Foreigners in their fatherland: Sorry tales of border residents denied access to energy

A sad picture of hardship and desperation keeps emerging in the border communities of Ogun State. It has been five years since the Nigerian government banned fuel supply in their areas. For residents of border communities in Ipokia Local Government Area, the hardship has only worsened as they struggle for energy like foreigners in their fatherland. DARE OLAWIN writes about the pains of the people and their unavailing pleas to the Federal Government for succour

In 2019, former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had, through the Nigeria Customs Service, stopped fuel supply to all filling stations within 20-kilometre distance from the nation’s borders to stop the smuggling of the product through these borders. This, however, had negative effects on the locals inhabiting these usually neglected geographical locations. The former Customs Comptroller-General, Hameed Ali, had directed that “no petroleum product, no matter the tank size is permitted to be discharged in any filling station within 20km to the border.”

The Federal Government was of the view that subsidised fuel meant for Nigerians was being diverted to neighbouring countries by smugglers, leaving the nation in heavy financial burden. Since then, Ogun indigenes living in border communities said they had been paying the excruciating price as they go through a lot to get the fuel needed to power vehicles, bikes, generators and other engines. Countless, they said, is the number of lives and properties gutted by fire as people transport or harbour the highly flammable commodity.

The PUNCH gathered that residents of the agrarian Ipokia, Agosasa, Idiroko, Ajegunle, Ibatefin, Tube, Ijofin, Maun, Ifonyintedo, Madoga, Agada and other communities in the area now buy fuel at over N1,600 per litre from local retailers otherwise known as ‘black marketers’. According to them, the Federal Government had been “punishing” them for having been created by God at the borders between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin.
It was also observed that the abandoned filling stations standing by the roads in Ipokia Local Government are now places of abode to animals, rodents and reptiles. In some cases, hoodlums converted the petrol stations into their hideouts, vandalising the same and plunging the owners into further debt.

Since the subsidy was removed, the government has refused to lift the ban on the supply of petrol to border communities. This left residents at the mercy of black-market vendors, who sell petrol at exorbitant prices. Meanwhile, calls to the Federal Government for a resolution to the crisis have been met with silence. The situation is having a severe impact on the lives of ordinary people in these areas who are struggling to make ends meet. Not only are they denied access to fuel, but the people cannot recall the last time their bulbs received current from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company. In short, energy poverty is a major challenge facing the border residents.

Crossing rivers to buy fuel
In their quest to get fuel, which is an essential commodity for their day-to-day activities, residents who spoke with our correspondent explained how they usually travel miles and cross the rivers in most cases to buy fuel in Badagry, Lagos State.

“In most cases, those of us in Ipokia town and environs will go to Badagry through the rivers in Akere, Zigi, Tafa, or Vawhe Hundo to get petrol. That is too much pain to bear. And when you’re coming back, law enforcement agents will start running after you as if you have carried contraband. They will be acting as if Badagry and Ipokia are outside Nigeria. We’ve lost lives and property in our ultimate search for PMS. It is sad.

“Even if you travel almost 25km to Ajilete or Owode, the law enforcement agents will be asking you for money. For a 25-litre keg, we pay between N100 and N200. If you refuse to bribe, customs will seize your fuel. That is what we face here. No human being should be facing that kind of pain under this present condition of Nigeria.

“The few people who have the energy to get fuel by all means are the black marketers. They go through a lot to get fuel and resell to us at about N1,600 or more. If not for them, we wouldn’t have access to fuel at all. I can’t remember the last time we had power. We are suffering,” explained a trader, Mrs Yinka Alabi.

After President Tinubu removed subsidies from fuel on May 29, 2023, many had called on the Federal Government to lift the ban on petroleum products in the border communities, but the government has since remained silent. During his visits to Ogun State last year, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, agreed with traditional rulers and residents that the policy has to be reviewed following the removal of the subsidy. The NCS boss assured residents of Ipokia and other border communities in Nigeria that efforts were ongoing to resume the supply of petroleum products in their areas soon.

“On fuel supply in border communities, we are actively monitoring the situation. If you remember, there was a resolution by the Senate expressing the same concern. We also have a shared understanding of this. We have made our position known to the National Security Adviser and we are hoping that in the next few days, there might be a review of this policy,” Adeniyi said while addressing newsmen in Abeokuta.

However, over five months later, the Federal Government has yet to consider lifting the ban, leaving border dwellers in more hardship compared to what other Nigerians endure as a result of fuel subsidy removal.
Policy discriminatory, says legal practitioner

The Baamofin of Ipokia Kingdom, Lawal Orisadare, a legal practitioner, described the policy as discriminatory, saying it was against the provisions of Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. According to Orisadare, the ban on fuel supply makes the people of the border community aliens in their own country, creating an artificial boundary in Ajilete and carving out the Ipokia Local Government out of the 774 Local Governments listed in the constitution.

