TheCable

When you think you have seen it all, then you have to start all over again.

As Nigerians moan and groan over a crippling fuel crisis that has ruined their Christmas, someone has gone into the archive to show that it is nothing new. Fuel crisis is Nigerian by birth.

Nigeria may be one of the biggest producers of crude oil in the world, but it is a case of water water everywhere and none fit to drink — to paraphrase  Samuel Taylor Coleridge in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

If you doubt the Nigerianness of fuel crisis, check it out. It is the June 7, 1977 edition of Daily Times — Nigeria’s No 1 newspaper at the time. It quoted an official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), J Akpeyi, as saying nationwide shortages of petrol and kerosene “may end next year”.

Colonel Buhari was the minister of petroleum resources in 1977 and 2017 — or 40 years later

That was 40 years, and “next year” could still be 2018 — or 2048.

But history is such a lovely thing.

The editor of Daily Times at the time was Tony Momoh, who is today a close political associate of President Muhammadu Buhari. Oh, Buhari was the federal commissioner for petroleum then. It is called minister today. Oh, Buhari is still the minister of petroleum 40 years after. And fuel crisis would still end next year!

Olusegun Obasanjo, then a lt. general, was the military head of state in 1977. He returned in 1999 to be a democratically elected president for eight years — 1999 to 2007. And fuel crisis would still end next year!

Buhari was military head of state from 1983 to 1985, and returned as a democratically elected president in 2015. And fuel crisis would still end next year!

Meanwhile, Nigerians are having fun on Twitter, in any case…

@MBuhari same story every year…
Your Case be like that of arsenal football club.. Next Season we’ll win the league.

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— John Oluwagbemiga (@Johnchelsea) December 25, 2017

So why are people saying Nigeria will be great again if this happened in 1977?Nigeria was never great,it’s just a ruse .Pure reminiscences!

— Seyi Laleye (@SeyiLaleye1) December 25, 2017

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Yes PMB said it and he delivered by building the 3 refineries reason we kept trusting Him to do more.

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— world of truth (@EAmangieka) December 25, 2017

And I was thinking this was today’s paper. My God Nigeria pic.twitter.com/DpNIuIUBXk

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— Jonathan Akpoborie (@akpoborie) December 24, 2017

Make I dey laff, I no fit cry….

— SolaEgunjobi (@SolaEgunjobi) December 25, 2017

Sincerely, the progress of this nation is slow that you start wondering what the problem is with AFRICAN nations

— Yinka Adesanya (@YinkaAdesanya_) December 25, 2017

Promises which arent fulfilled. Could it be like that till end of days in my beloved nation?

— Obanla Wasiu (@ObanlaWasiu) December 25, 2017

Which means we have been experiencing this problem long before now

— Oladimeji Muhammad (@godrichola1) December 25, 2017

The man Buhari… never a good omen since the days of yore.

— Chukwuanugo Ibeto (@anugoibeto) December 25, 2017