Nigeria fuel strike brings country to a halt

A general strike in Nigeria over the elimination of a fuel subsidy has brought the country to a standstill.

Shops, offices, schools and petrol stations around the country closed on the first day of an indefinite strike.
Thousands of people gathered in Lagos and other cities to protest at the loss of the subsidy which has meant a doubling of fuel and transport costs.
In the northern city of Kano, 20 people were injured as police fired tear gas and shot live rounds in the air.
President Goodluck Jonathan has said the subsidy was economically unsustainable.
The normally bustling streets of Lagos are quiet, with the exception of police patrols and protesters on their way to rallies.

Several thousand people have gathered at Gani Fewehinmi park in the city and more are arriving all the time, says the BBC's Mark Lobel in Nigeria's commercial capital.

There have been reports that one protester was shot dead in Lagos.
In the main northern city of Kano, police fired tear gas and shots in the air to disperse thousands of protesters who were converging on the governor's office. Twenty people were injured, says BBC Hausa Service reporter Yusuf Ibrahim in the city.
In Abuja, pickets closed the airport, preventing flights from arriving or leaving, says the BBC's Ibrahim Shehu Adamu in the Nigerian capital.
Also in Abuja, there are reports that youths camping in the city's Eagle Square were cleared out overnight by police using tear gas.
In the northern city of Kaduna, there is a heavy police presence and the streets are quiet, with all shops closed, says the BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar.
Ilorin, a large city in south-west Nigeria, was also at a standstill, a man who runs market stalls told the BBC. He said he ordered his staff to stay at home after he saw two vandalised cars.
Smuggled fuel There have been angry protests since the subsidy ended on 1 January as fuel and transport costs have doubled and other costs have risen as well.

The loss of the fuel subsidy has angered many Nigerians, who saw it as the only benefit they received from the country's vast oil wealth.
Most of Nigeria's 160 million people live on less than $2 (£1.30) a day, so the sharp price increases have hit them hard.
"With these increases, the cost of transport has gone up and this has also affected the cost of food, and the basic necessities of life, such as rents, school fees and medical bills," said Chris Uyot, a spokesman for the Nigeria Labour Congress, one of the strike's organisers.
A similar strike in 2003 saw Nigeria almost entirely shut down. It ended with a partial climbdown, when the government agreed to reduce the subside, rather than scrapping it altogether.
While the strike is expected to affect oil workers too, industry sources do not expect the industrial action to significantly affect crude exports, Reuters news agency reports.
Despite being a major Opec oil producer, Nigeria has not invested in the infrastructure to produce refined fuel, so has to import much of its petrol.

With the subsidy, fuel was much cheaper in Nigeria than neighbouring countries, so some of it was smuggled abroad.

Members of parliament have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to reconsider, but he has said the subsidy was economically unsustainable.
He made a televised address on Saturday to defend the the subsidy cut and other government austerity moves.
"We must act in the public interest, no matter how tough, for the pains of today cannot be compared to the benefits of tomorrow."
The deregulation of the petroleum sector was, he insisted, the best way to curb corruption and ensure the survival and growth of the economy.

Nigerians queued to buy petrol ahead of the strike

"The truth is that we are all faced with two basic choices... either we deregulate and survive economically, or we continue with a subsidy regime that will continue to undermine our economy and potential for growth, and face serious consequences."
He said that top government officials would, from this year, take a 25% pay cut, and foreign trips would also be reduced.
The government says it will spend the $8bn (£5bn) it saves each year by scrapping the subsidy on improving health, education and the country's erratic electricity supply.
However, many Nigerians fear it is more likely to end up in the pockets of corrupt officials.
Last month, International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Christine Lagarde praised President Jonathan's efforts to reform the Nigerian economy but cautioned that the country should become less reliant on oil exports for revenue.