“Much as we appreciate the objective of the policy, which was mainly to curb the smuggling of petroleum products, I wish to state emphatically that the policy is discriminatory. It offends the provision of Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as altered. The policy discriminates against the people of Ipokia Local Government. It makes them aliens in their country. It has created an artificial boundary in Ajilete, thus carving out Ipokia LG out of the 774 Local Governments listed in the constitution of Nigeria.

“Honestly, the refusal of the Federal Government to lift the ban on fuel supply to Ipokia Local Government keeps inflicting unimaginable pains on the people of the Local Government. It has increased the cost of living in the area. More worrisome is the dependence of the people on the individually generated power supply as there is barely a public power supply to the Ipokia Local Government. Of course, the alternative is the use of PMS or diesel for running their generators,” Orisadare sternly asserted.

He said that the government needs to consider the plight of the owners of the petrol stations within the local government, saying, “The ban has impoverished virtually all of them. Most of them can’t afford to send their children to school because the policy has affected their sources of livelihood adversely.”

The legal practitioner described as painful, the fact that residents of the area have to travel far out of Ipokia to buy fuel. “What is the sense in driving one’s car to Ajilete, which is about 24km away from Idiroko to buy 20 litres of PMS?” he queried.

He appealed to Tinubu to urgently lift the ban, especially after he had removed the fuel subsidy, stating, “I plead with Mr President to consider our people. Since the subsidy has been removed, we pray to President Bola Tinubu to have mercy on the people of Ipokia Local Government,” he added.
Economic activities grounded

The Chairman of the Ipokia Youth Development Council, Idowu Ajibade, said the continued ban of petroleum products in border communities is no longer justified by the removal of subsidy, adding that it has grounded economic activities in the area.

“Now that the subsidy has been removed, all the fuel stations should be opened for business to alleviate the suffering our people go through daily to get the product. No doubt, the ban has affected the entire communities in Ipokia Local Government. Firstly, the economic activities of the area have been grounded for well over four years now. The economic environment is not friendly for any business that uses the PMS and diesel. There are difficulties in the movement of goods particularly farm produce from the farm to the market,” Ajibade remarked.

According to him, the people now find it difficult to use their vehicles and generators, while youths who are artisans have been closing shops as a result of fuel scarcity.

“Our people in the Local Government would have to travel more than 25km before they can get fuel. And when they are coming back, the harassment and the brutality they get from security operatives along the road are too much.

“Most times, the security agents seize the fuel from them while they are returning, no matter how small. This act by the so-called officers on the road has made some of our people resort to buying what is called the ‘black market’ for as high as N1,600 per litre.

“We, as a people in the borders across the country, and Ipokia Local Government in particular, are pleading with the government of APC and President Bola Tinubu to kindly revisit the policy and allow fuel to reach the border areas by lifting the ban and telling the security operatives on the roads to be professional in discharging their duties. We are Nigerians and we should be considered as Nigerians.”
Our youths die, says lawmaker

The lawmaker representing Idiroko/Ipokia State Constituency, Bisi Oyedele, regretted that youths in his constituency keep losing their lives in the struggle to access petroleum products. Oyedele, who did not agree with the claim that the government had refused to lift the ban, recalled that a committee was set up last year by the National Assembly to go around the border formations, to appraise the policy, and its effect on the people while making recommendations.

“The committee did its job and gave recommendations. Part of the recommendations given was for the 20km restriction of PMS to border communities to be lifted and the Federal Government said that it was a work in progress,” he stated.

The lawmaker, however, affirmed that the policy has gravely affected his constituents, mostly farmers and artisans who require transporting their goods and services at all times, saying the inability to get PMS has caused a backdrop of such.
Oyedele posited that the policy has “culminated in untimely death for some of our youths in their bid to source or store the product for future usage which is unnecessary if filling stations are all operational”.

He corroborated the views of others that his “people go as far as Ajilete and Owode to get fuel measuring about 25 to 30km and those who cannot travel that far get it from roadside sellers at exorbitant prices.”

In his plea, Oyedele called on President Tinubu “to follow up on the reforms and the recommendations of the National Assembly committee to lift the ban.”
Monarch decries harassment

Meanwhile, the Alase of Ilase, Oba John Olaifa, has decried the incessant harassment of people living in border communities by security agents. Olaifa said personnel of the various security agencies allegedly make life unbearable for those living along the Ajilete-Idiroko road, treating them like they were not Nigerians.

The monarch condemned the killing of one Eniola Adeleye, a Senior Secondary School 1 student of Mayigi Community High School, Ilase, on November 30, 2023. Adeleye was reportedly knocked down by a policeman identified as Freedom while chasing a fleeing driver with his car.

Speaking, the traditional ruler said the death of Adeola gave a poignant reminder of similar incidents that had happened in the past, wondering when the killing of innocent souls would stop in the border area. Olaifa bemoaned how indigenes and residents of Ipokia Local Government are being treated by government agents enforcing the ban on fuel supply.

