Crisis may further get deepened in Nigeria as the biggest union of oil and gas workers have threatened that they will shut down the entire production process from next Sunday. The union has got 20,000 members and they have decided to take part in the nationwide strike which has started against the sudden increase of oil prices by the Government.
The nationwide strike started on Monday when the Nigerian government decided to end the subsidy on gas prices for the Nigerian consumers. Demonstrations have spread across the nation and it has already left 10 people dead.
The demonstration has gone to such a level because of some simple reasons. If the entire subsidy is removed, the gas prices are going to get doubled overnight. This will have an inflationary effect on the transportation and food prices. It will be very difficult for most of the people to survive as most people of this country survive on less than $2 a day.
Nigeria itself is a oil producing nation and oil counts for 80% of their national revenue. Hence if all the oil production process comes to a halt, the economy of the nation will be in shambles. It was the lack of efficient political leadership in Nigeria that caused this trouble. Oil prices should have been increased gradually, so that it could have served the long term economic plans of the government and also short term survival of the common people.
The President has said that he wants to spend the money saved from subsidy in building the roads across the nation and also bigger public projects. But common people feel that the political rulers and military must cut off corruption from the country and that would have given the government billions of dollars.
