Fuel: foreign or national interest?

It looks like the fuel protest in Nigeria is bringing a lot of buried sentiment to the surface, particularly in some quarters of the press, who warn against the danger of taking the action further into a coup against President Obasanjo's civil administration, which was only recently returned for a second term by popular vote.

The action was prompted by a 22 per cent price hike on 23rd September, which itself an attempt to reduce high levels of rate fuel subsidy.

There is some evidence that the tax take from oil is growing. But the perception inside the country is that this is simply a response to pressure from foreign investors in the country's oil dominated economy. However, there are other reasons for a staged withdrawal of subsidy:

"...so much cheap fuel has been smuggled out of Nigeria, for sale at a handsome profit in neighbouring countries, that the government is forced to import more at a higher rate - another drain on the government finances".