provide even basic services.
This is why the unions are insisting in a complete reversal in the fuel price rise.
"Those who are in power don't really know how the people feel," Lagos resident Taiwo Ogunloye told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
He said he would join in the strike and stay at home and watch TV "as long as there is light", he said.
Tough choice
Dino Mahthani, West Africa correspondent of the UK's Financial Times, told the BBC that the government was stuck between a rock and a hard place on the refineries.
The strike could be Umaru Yar'Adua's first real test
He says that despite being a major oil producer, it has hardly any refining capacity because the equipment is in such a poor state.
To give the owners an incentive to put money into the refineries, the government should stop subsidising the price of fuel, he says.
But this would lead to a lot of angry people in the cities, who would accuse the government of making their lives harder, he says.
A further complication is that the new owners are among the richest people in the country, with strong links to the ruling party.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer but had to import most of its petrol because of the poor state of its refineries.
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The benefits of oil are not flowing to local people, say militants
LAGOS (BBC) — Nigeria's army has recaptured an oil platform occupied by militants since Sunday after a gun battle.
Military sources say 12 militants, two civilians and a soldier were killed in the operation, which last for hours.
Nine civilian hostages were rescued in the operation, army commander Lawrence Ngubane told the BBC.
Italian firm Eni, which operates the platform, had said that about 28 people had been taken hostage — the reason for the discrepancy is not clear.
Brig Gen Ngubane refused to comment on the casualty figures but said the army was in "full control" of the platform.
The BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar in the Niger Delta said local villagers had fled the area in case they were caught up in heavy fighting.
The army had sent in troops reinforcements and four gunboats ahead of the battle.
President Umaru Yar'Adua pledged to try and bring peace to Nigeria's oil region when he took office last month.
'Injustice'
Last week, militant leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari was freed from prison on bail on health grounds after spending almost two years in custody on treason charges.
His release had been one of the main demands of the armed groups who have staged attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta.
He has since urged his followers not to take hostages.
"We are fighting injustice, we should not do injustice to other people," he said on his return to the main oil city, Port Harcourt.
But there are many different armed group in the region — some with political demands for more of Nigeria's oil wealth to be used to help local people, others criminal, seeking ransom payments from foreign oil companies.
Our reporter says no group has claimed responsibility for the seizure of the Ogboinbiri platform in Bayelsa State.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer but most of its people live in poverty.
The violence in the Niger Delta has led to a 25% cut in Nigeria's output, costing about $4bn last year.
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