Though Nigerians are still battling to
overcome the palpable fears of the
dreaded sect called Boko Haram and
insecurity system in the northern part
of Nigeria which Boko Haram members have
callously issued a warning letter to all
southerners to evacuate the region
within the specified time when President
Jonathan greeted the country with the
so-called fuel subsidy removal which has
impoverished the country in recent
times.The deregulation of downstream oil
sector kick-started since 2002 when the
then president Olusegun Obasanjo brought
the initiative but was thrown into the
waste can.The removal of Premium Motor
Spirit(PMS) fuel indicated the abysmally
failure on the part of the government to
negotiate with the labour unions who are
closer to the people.
The fuel subsidy removal has rendered
small medium businesses useless which
has given opportunity to middlemen to
trade on illegal transactions on the
name of subsidy and nothing else. The
government is yet to response to the cry
of the masses who came en mass to vote
for Jonathan in 2011 general elections
with the premonition that he was the
right candidate for the position but the
reverse is the case.The Save Nigeria
Group(SNG) fought tirelessly to see that
the President was sworn as the Acting
President then but it has disappointed
the masses.The so-called intelligent
advisers of the president succeeded
making the people to eat from the
dustbin which agenda has been
politically diverted to selfish
interests of certain cabals in the
country. Even as the Town hall meeting
was shown on the various electronic and
print media to kill the idea of fuel
subsidy which Jonathan failed to consult
Nigerians before his autocratic decision
that could put the country into anarchy
if not prevented in time.
The organized labour needed to be
commended for their tirelessly efforts
to see that the deregulation is scrapped
but government is only interested in
using economic theories and books to
decide the Nigeria economy. Even the
World economy powers are not left out in
this milt-faceted crises in Nigeria.The
cabals or oil cartel are not bigger than
Nigerians. The likes of Tunde Bakare,
Yinka Odunmakin and others needed to be
commended for the ongoing mass protests
in the country.The fuel subsidy removal
has equally rendered the nation 's
economic activities to halt. This is a
country where the rich are getting
richer while the poor are getting poorer
in all ramifications. Most of these
protesters are not hungry people which
the government failed to realized rather
than sending wrong signals that the
protesters are being sponsored by
opposition parties to feather their
nests. The PDP led government has failed
the people with such inflicting pains on
a new year like this. How many Nigerians
can afford the new price of fuel? Even
black market sells a litre of fuel forN
200 Jonathan told us in his campaign
that he had no shoes but the reverse is
the case. People are being molested by
security operatives due these massive
protests across the country.The cabals
must be brought to book.
In 2009, precisely Late President Musa
Yar'Adua brought the idea of Fuel
Subsidy removal but was refuted by the
people of the country.Though Fuel
subsidy removal according to the
minister of finance and other government
stakeholders believe that the notion
could bring massive infrastructural
development to Nigeria.Jonathan has told
Nigerians that within 6 months the
country will be fixed with good roads,
buses for easy transportation,job
provision for graduates, health services
and others. Although, many said the idea
could be political gimmicks to draw the
attention of Nigerians to accept fuel
subsidy. May I ask where is the money
going to? The government is politically
corrupt to the core. The past leaders
succeeded in destroying the country with
corruption.
Lastly, appointing Dr Kolade as a
committee chairman to head the fuel
subsidy removal is not a mistake but
Nigerians want Jonathan to revert the
pump price of fuel toN65 or he should
resign now.
BY GODDAY ODIDI,PRESIDENT OF GOOD
GOVERNANCE GROUP,PUBLIC AFFAIRS
ANALYST.20 ORO STREET AJEGUNLE APAPA
LAGOS.08058124798,08063458693.
Published
January 15th, 2012
