Social and Psychological Effects of the Removal of Fuel Subsidy on the Nigerian Family
Nigeria is the largest in Africa and the sixth largest oil producing country in the world. The country’s economic strength is derived largely from its oil and gas wealth, which contribute 99 per-cent of government revenues and 38.8 per of GDP (National Budget, 2010). Despite these positive developments, successive Nigerian governments have been unable to use the oil wealth to significantly reduce poverty, provide basic social and economic services her citizens need (Ering and Akpan, 2012). Despite, the huge resources the country has realized from crude oil, Nigeria ranks 156 out of 187 countries on the Global Human Development Index (HDI) in the 2011 Human Development Report released by the United Nation Development Programme. The HDI is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. The HDI further reveals that non-oil producing countries like Tunisia, Gabon, Egypt, Namibia, South Africa and Togo ranked better than Nigeria on all HDI indicators. It is against this background that Nigerians are opposed to any policy that would further increase their misery index such as the removal of fuel subsidy (Ering and Akpan, 2012). The history of fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria has been a complex subject and oftentimes an emotional debate. This study therefore examines critically the social and psychological effects of fuel subsidy removal on the Nigerian family.
