Subsidy and Transport Grant Are Not The Topic

SUBSIDY AND TRANSPORT GRANT ARE NOT THE TOPIC 

The words close to the tongue of every Nigerian since the 'advice in command' was given by the International Monetary Fund IMF on the total removal of fuel subsidy and the increase in electricity tariff come 2022 rises anguish tones, every commentator from the working class and those whose their minimum wage is yet to be implemented by many state governments. But is that the utmost topic of discussion ?

Let's shift the ground back to the drawing table and assess where it all began.

When Nigeria experienced the oil boom, oil was refined with national refineries on a volume that quenched the national need here with a lot of excess for export. Having a lot of lucrative profit attached, many investors forsook other profitable ventures for Oil, as I mentioned in my previous column, 'Vat Jamboree and The Collective Way Out' thereby the spring up of filling stations on highways like a motel makes the sector more competitive. The ineptitude of the government to sustain the oil production by allowing the refineries to wreck necessitated that we export crude oil and import the refined one, which a common man cannot afford unless subsidised. Reviving all the refineries by all means to ensure we exterminate the parasitic corruption in subsidizing fuel will clear half of the mess we are catapulted into today.

One year after Babangida seized power, National Economic Emergency was declared, given two options: enduring the hardship by citizens or taking the loan offer from IMF which people subscribed to the former than taking the loan knowing the retribution that may follow. The Babangida regime succumbed to the lures of IMF, thereon, Nigeria planted the seed of loan and it kept soaring, becoming a burden on our neck, a Structural Adjustment Program was introduced again that strangulated the country to where it is today, a battle field that no iota of victory ahead.

The national budget over the years is significantly irrelevant to the need at the top hierarchical priority, we spend more on debt servicing and non debt-recurrent expenditure than capital projects. On that terrain we came, and funds for those capital projects found their route to the coffers of the loot, buried in soakaways and over-head tanks, making the national engine to jerk. When evaluating the budget performance on every quarter, the result is always shameful to present, a project  of 6 months time span taking a whole tenure sometimes uncompleted. 

Having a cluster of issues which are interrelated, the sky-to-ground gap of salary between the average Teacher in the classroom, the Doctor in the hospital and political class, which only God knows how that share came to being. Converting it to dollars, is far richer than their counterpart in neighbouring countries placing them top-paid politicians in the world. This is where the wealth is running through, wringing the sweat of ordinary civil servants who do not assess loans but paying indirectly for the few. This contributed to the imbalance and necessitates the borrowing to maintain the status quo. Can't the salaries of these politicians reduce as a calculation attributed to former emir of Kano Sanusi, to employ more graduates and reduce the loan gulping ?

We have the largest gas reserve deposit in Africa competing with Russia, but untapped, which can be used to generate power for more than 100yrs. We possess all it takes to exploit it, alongside other resources. Resorting to a loan and debt servicing degrades the Nigerian dignity before the UN. In September this year at UNGA, Muhammadu Buhari, lobbied for the debt service extension and outright cancellation, which his colleagues the Ghanian President Nana Akufo-Addo presented contrary, how long can we carry the begging bowl to sustain as a giant of Africa ?

When inflation and hike find a couch to settle down in the midst of teeming youths who are provoked already with the system, viewing their success hindered by the political class, the same system proposing increment in PMS which would affect all the commodities and services, making life more arduous, halting at this moment for them to heave out the nascent anguish and thrive more is more welcoming than enforcing the law against them, which the flame of EndSars is still smoking. Now two options at hand, adherence to the 'advice in command' of the IMF who panders behind to see the country dwarfing, or the looming catastrophe of another EndSars ? we shouldn't plug the beehive naked. 

If the government can place embargo on rice importation, which sprang up rice mill plants across the country and accumulate quite number of youths creating employment, giving positive result in the economy--then the excuse that we must induce loan to fund critical infrastructure only came out of political will at the expense of the upcoming generations who are totally innocent with a burden of debt and intrusion in the economic policies of the country.

With the Dangote refinery in Lagos almost 80% completion, which will meet the country's entire domestic fuel demand. As the government proposes a new hard price, is that a sweep-before-coming to meet a clear ground for the company or Dangote would sell at 165 per litre since it's domestically refined ?

The trust deficit of transparency as who are the indigents to qualify for the transport grant having the prior experience of all the government interventions during the lockdown, the hoarding of palliatives is one issue, and the duration to which the grant would last is another, which both do not have ground in 2022 budget, now which is which ?

The danger that is lurking at dusk of this adminstration especially on the slack of security; the Boko Haram in the NorthEast, the Banditry across the NorthWest, the IPOB in the SouthEast, all proscribed as 'terrorist' and the angry youths on every street. Any economic policy that would add up to the rack in their psyche is highly advised to avoid, people are counting, from the increment in VAT, Electricity, Gas, Fuel that directly affect their well being, making the resting shades more warming. Once the people are pressed to the extreme edge, they return forcefully and face the danger since there is no hope ahead. God forbid !

Ahmad Murtala

Ahmadmurtala43@gmail.com