Fuel Scarcity, Electricity: The Osun Masterminds Calls For Schools’ Closure

A group, The Osun Masterminds, has called for the closure of schools across Nigeria over the fuel scarcity in the country.

The Osun Masterminds described the fuel scarcity as meaningless, saying Nigerians have been facing one of the toughest experiences in the country.

The group made the call at a press conference addressed by its Executive Director, Prof. Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli, in Osogbo, Osun State, on Tuesday.

It said, “In just a few days of this meaningless fuel scarcity, Nigerians have faced one of the toughest experiences of their lives. Students have had to return home, unable to get to their respective schools due to shortage of public transportation.

The economy is getting crippled by the day as workers and informal sector operators are also unable to get to their places of work.

“We recommend the shutting down of schools maybe for a few weeks while this scarcity lasts to avoid the children and their parents suffering unduely.

“In the midst of all of these, the power situation in recent times have been the worst Nigerians have experienced in recent history. Yet, government has not made any clear statements about the worsening situations across the power and petroleum industries. This is grossly irresponsible.”

The Osun Masterminds also called on the Federal government to act immediately to solve all the problems pertaining to “epileptic power supply and fuel scarcity, to stop the untold hardship that Nigerians are currently going through”, adding that “we cannot be living like slaves in our own country, under a democratic governance”.

The group said: “If solving the current hardship requires that some government officials be sacked, government must take that decisive action now.

“Government must also immediately tell Nigerians what the state of the Port-Harcourt Refinery is. Promises upon promises have been made to make the nation’s refineries start work in no distant time, with the added promise that this will crash the price of petroleum products in the country. Nigerians are waiting for the actualization of these promises and must not be made to wait for too long.

“The Federal Government must act responsibly and make good the promises it made on the power and petroleum sectors, failing which Nigerians may be forced to take to the streets to protest the current mismanagement of our critical sectors.”

The Osun Masterminds further called on the Osun State Government and other states in the country to immediately take charge of the state’s electricity regulation, with decisive steps like the recently launch of an Electricity Regulatory Agency by the Ekiti State Government.

“It is high time the states took charge of the delivery of electricity to their people, to ensure development in their respective domains,” it stressed.

The Osun Masterminds while calling for the removal of the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu said: “We again reiterate our call for the sack of the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu by the president. His insistence on classification of users to bands is as absurd as ridiculous.

“Use of Electricity is a social contract and every Nigerian irrespective of class should have access to quality and regular supply of electricity. We have come so far as a nation to have overcome the self inflicted pain occasioned by lack of power.

“While business suffer and many daily close down, declaring a state of emergency in the power sector is long overdue and it is time that the problem of power supply be solved once and for all if we must have a prosperous economy.”

Speaking on the security situation in Ijesaland in Osun State, the group said recently, a case of farmer/herder clash led to the loss of life in Ibala-Ijesa.

According to the group, the incident added to the “already long list of unfortunate incidences in Ijesaland, that government must sit up to solve”.

It added: “Part of solving the problem is coming up with clear-cut agricultural policies that not only ensures massive food production, but also guarantees the security of lives of farmers and others within the agricultural value chain, limiting incidences of conflict to the barest minimum.

“Part of solving the problem is also more efficient management of our internal security architecture to ward off invaders who come in from other state, to cause needless conflicts and clashes in our dear state.

“We must then ensure that perpetrators of evil are brought to justice and severely dealt with within the ambits of the law.”

The Osun Masterminds, therefore, commended Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, for his decision to commence the dualisation of Ilesa road in the state.