“Nothing can make injustice just but mercy.”
In school and in Economics, we were taught about the economic factors affecting the price, demand, and availability of a commodity—any commodity. These factors or forces are mainly divided into four and are called the four major market forces, namely: Government, International Transactions, Speculation and Expectation, and Supply and Demand. In simple terms, as laypeople, we were told that the price of any commodity is determined by the forces of demand and supply. If the demand is high and supply is low, the price will go up. So said our teachers. The commodity in question here is oil, specifically petrol, and the theatre of transaction is Nigeria. The supply of crude is high, and the price of crude is also relatively high. But the supply of petrol is stubbornly low, forcing a defiant rise in petrol prices. Why?
A simple research would reveal that Nigeria’s oil production amounted to about 1.5 million barrels per day in 2023, an increase compared to the previous year. Between 1998 and 2022, the figures decreased by approximately 480,000 barrels per day, and the reasons are numerous. Crude oil sales accounted for the largest chunk of Nigeria’s oil revenue, as N188.15 billion was generated from crude oil sales, while gas sales generated N29.69 billion. The oil sector provides 95% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and 80% of its budgetary revenues. In short, everything about Nigeria is largely dependent on oil, which the country has in abundance. Yet, the same oil is fast becoming a curse, inflicting harm on the comfort of the country. God! What have we done wrong?
On Tuesday, the National oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), announced a change in the pump price of petrol in Nigeria, increasing it from ₦568 to ₦855-₦897 per litre, depending on the location. Already, black marketers were selling at higher prices, some as high as ₦1,200 per litre. The company admitted, to the embarrassment of many, that it was struggling to maintain fuel supplies due to financial difficulties. Financial difficulties at a time when the country said it had removed fuel subsidies to overcome the same financial difficulties? God! What have we done wrong?
Following this price increase, everything in the country has been set for a price review, including, I think, the cost of breathing. According to the NNPCL, foreign exchange illiquidity has been a significant factor influencing the fluctuation in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol. These factors are governed by unrestricted free market forces, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). Essentially, the company is saying that the fate of the people, as far as the purchase of petrol is concerned, is dependent on market forces. Well, that is pure economics, which is legal. But beyond economics, there is the issue of governance, which has the duty of comparing the performance of different sectors under different conditions and moderating where necessary, with a view to bringing sanity to the system. And that is moral.
Governments maintain the legal and social framework, provide public goods and services, redistribute income, mitigate externalities, and stabilize the economy. These are the statutory responsibilities of any government, including our own government of Nigeria, which has pledged to do justice to all. Lawyers say justice is rendered when people receive their due, according to the law, be it God’s law or man’s law. An act of justice is typically an act of law, and it might be an act of vengeance and force. Mercy, on the other hand, means exercising forbearance. An act of mercy is an act of grace and compassion. The emphasis on compassion is mine, with the hope that it will draw the attention of the government.
The same lawyers say justice can be tempered with mercy. Justice, which by nature involves retribution, can be softened by mercy. This includes merciful interventions in the market.
Perhaps, it is in an effort to enact this aspect of tempering justice with mercy, and also in readiness to activate the role of the first among the four major market forces, which is Government, that Vice President Kashim Shettima summoned the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and the Group Managing Director of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, to his office yesterday. Also summoned was the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. By virtue of the composition and the strategic importance of the people invited, expectations are clearly aligned with the move to modify the forces of the market by moderating them with the forces of mercy.
May Allah make it so, Ameen. Because nothing can make injustice just but mercy.
This version has corrected grammar, punctuation, and some word choice for clarity and flow.
