The last few weeks have been nothing short of a sick and unwarranted test of my patience and temperament. Fuel scarcity in Lagos is still looming and forcing motorists to resort to either:-

• Sleeping overnight in their cars queuing at filling stations while fending off mosquitoes that manage to get in between the narrow window gap.
• Buying at black market prices from unreliable sources outside filling stations with the bonus risk of stalling their precious engine.
• Spoiling themselves with daily ‘sauna treatments’ in the discomfort of their cars since they refuse to use air conditioning which is a fuel guzzler.

80 per cent of my recent interactions have included the question, ‘Do you have fuel?’ at some stage in the conversation. Soon I raise up my right hand and prepare to point the finger of blame to the government but then I pause and think to myself, ‘What good is that going to do?’ Instead what are the opportunities that I could exploit in these trying times and what solutions can I adopt to solve my own problems?

• Invest in a diesel generator – you hardly hear about diesel scarcities
• Buy inverters to provide power supply if the power company is generous in your area.
• Drive shorter distances as much as possible
• Get details of a local filling station attendant or two so you can follow up with calls to know if they are selling – saves you hours of queuing time.

For now I’ll just pick up my yellow 25 litre jerrican and get in line (moan)