“How all security agents in this area treat our people is not good. They treat us as if we are from another country; like we are not Nigerians. You can’t come here freely. Indigenous people of this area in the diaspora don’t like coming home because of the way these security agents treat them. They use power over us as if we are in a lawless nation,” he stated.

The monarch recounted the difficulties being faced by the people following the ban on fuel supply to border communities. He narrated how a 30-litre keg of petrol he bought for his power generator was once seized by security agents enforcing the government order.

“When the Federal Government banned the supply of petroleum products within 20km to our area here some years ago, the security agencies called us for a meeting with the heads of customs, immigration, police, the army and others. We agreed at the meeting that anybody who bought one or three kegs of fuel for his personal use should be allowed to pass. But to our surprise, if they see you with just five litres of petrol, they will seize it.
“They once seized my fuel in my car. My driver went to buy 30 litres of fuel for our generator, and they seized it. I went there to ask them why, they said they didn’t know it was mine. The security agents brought out the fuel, but I rejected it. I told them that nobody should be treated better than the others. I told them, ‘Seize my fuel and let’s know the suffering is for everyone, not just the poor masses’. So, I left the petrol and returned home,” he explained.

The monarch kicked against the duplication of checkpoints and roadblocks along the highway as well as the high-handedness of camp boys standing at these roadblocks.

“We face a lot of hardship on this road. The checkpoints on this Idiroko road are uncountable. Police alone have about 30 checkpoints. Anybody in an emergency health situation will die due to too many checkpoints on our road. All the security agencies manned different roadblocks, with many camp boys. Those camp boys are even more brutal than the real security agents; very unfortunate,” he regretted.

He appealed to the government to address these issues and make border residents feel like true citizens of Nigeria, urging Tinubu to lift the ban on fuel supply to border communities.

Fuel marketers lament

Meanwhile, petroleum marketers are lamenting the continued ban on the supply of petroleum products in border communities. The marketers whose businesses are being affected by the decision said their pleas to the Federal Government have yet to get the needed attention.

The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, told The PUNCH in an interview that the ban has affected the businesses of its members in the border areas.
Maigandi said the government told IPMAN in 2019 that terrorists and bandits were getting fuel supply through the filling stations along the national frontiers, aside from those diverting subsidised fuel to other countries.

He disclosed that the marketers have lost their sources of livelihood as the government policy ruined their investments.

“We are not happy about the policy. But the reason why we didn’t talk much about it was because the government said they wanted to reduce insecurity in the country, and they were suspecting that was the means through which bandits get fuel. As a patriotic Nigerian, immediately you hear that, you have no option but to listen to the government.

“But at the end of the day, we realised that those marketers have to be allowed to sell fuel in their filling stations because already they have the licence and some of them have lost their businesses after investing a huge amount of money to construct filling stations,” Maigandi said.

He stated that the association had resumed discussing the issue, telling the present government that the marketers be allowed to go back to their normal businesses.

“I know our marketers are not happy, and we are seriously talking to the government on their behalf. We are in this together, we are all affected. They said some marketers are taking the product outside the country, but we realised that IPMAN members are not the ones smuggling fuel because we are not even getting the product, let alone taking it to another country.

“We are still talking about it. We have gone to the NSA, and we still go back to him,” he added.
The Chairman of the Oil and Gas Traders Association in Ogun State, Surajudeen Bada, said the ban was a somersault of government policies, stressing that the filling stations were approved by the government ab initio.

Bada, a former IPMAN Chairman in Ogun, said, “Our members are suffering too much. One could not even imagine how people travel about 40km to get fuel. Our marketers along border areas are crying. They have complained to us, we have made official representations, even up to the National Assembly.

“If the agencies supervising the borders do their work, a trailer is not a bicycle that will pass without them without seeing it. The agencies should do their work to stop those smuggling fuel. That’s our position. A trailer is not an invisible item”.

Conclusion

The crisis in Ogun State’s border communities starkly underscores the severe consequences of neglecting energy security in policy decisions. The Federal Government’s persistent ban on fuel supply to these areas, compounded by the removal of subsidies, has thrust the residents into an enduring struggle for basic energy needs. The residents of Ipokia Local Government Area are trapped in a dire situation where accessing fuel involves exorbitant costs and perilous journeys, further complicated by frequent harassment from security agents.

Energy security, a fundamental aspect of daily life and economic stability, has become a distant dream for these communities. The lack of affordable and reliable fuel has crippled essential services, from transportation to powering generators, leaving residents to cope with frequent power outages and inflated black market prices. This policy-induced energy deprivation has not only inflicted financial strain but has also endangered lives, as people resort to hazardous methods to secure fuel.

The urgent need to address this crisis cannot be overstated. The Federal Government must recognise that energy security is not a luxury but a necessity for these border communities. Ensuring access to affordable fuel and revisiting the discriminatory policy is essential for alleviating the suffering of the residents and restoring their basic rights. Only through such measures can we hope to bring relief to these Nigerians, who are currently enduring an unjust struggle in their quest for essential energy resources.