Scores of demonstrators have marched 3.8kilometers to make the point that the fuel prices have passed the tolerance mark.

It was an exhausting march even for the people who have exhausted their patience with the Akufo-Addo government on the matter of fuel prices.

Not many participated. But that could be because public transport fares have remained stable even though petroleum prices have climbed up.

Drivers have a deal with the government which does not allow them to unilaterally increase the prices just yet meaning they cannot pass on the pinch they feel when the prices inch.

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) which convened the demonstration has been keeping a close eye on the prices at the pump. 

They have observed that since President Akufo-Addo came to power, petroleum prices have increased cumulatively by 28%.

The catch has been that many appear not to feel the full force of this statistic. And it is because the increases are petty even if plenty.

"You wake up in the morning it is going up. By tomorrow evening it is still going up, Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretay of COPEC who is also the convener for the demonstration, told Joy News' Maxwell Abagabah. 

Perhaps, little increase in fuel prices makes a docile critical mass. It is the big jumps that jam the public out of inaction.

So COPEC has collected the little figures to let Ghanaians know that a gallon which used to be 14 cedis in 2016 is now 20.85p - and this could even change by nightfall.

All thanks to an automatic price adjustment formula that sees fuel prices practically go up and theoretically come down according to the volatilities on the international market.

The government has wriggled itself out of the highly explosive politics of petroleum prices. It used to set the price by subsidizing it. But the effect has been economy-crippling in some cases as the government must find a way to pay the huge subsidies which eventually choke the economy and everybody else.

So the government has heaved a sigh of relief by stepping out of the equation, leaving consumers to bear the brunt of fuel price increases while it collects cheap taxes from them.

Since outsourcing its responsibility to a machine and a mathematical equation, the government has hoped that people understand that increasing prices should not result in reduced votes because the market is not within their control.

But tell it to the marines, some would say. Some workers also want an automatic price adjustment formula installed on their salaries too - a cynical serve to governments.

One of the demonstrators explained that if this automatic price adjustment formula is wreaking havoc on their incomes then the government should bring back a manual price adjustment formula.

He said even automatic cars obey instructions when the driver applies the breaks. It does not ignore the manual command of a driver.

But if the automatic vs manual argument gets bogged down into an irredeemable debate, one argument that COPEC believes there can be no debate is the burden of taxes government embeds in the determination of fuel prices at the pump.

The tax component is high, COPEC has said but they would want to attribute these words to the President, Nana Akufo-Addo who said it when he was candidate Nana Akufo-Addo.

Okay, said it is a euphemism. He drummed it into the ears of Ghanaians looking for options in the 2016 election campaign.

"Government can, at least, ease the suffering of Ghanaians and business by reducing significantly, or at best abolishing, the taxes on diesel and petroleum products. That will be a sign of a sensitive government,” Nana Addo said on May 18, 2015.

People heard it, liked it and it made them happy. And 33 months after this statement struck a cord with Ghanaians, COPEC wants Akufo-Addo to strike while the iron is hot.

"Just do it", COPEC demonstrators have told the government. Duncan Amoah stressed that they are not enemies of the government but they just believe the fuel price is an enemy to their pockets. "Our interest is our pocket", Mr. Amoah further explained.

They argued against the government with an Akufo-Addo's argument on a sunny Friday, November 11, 2016.

“Crude oil prices are coming down, but in Ghana, we are paying more for petrol. We are supposed to have an automatic price adjustment policy which should have brought down the cost of petroleum products, on the contrary, it is going up. Why?”  Friday, November 11, 2016

Yes Nana, why? COPEC wants the President to answer a question they now believe he has answers to after one year in government.

The Minority would like to hear that answer too. It is because they didn't have the answer that is why they are now a Minority, some would argue.

The ranking member on the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, Adam Mutawakilu explained that some of the taxes the previous government introduced was to raise money after crude oil prices fell so bad it affected government revenue.

At that time crude was as low as $28 per barrel. Crude oil is now $60 per barrel. Surely government could do something about the taxes now, Mutawakilu argued.

But already, the Minority have thrown their support for the demonstration. They want the Akufo-Addo government to reduce taxes which they heaped on petroleum prices. 

"COPEC and ICU are on the right course because the government has taken us for granted for long"., he blessed the demonstrators and remembered that taxes constitute 49% of the prices of petroleum products. 

The rise and fall of petroleum prices have caused the rise and fall of governments.

Despite the deregulation of the petroleum sector in 2005, petrol is politics in Ghana. It is still fuel for fodder for politicians on both sides.

Government's death or life lies in the power of the pump and those who love it will eat its fruits.