How black market traders are cashing out amid fuel scarcity

Fuel scarcity has become a constant bane for the average Nigerian motorist and pedestrian. Beyond the stress associated with it, fuel scarcity also puts a lot of pressure on food prices.

As such, most Nigerians are negatively affected by it. However, there is an exception in this case – black market traders who make a killing from the fuel scarcity challenge.

Nairametrics spoke to some of them, including fuel station attendants and fuel consumers to better understand the situation.

28-year-old Ayo Lawal, also known as ‘Ororo’, sells fuel on the black market around Lagos Island. He told Nairametrics he has been doing this for four years. He claimed he has no other business besides this one and that he always prays that fuel becomes scarce so he can make money.

According to Lawal, when there is no fuel scarcity, he picks up some menial jobs for market traders and gets paid daily. For him, the ‘real money’ comes when fuel is scarce. Amid fuel scarcity, he could earn between N50,000 to N100,000 in three days. He said:

“I am very good at what I do, I think it is my calling. I sell fuel on the black market from the early hours until midnight. People on the Island don’t have time to argue about price with us, they are always in a hurry, so, they just pay and take fuel. It is only commercial drivers and riders that try to haggle price sometimes, but we still make a lot of profit.”

Forced to patronise: One of the people who may have bought fuel from ‘Ororo’ is Obinna Okerekeocha, the Creative Director at Red TV. He told Nairametrics that over the past month, queues started to emerge at fueling stations across Lagos. And since people have to go to work and kids have to go to school, people often don’t have a choice but to patronise black market traders.

He said:Now, what you see is that at every corner of the road and inner streets in Ikota, regular everyday people are now selling fuel in containers. For the first time, I am now seeing women join in the selling. This is the black market where the price is almost triple the pump price…

“These days, I have had to fill up the tanks of my two cars every time I have to buy fuel because you just never know.”

He complained that most of the service stations are shut and queues reach the express causing traffic jams in an already congested city where the hardship levels keep rising.

“A new political dispensation is upon us but I am afraid these politicians only pay lip service, rendering us, a very bleak and uncertain collective future. Why is it that once we start to see fuel queues, the government through NNPC is quick to say that we have reserves to serve the nation but somehow it does not manifest on the streets?”

Higher prices: Nairametrics observed that while most filling stations are selling between N195 and N200 per litre, black market traders sell for as high as N300 to N500 per litre, based on how intense queues are. The intensity of the queues determines the number of people who want to buy on the black market.

Why they do it: Another black market trader who identified herself as Funmi told Nairametrics that she recently lost her job as a typist and decided to take advantage of the black-market trade to make some money. Although this is a new venture for her, she admitted that she has become quite comfortable selling fuel and she no longer minds the way people stare at her when she is hustling with the guys to sell fuel, especially at night.

Their modus operandi: Nairametrics also spoke to several people along the value chain in Ikeja. Tunde Hassan is a 31-year-old male who sells fuel on the black market around Enyo Filling Station on the mainland. As of Wednesday, November 23rd, he sold a litre between N225 to N230.

He told Nairametrics that he has been selling black market fuel for over a week since the scarcity started in his location. His decision to start selling was based on the information he receives from informants at filling stations.

According to him, black market traders usually get information 24 hours before fuel becomes scarce at certain locations. That way, they have enough time to prepare for it.

In the past week, Hassan has sold up to 200 litres of fuel. He told Nairametrics that he has some friends inside a filling station at his location and for a little bribe, he gets first-hand information on when fuel will become scarce and he sets out to make money from the black-market trade.

Bribes and kickbacks: Hassan said he also has to tip a few ‘Baba sale’ (area boys), so he can be left alone to sell his fuel in peace. But Nairametrics was surprised to learn that black market traders in Lagos have no organized council or union to whom they remit some money after sales. They retain all the money they make from every fuel scarcity cycle.

For Hassan who has made between N45,000 and N46,000 in the last seven days, fuel scarcity is a good thing. If the current scarcity lingers for a month, he could make over N300,000. That’s because the longer the scarcity, the longer the queues and the higher black market traders can increase their prices.

More details: Nairametrics spoke to a filling station attendant who said that he and his colleagues are poorly paid. As such, they depend on tips to survive. According to him, these tips can come from black market traders who need information so they can sell their products. He said:

“When they receive information on when fuel will be scarce, they purchase up to 500 litres of fuel for a start. This is bought directly from us at the fuel stations at the rate of N195 to N200 per litre. No one can put a stop to the black-market trade in Nigeria, it’s a perfectly run cabal.”