Just mix it with water

Yesterday evening, I was listening to my favorite radio station when it was announced that the president of France Emmanuel macron had been reelected after a closely contested battle. It was indeed a remarkable victory for macron as he had made history as the first french president to win a second term in more than twenty years.

After the news, It was time to listen to an interesting Ramadan programme where audience get to win exciting gifts when they correctly answer questions regarding the faith. Suddenly the channel was disconnected, I probably thought it was a teachnical error and they would be back shortly. But I was surprised when the blackout lingered for the rest of the evening.

Listening to the radio this morning, the presenters apologized for the disappointment. According to explanation, a fuel pump had sold diesel which had been mixed with water to the company . This resulted to the breakdown of their diesel powered generator. And in the absence public electricity, all transmission operations came to an abrupt halt.

This would be the third time I have heard about a fuel station mixing petrol with water and selling it to unsuspecting buyers. You would agree with me that this is totally unfair as it could be injurious to the vehicles of the owners.

It's quite unfortunate that some dishonorable businessmen would take advantage of the prevailing fuel hike and scarcity in order to make sharp profits at the expense of loyal customers.

Although the management of the station tendered a public apology. According to the statement, there had been a heavy rain the previous night and water filled into the bottom tank and mixed with the fuel. Due to negligence, their staff forgot to monitor the fuel level in the morning which resulted in some customers getting their vehicle tank filled with water instead of petrol. Ofcourse the company took responsibility for her mistake and paid for damages.

I believe this explanation is reasonable enough. I don't think any company worth it's salt would deliberately sabotage itself but involving in malpractice in a bid to make fast bucks. Not when it's customers would sooner than later become aware of such a silly trick and sue them. They definitely would be out of business for good especially in a very competitive market as the energy sector, where there are literally scores of fuel station at almost every kilometer of the highway.

However, there have been reports about petrol drivers who shuttle between states for distribution. Before arriving at a Depot, they'd branch at a waterway where they drain some litres from the tank and top it up with water. The siphoned fuel would later be sold by the driver at another different location for extra profits.

Heck, we have heard stories of traders who adulterate common staple foods. Mixing cassava flakes ( garri) with water and leaving under the sun to dry would falsely boost it's quantity. This results to the food losing it's flavor when bought and prepared by unsuspecting customer.

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There have also been worse cases where unscrupulous traders are caught dealing in fake drugs. Especially when it's a very potent drug whose demand is higher than supply. Such a situation happened in 2001 when i was much younger. A popular teething syrup was being formulated by a group of dirty businessmen by mixing powder with water. After which they are sold to drug stores throughout the state........

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