Adams Oshiomhole lost his temper. The senator and former Nigeria Labour Congress president was asked a simple question. Why did he shut down the country when Olusegun Obasanjo raised fuel prices, but supports President Bola Tinubu’s larger increases? He did not answer. He attacked the interviewer instead. The exchange was captured on video and has circulated widely.
Oshiomhole led the NLC from 1999 to 2007. He built his reputation on resisting fuel price increases. In 2000, he led protests against Obasanjo’s hike from ₦3 to ₦7 per litre. In 2003 and 2004, he called general strikes that paralysed the country. He was arrested. He was beaten. He became the face of labour resistance. He later became governor of Edo State. He chaired the APC. He now represents Edo North in the Senate. His transition from labour activist to ruling party loyalist is the context for the exchange.
The interviewer cited a Guardian report from 2000. He said Oshiomhole protested when Obasanjo raised prices from ₦3 to ₦7. He said Oshiomhole led another protest that same year. He then asked what changed. “Fast forward to President Buhari and President Tinubu administrations, and you are supporting astronomical pump price increases of fuel,” he said. “What changed sir? What changed?”
Oshiomhole interrupted. “And sorry sir, you shut down the country,” he said. The interviewer continued. He asked if Oshiomhole knew the current fuel price. Oshiomhole turned it around. “You spend too much time inside the studios,” he said. “You don’t walk the streets. You don’t connect with the people. They go and fill the car and bring it, you don’t know.”
The interviewer answered his own question. “₦1,500 per litre,” he said. Oshiomhole did not engage with the figure. He said the interviewer did not know it. He said the question was not news. He said he was used to defying military dictators. “Talk less of ordinary civilians like me,” he said. He told the interviewer to ask about subsidy. The interviewer said he did not want to answer questions about subsidy. The exchange descended into shouting. The interviewer called it “bullshit.”
Winners: The interviewer, who gains visibility. Social media, which gains content. The opposition, which gains a viral clip. Losers: Oshiomhole, whose record is exposed. The APC, which must defend him. The labour movement, whose former leader is seen as having abandoned its cause. Nigerians, who see another politician avoid accountability. The subsidy debate, which loses another chance at substance.
Bottom Line: Oshiomhole once shut down Nigeria over ₦4. He now defends ₦1,300 increases and refuses to explain why. He attacked the question instead of answering it. That is not a defence. It is a confession. The man who walked the streets now tells others they do not. The record is his. The silence is his. Nigerians will judge both.