A man fills petrol from a container into a car at a station, on a rainy street. Photo credit: Chukwuebuka Giuseppe/Pexels.
When Funmilayo Obasa started driving in 2024, she spent 50,000 naira monthly to fill her car’s tank, buying fuel at 500 to 600 naira per litre. Between 2024 and 2026, fuel prices have increased by over 100%. Funmilayo now fills her car’s tank with about 100,000 naira, buying fuel at 1000 naira per litre or more. The consequence of this is that she has cut down her trips within her state, and her social interactions have reduced. “There is this co-working space I used to go to, but I haven’t been going there a lot because of fuel. I save the fuel now for essential runs like groceries and store runs, which I now go once every two weeks instead of once every week. I visit my parents now too, once every two weeks instead of every week.”
When President Bola Tinubu assumed the presidency in 2023, his first point of action was the removal of the fuel subsidy. In his inaugural address, the president announced the immediate removal of the fuel subsidy, which spiked fuel prices across the country. Petrol was selling at an average of about ₦238 per litre across Nigeria, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Since then, petrol prices in Nigeria have continued to rise, driven by the removal of the fuel subsidy and fluctuations in global crude oil prices. More recently, the conflict in the Middle East and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil shipments, have pushed international oil prices higher, adding to the pressure on domestic fuel prices.
“Before now, I never used to pay attention to fuel prices as long as the filling station sells quality fuel. But now, I drive further to search for a filling station that sells cheaper fuel,” Funmilayo said.
By September 2026, petrol prices had climbed to between ₦1,400 and ₦1,500 per litre in parts of the country. Just days ago, I bought petrol for ₦1,470 per litre.
This sharp increase in prices has contributed to the rising cost of living, such as transportation fares and food products, and has affected car owners like Funmilayo, who have to either cut down their trips or sometimes resort to taking public transport, whose prices have also significantly increased.
Salahudeen Abdulmajeed has stopped driving to short-distance places. He’d rather take bikes. He now only drives to places where, when returning, he would find it difficult to find available bikes. He no longer drives for every journey.
For Nigerians like Funmilayo and Salahudeen, driving has become less about convenience and more about deciding which journeys are worth the cost. What used to be ordinary trips to see family, work outside the home, or visit nearby places now require planning around the price of fuel. And while switching to public transport or taking a bike may help reduce the cost of some journeys, these alternatives come with expenses of their own.
As fuel prices continue to affect how Nigerians move around, the effects go beyond what Nigerians spend at filling stations. For some, it means fewer visits to family and friends; for others, it means giving up the freedom to drive whenever they need to. The cost of fuel is no longer just a line in the monthly budget. It is increasingly determining where people go, how often they leave home and the parts of their everyday lives they can afford to keep. Driving used to be a leisure activity; not anymore.
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