The nation-wide protests to stop the removal of fuel subsidy have led to the killings of Nigerians by anti-riot policemen. FRANCIS AGBO writes that instead of being a blessing, fuel has become a curse to the people of Nigeria.
Oil. It has aromatic effect on some Nigerians while its smell makes others literally sick. Yet this three- letter words is so daring so much so that it is arguably tied to the sovereignty of most nations of the world, Nigeria inclusive. Its boom, at least on paper, boosts the socio-economic and political development of a country and vice- versa. In the international community, it determines diplomacy and the influence a country wields in the comity of nations. See the power that oil has conferred on Saudi Arabia, a Kingdom, if without oil, could have been crying for aides like the desert-stricken Ethiopia. But nature smiled on the headquarters of? Islam by giving it more oil than it needs. Today, its citizenry live above poverty; earning salaries and wages that can take them home while its power elites can dress in rich silk and kashmir if they choose to. That is the power of oil.
But in Nigeria, analysts aver that petroleum with its allied products remains a curse to the nation. It? has currently grounded the country since Monday that the on-going nation wide strike led by the organized labour started.
The federal government had through the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) announced the removal of subsidy from fuel, radically increasing the? official pump price from N65 to N141.
Nigerians from all walks of lives condemned the over 100 percent increase. Shortly after the announcement on January 1, this year, the organized labour led by Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) asked President Goodluck Jonathan to rescind government’s decision or risk mass protest. Government was adamant and labour made good its threat beginning from two days ago. Before the commencement of the protest, the House of Representatives commendably cut short its recess, reconvened last Sunday to mediate in the looming labour unrest. After several hours of hot arguments, the green chamber asked labour to call off the? impending strike and urged government to revert to the status-quo.
But the Executive Arm was unyielding. President Jonathan described the advice as a mere expression of opinion and not binding on him. But Harvard- trained economist and former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Eziefe insisted that the position may not be legally binding on the president but is morally binding on him. The Senate too yesterday tried to no avail to make labour call-off the industrial action.
With the break down of negotiation between government and labour, the rubber has now met the road and the ordinary Nigerians as usual, are suffering the greatest. Socio-economic activities in Nigeria have been grounded nation- wide except in parts of the South East and South South where state governors threatened to deal with public servants that join the protesting fray.? But this did not take away the shine off the mass protest. Prominent Nigerians from all facets of the economy joined. But the effect of the strike was? more successful in? Lagos, Kano States,? and Abuja, the federal Capital Territory. Aside? the organized labour, the Lagos rally was led by the fiery pastor, Tunde Bakare, Lagos Lawyer, Femi Falana, one time presidential candidate, Dr. Tunji Braithwaith, irrepressible human rights crusader, Comrade Yinka Odumakin and wife, Okei and social critic, Kola Durotoye.
Others are first son of late Gani Fawehinmi, Mohammed, Fela’s scions, like Femi Kuti, student? activists, journalists under the auspices of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) lawyers and popular musicians like Raskimono. The only minus to the protest was the absence of diminutive human rights crusader and Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka. No official reason has been given for his absence but unconfirmed reports have it that government pleaded with him not to dignify the protest with his presence.??
Politicians led the Abuja protest along side labour. Prominent among them were former Minister of FCT, Mallam Nasril el-Rufai, former House of Representatives members, Patrick Obaghiagbon and Dino Melaye. Others are maverick musician, Charles Oputa, alias Charley Boy, journalists and many others.
Reports say the country has lost hundreds of millions just two days into the strike. Painful as this may be, the most catastrophic effect of the unrest is the loss of innocent lives of Nigerians whose sins was – protest against a policy christened anti-people.
Nigerians are getting angrier with the government by the day in torrents. The economics of subsidy removal and the long term benefits of the policy as explained by top government functionaries like Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iwealla, Central Bank Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Petroleum Minister, Deziani Alison Madueke and Information Minister, Labaran Maku did not convince Nigerians that the removal of oil subsidy was in good fate. In fact the palliative packages rolled out by government have failed to assuage the citizenry. The thinking of most Nigerians whether big or small is that the removal was ill-timed and that the palliatives were after thoughts as many Nigerians who had travelled to their homes and villages for the yuletide were trapped because as the stories go, many of them can not afford the high cost of transportation fuelled by the new price regime of petroleum! Chief Audu Ogbe, former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national chairman and current Board of Trustees chairman of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) aligns with this position. He believes government should have drastically cut the cost of governance before talking mooting the idea of subsidy removal. He said he had personally advised the president against the removal but stressed that Jonathan went ahead with the policy because he had been persuaded by some imperialist economists that ‘‘churn out ill-digested economist theories and policies that are out of tune the Nigerian economic reality.’’ While calling on government to embark on more consultations on? subsidy, Ogbe insisted that running government at all levels in Nigeria is the most expensive in the world. He queried why Nigeria should run a bi-cameral legislature, a bloated presidency and federal cabinet which gulps hundreds of billions as over head costs. ‘‘The British Prime Minister? uses? two official cars while the Queen has three. The American President has a few too.
The American President feeds himself with his salary. It is only when he organizes a banquet that public funds is drawn from other sources to organize a banquet.? But in Nigeria, the budget for Aso Rock alone is N1bn,? a governor has over 12 jeeps in a convoy, the president has many aircrafts in the presidential fleet while there are hundreds of vehicles. Some state governors have official aircrafts. Ministers have more than two official vehicles each. Ditto local council chairmen and commissioners.?
With these wastes, Nigerians can not trust government on prudent management of monies accruing from subsidy removal and my advice is that the policy must be reviewed because it is killing Nigerians,’’ Ogbeh stressed.??
Unfortunately, the sudden removal has worsened the security situation? nation-wide with the deadly Islamic sect – Boko Haram gaining more grounds. Curiously too, some Nigerians who had hitherto pushed for one Nigeria have turned advocates of disintegration. What a country.
This is not the first time that oil would put Nigeria in trouble. Historians contend that one of the reasons for the Nigeria-Biafra civil war which claimed lives in hundreds of millions was the black gold. Late Biafran leader, Gen. Emeka Ojukwu insisted that the oil rich Niger Delta was part and parcel of Biafra while then Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon cut off what is today known as South South from Ojukwu’s secession. Gowon did this by simply carving the old Rivers State from the defunct Eastern region. Why? To take control of the black gold!
Aside these, analysts believe the discovery of oil in Nigeria has lured?? the country to the quagmire of a mono-cultural economy that relies only on petroleum while relegating the once vibrant agricultural sector to the doldrums. This also led to the unprecedented rural-urban drift which observers said have so badly depopulated the villages.
The question posed by unsuspecting minds is: where or how did fuel derive its all conquering power from? Experts are quick to point to automobile of course. The Germans started automobile in 1885 when Karl Benz manufactured the first internal combustive engine.
Gottillieb Daimler, a fellow German engineer improved on this engine. The innovators teamed up to create Daimler-Benz which was later named Mercedes Benz. LEADERSHIP checks show that Mercedes was the name of? the daughter of Benz’s diplomatic friend. People need petroleum to go about their day-to- day activities and If automobiles must be useful to mankind, it needs petroleum and its allied products to serve society. Petroleum too needs automobile to remain ever powerful even though they are also used to power generators and plants in running companies, homes and offices.
Important as oil has been to the economy, research has shown that the gains are infinitesimal to the pains it has caused Nigeria. But can Nigeria get out of this oil curse without bleeding? Very unlikely.