Uche Amadi

The Narrative Force

When on the 8th of October 2026, Taiwo Oyedele, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, announced that the Federal Government under the APC was going to reduce the pump price of fuel, many Nigerians thought the government had finally thought through an offer before rushing to the press. But what his announcement triggered was anger.

Because Nigerians immediately did the math. N150 x 30 days is at best N4,500 saving for a driver who buys one litre a day. Meanwhile, that same driver has lost over N500,000 since “Subsidy is Gone.” This is not palliative. It is provocation. It is what our mothers describe as “using Panadol to treat cancer.”

Reducing pump price from N1,500 to N1,350 for 30 days is nothing but a Greek gift. In our Naija language, “Na See Finish.” The same litre of petrol retailing at between N1,370 and N1,400 in fuel stations marketing Dangote fuel.

A Greek gift is a deceptive present given with hidden intent to trick, trap, or harm the recipient. “See Finish” is when over-familiarity breaks all boundaries of respect – when you look at the other person as an unadulterated fool, a complete illiterate devoid of any iota of sense. Tinubu must think that millions of Nigerians are bereft of intelligence.

Tinubu’s Original Sin was committed on May 29th, 2023. He was less than one hour old as President when he made his infamous statement: “Subsidy is Gone.” There is every indication that policy was never properly debated by any economic advisory team before it was dumped on 230 million hapless Nigerians. Any policy that will affect an entire nation must be debated, costed, with pros and cons considered, and mitigating cushions identified.

What did Nigerians get instead? An overnight 300% jump in petrol pump price, which triggered a chain reaction – transport fares tripled, food prices quadrupled, small businesses collapsed because they run on generators in a country without light. Inflation rose to over 34%. The naira was floated the same way, without a plan, and crashed from N460 to over N1,600 to a US dollar.

These are not reforms; they are punishment without preparation. Absolute “See Finish.”

NNPC has never been publicly audited since this administration. Nigerians do not know landing cost, we do not know profit margin, we do not know what “forgoing retail profit” means. Is NNPC a government ministry or a limited company? If it is a limited company under the PIA, it cannot be instructed to make losses for politics. If it obeys, then it is still a government cash cow, and the PIA is a scam.

Tinubu’s discount applies only at NNPC fuel stations, and it applies only to petrol. What about diesel and kerosene? What percentage of Nigerians buy fuel at NNPC? Less than 20%. In other words, 80% of Nigerians will not see this N150 reduction. It is a gift for the camera, not for the people.

The 30-day window is tied to the electioneering campaign period. The Presidential election is in January 2027. What happens on Day 31? The price jumps back, and we are told “market forces have determined it.” This is textbook vote-buying without sharing cash. Buy votes with the illusion of relief. Tinubu and co must think that Nigerians will bask on the euphoria of N150 and vote for APC in the presidential election.

Unfortunately for Tinubu and Taiwo, millions of Nigerians are determined that Tinubu Must Go by May 29, 2027.

Tinubu’s administration has become defined by flip-flops – subsidy gone, subsidy not gone; naira floating, naira managed; electricity tariff Band A, B, C confusion; CNG buses promised, not seen to cushion any adverse effects already suffered by hapless masses. It gives the impression Mr. President does not sit with a real economic team to analyze consequences before making pronouncements. His, appears to be Governance by impulse, not by Policy.

A serious government that removed subsidy on Hour One of Day One would have by now, three years after:

• Fixed at least one refinery to refine for local consumption and not for Dangote’s private refinery to refine and export.
• Made electricity available so that small businesses can stop depending on generators.
• Provided mass CNG buses that actually run, and not a few buses per State for photo ops.
• Improved other means of mass transportation – mono rails etc.
• Given a clear, published template for fuel pricing.

None of these have happened. Instead, we have bought a presidential yacht, added to the presidential aircraft fleet, procured new SUVs for the presidency and NASS members.

The people sacrifice. A select few elites enjoy.

This so-called discount in pump price is subsidy by another name, and why it is properly labeled as a Greek gift.

The government quickly says: “This is not a return to subsidy, and we are not using the budget.” Then the questions:

If NNPC forgoes profit, who bears the loss? Will it be written off as bad business? Will the Federation Account be shortchanged? Will the Federal Government reimburse NNPC through the back door? As at today President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the Minister for Petroleum, yet the NNPC has not been publicly audited. However it is dressed, if government instructs a commercial entity to sell below its cost-recovery price for political reasons, that is subsidy. It is subsidy by proxy, subsidy by deceit.

Many Nigerians are interested in what happens on Day 31. Price returns to N1,500 or even higher, and the trap snaps shut. That is the classic Greek gift. The wooden horse is brought in with celebration, but soldiers are hidden inside.

This insult is classical See Finish. Only a government that has “seen” its people “finish” would offer N150 reduction in pump price for 30 days after inflicting N1,000 increment over two years. Nigerians are not asking for a 30-day dash; we are asking for a reversal to a humane, sustainable price, for functional refineries, for electricity that makes generators unnecessary.

“See Finish” is no longer an attitude; it has become State policy. When you tell public servants who earn N70,000 minimum wage, and many citizens who live below poverty level, to buy fuel at N1,500 per litre, and then offer them same at N1,350 for only 30 days, you have seen them finish completely.

What Tinubu’s administration has done is vote-buying with petrol. A cheap gimmick that gives a little drop now, to take ten times more after the election, if he wins.

Our real problem, unfortunately, is complacency. Tinubu’s administration did not invent this contempt; it feeds on it. The real tragedy is a citizenry that over the years has become complacent. A people who, rather than organize, demand accountability, and punish failure at the ballot, resort to prayers, with the hope that God will descend from heaven to erase bad governance. God will not do what citizens refuse to do for themselves.

Until Nigerians move from endurance to accountability, every government will continue to bring Greek gifts, knowing that after the initial grumble, the initial gragra, we will queue, we will pray, and we will forget.

The Greek soldiers are already inside the horse. After the election, the real pain will come out. Full subsidy removal, full cost recovery, N2,000 or more per litre and the new tax regime, if we make the mistake of giving Tinubu a 2nd tenure.

Today is not just about petrol and the N150 selective reduction in pump price. Today is about tomorrow’s dignity. Will we continue to accept Greek gifts and thank our oppressors for worthless crumbs, or will we finally demand accountability?

Enough of Greek Gifts. Enough of See Finish.

Tinubu Must Go. January 16, 2027 beckons.
ADC and Atiku Abubakar to our rescue.

@Uche Amadi
The Narrative Force