Nigeria is a country richly blessed with human and natural resources. A country full of raw talents and resources waiting to be harnessed. A country that has the largest reserve of fuel and also the largest exporter of fuel in Africa according to wikipedia but due to bad leadership, she is still lagging behind in terms of development and proper impact in the lives of her citizens when compared to her peers.

Fuel scarcity lingered for more than one week and the government was trading blames with the oil marketers. What do you expect if two elephants fight, it is the grasses that suffer the repercussion.
The citizens was deprived of electricity. Where I live, for the past six weeks put together, I have not seen electricity for 24hours that is in 1028hours that make up six month, I have not seen electric power supply in my home for 24hours leaving me to stay 1024hours in darkness.
The government together with private investors that invested in the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria has failed us. There is no electric power supply and the alternative which the common man make use of is out of his reach.
The use of petroleum products as fuel have long been used by Nigerians to power their homes since they could not rely on the government for that essential provision but few days back, fuel was relatively scarce to come by and if seen, the price was exorbitant.
With the attendant fuel scarcity, the implication was that Nigerians were in for a big problem and the negative implication on their health will be appalling if the government together with the oil marketers cannot solve this problem.
The health of Nigerians matter a lot and the following was the effect of that fuel scarcity episode on their health.

1. Cancer and Respiratory Diseases:
With the increasing cost and scarcity of fuel, Nigerians had no other option but to resort to the use of firewood and charcoal which is very harmful to their health. According to Environment Protection Agency 45.5kg of firewood generate 4300times more than 30 cigarettes, substances which are carcinogenic such as dioxin, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The harmful smoke which emanate from the use of charcoal and firewood help in damaging the lungs and cause respiratory diseases. The government has preached a lot against the usage of charcoal and firewood but she has left the citizens without any choice

2. Malnutrition:
During the fuel crises, food prices shot up due to the increased cost of transporting the food from where it is produced to where it is needed and as a result of that, common man who do not have the means to purchase the food which has increased in price will go hungry and if he goes hungry definitely his children will also go hungry and these hunger strike continues thereby breeding a mass of hungry people with weak body defense mechanism just waiting for diseases to strike.

3. Increased Death:
During the fuel crisis, some banks decided to cut down in their operation hour and that of their ATM. In emergency situations in the hospital, the doctor normally request for some money deposit before the patient will be attended to. How then will the money be gotten if the situation revolves when the bank has closed for the day and also services of their ATM? Patients will die in hordes waiting for the depositor to deposit money with the doctor, the depositor will be heart-stricken because of the closure of the bank during mid-day and the intermittent failure of the ATM to disburse money, the banks will be making loses and not profit while waiting for the government to stabilize the distribution and price of fuel, while the government will be there begging oil marketers to supply fuel to the populace. What an Irony!

4. Increased Pressure on Health Professionals:
The health professionals in Nigeria; the demi-gods who put everything at risk in order for their patients to be alive and healthy but due to the fuel scarcity, the risk taken by them will be multiplied an hundred fold. Imagine a doctor carrying out a surgical operation with no electricity due to the failure of the government to provide electricity and fuel. Sometimes they resort to the use of torchlight. The untold hardship the doctor together and the patients are going through at that moment, the prayers of the relatives who know fully well that the hospital equipment will not be functioning due to fuel scarcity, the cries of the children who know that since the hospital is not lighted that it is a bad omen.
The function of the government is to make life bearable for the citizens but did the outgoing government do that? The answer is NO.
We the citizens groaned during the fuel scarcity and you promised to light our homes during the election period. Is this how you intend lighting our homes since you are leaving office.
We the citizens plead with the incoming administration not to let the likes of the oil marketers to destroy this our beautiful country.
Happy Democracy Day.

Source: http://www.africanshealth.com/4-implications-of-fuel-scarcity-on-our-health/