This is not the rant of a fuel-deprived person. But is it the observation of a concerned citizen? I would not know. I would not know until the following information becomes a solution. It is not enough to write a good article. It is not enough to find and write an interesting story. It would be enough when it becomes a solution. A solution that improves the lives of people.
On The One Hand
Fintech is a fluke. It cannot solve all your problems. It cannot ease the pains on the continent. It cannot solve the problems in the world. But the ecosystem believes otherwise. And when I asked one of the masters in the fintech ecosystem about fintech solving a particular problem, he said oh no! Fintech cannot solve it. I wondered why Fintech could not solve the problem.
I may be asking too much from fintech. I may be ahead of the fintech voodoo. I maybe an Oliver Twist. I may be asking for more from the fintech magicians. Well, that happened after I had spent three hours at the NNPC filling station. That was the only station dispensing the product last week. At the rate that I can afford, grudgingly. At the rate of 568 per litre. Do not ask why I spent that long hour at the station. I would not tell you. I had an engagement the following day and I needed to be ready. Is that a hint?
On The Other Hand
A thought hit me like lightning, not frustration. Can fintech ease the perennial scarcity of fuel and accompanying stress? Why? The fuel attendants ignored the motorists in the long, winding queue. She concentrated on the jerry cans as if they were more precious. And they were! The car owners were furious. But powerless.
After a long wait, tempers flared! Arguments ensued! A fight broke out! Then the fuel attendants stopped dispensing the product. The director of the filling station emerged from the blues to restore order. The manager was complicit in the fracas.
In The Long Term
At the filling station, in the cool interior of my wagon, I engaged one of the fintech gurus via the X platform. Can fintech ease the perennial fuel scarcity and the accompanying stress? Solve fuel scarcity? He hit me back. Yes, brother. We have a plethora of fintech start-ups. And fintech unicorns. Why couldn’t one of these talented individuals conjure up a solution to forestall this fuel brouhaha? If not fintech, can we apply technology to this so-called fuel scarcity?
Emeka Okoye, the Knowledge Engineer in Augmented Intelligence, and one of the brains behind many fintech accomplishments, told me that we must fix the government before we fix fuel scarcity in Nigeria. ‘If you can fix government you will fix fuel scarcity.’
Writing on Thoughts and Ideas, Leeway Hertz wrote ‘’As technology advances, industries worldwide are embracing digital transformation. Among them, the energy sector leads the way by adopting innovative technologies. At the core of this change is Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is reshaping operations and sparking innovation. Fuel distribution control is one area where AI’s profound impact often goes unnoticed.”
Hertz listed what AI applications would bring to the oil industry. Demand forecasting. Inventory management. Route optimisation. Real-time monitoring. Market analysis. Supply chain optimisation. Energy theft detection. The benefits are limitless. Some of these are cost savings. Efficient distribution. Real-time monitoring. Hmmm.
In The Short Term
Eventually, I bought the fuel. Then left. Time was wasted. The energy was wasted. But I gained an insight. See, it is not the rant of a fuel-deprived person. Or is it?
