Of fuel subsidy, bombs and other matters
- Details
- Category: Within the nation
- Written by Kabir Mato
- Hits: 1891
Here we are! On Thursday last week at the weekly Editorial Board meeting of Media Trust, Ltd, my friend and colleague Jideofor Adibe exclaimed with disappointment that President Jonathan has failed us all. I quickly retorted by excluding myself from those who genuinely or out of mischief feel that the president is not living up to the bidding of those who trusted him to provide fresh air in a new Nigeria. My response was equally as honest as Jideofor’s assertion because in the wildest of my dreams I never saw Goodluck Jonathan as capable of facing to resolution, the numerous challenges of the Nigerian national question. As a student of History and Political Science, I do know fairly well that challenges are integral part of the law of motion of societies and how well these challenges are addressed determine the level of successes of both the government and the people.
Here again, my favorite term, ‘political brinkmanship’ becomes apparent. I argue vehemently in the last few weeks that the challenges that Nigeria finds itself in today are not neither new or the most critical that we have seen in the little over 50-year history of the country as an independent nation. In my short life time I have seen moments when the country was seemingly on a collapse. During the early 1990s when Boutros Boutros Ghali was the Secretary-General of the United Nations, he was reported to have exclaimed publically that Nigeria was a miracle. This was because the level of intense crises that the nation was facing suggested that any moment, it would disintegrate.It was not untrue that there were no gigantic national challenges, but the difference with the times that we are facing today is that there were capable political leadership even if military that successfully navigated the country out of the path of integration. The latest of such national tumor was during the June12 1993 annulment of presidential election. No matter what anybody may say, the military junta under General Abacha did very well in keeping Nigeria one. General Jeremiah Useni was central in that navigation and the ruler ship of today even though claiming democratic credentials could humbly meet such a person for lesson in managing heterogeneous tension at moment of crises.
I don’t know who advises President Jonathan. I don’t know what the ultimate goal of his administration is or put the other way, what core values and objectives they desire to achieve while in office. Sometimes, I am drafted to thinking that this accident ascendency to power that Nigeria has faced most of the time since independence in 1960 is tragicomic. It is responsible for the ascendency of cluelessness in high places which by and large is responsible for the poor outing of leaders.
How does a government that is preaching so much and committing a trillion into security be so insecurity conscious by jacking up the price of refined products, this time around PMS a commodity that has multiplier effect on every facts of our national life? Soon after the Madalla bombing and politics that has been made out of it, one would think that the government would parry a while before going into such a dangerous terrain of subsidy removal.
In the whole subsidy debate, one fact that is missing is the role of refineries in the country. What happens if this over a trillion Naira is used to build refineries across the country or is anybody telling us that such a huge sum cannot build refineries? Why would any government that is responsible continue to blame itself of incapacity and after such admission, proceed to pass bulk to the common man?
This is the black and white of the subsidy debate. Government is anti-people. They are not ready to go by simple economics; instead, they are opting for delicate economic theories to solve simple problems. Build refineries please and government will not need to subsidize anything for anybody. This lazy approach to solving endemic economic issues have caused the nation so much in the past. I don’t like the PTF approach to infrastructural development in the country. Agreed that it did work before but it may not now under the current dispensation. What we are asking for is the proper management of the nation’s scarce resources and everything will be in place. No matter how much we pay for petrol there will be no infrastructure in place. We have heard this government gimmick for a while now.
Well, Nigerians are at liberty to decide what to do. If they feel they are okay with the situation, that is fine but if they are not they must demand for real fresh air and not this pollution that is blowing all over the place. Government does not need to subsidize any product we consume but it must do the right thing by investing heavily on refineries and encouraging others to do the same in the sector.
In the plethora of protest placards, there was one which made a lot of meaning to me. The angry Nigerian wrote “We now know who the Boko Haram is.” Nigerians are definitely angry and it has become the style of leaders in this country to insist on either what we don’t like or pick delight in seeing us angry. But I want to urge Nigerians to stick to the dictates of reason and their conscience in resolving the endemic national questions that are raging all over. Our hope is that the leadership understands the magnitude of the crises at hand and is prepared to deal with it in a democratic fashion.
Articles
Of fuel subsidy, bombs and other matters
Category: Within the nation Written by Kabir Mato Hits: 1891
Here we are! On Thursday last week at the weekly Editorial Board meeting of Media Trust, Ltd, my friend and colleague Jideofor Adibe exclaimed with disappointment that President Jonathan has failed us all. I quickly retorted by excluding myself from those who genuinely or out of mischief feel that the president is not living up to the bidding of those who trusted him to provide fresh air in a new Nigeria. My response was equally as honest as Jideofor’s assertion because in the wildest of my dreams I never saw Goodluck Jonathan as capable of facing to resolution, the numerous challenges of the Nigerian national question. As a student of History and Political Science, I do know fairly well that challenges are integral part of the law of motion of societies and how well these challenges are addressed determine the level of successes of both the government and the people.
Here again, my favorite term, ‘political brinkmanship’ becomes apparent. I argue vehemently in the last few weeks that the challenges that Nigeria finds itself in today are not neither new or the most critical that we have seen in the little over 50-year history of the country as an independent nation. In my short life time I have seen moments when the country was seemingly on a collapse. During the early 1990s when Boutros Boutros Ghali was the Secretary-General of the United Nations, he was reported to have exclaimed publically that Nigeria was a miracle. This was because the level of intense crises that the nation was facing suggested that any moment, it would disintegrate.It was not untrue that there were no gigantic national challenges, but the difference with the times that we are facing today is that there were capable political leadership even if military that successfully navigated the country out of the path of integration. The latest of such national tumor was during the June12 1993 annulment of presidential election. No matter what anybody may say, the military junta under General Abacha did very well in keeping Nigeria one. General Jeremiah Useni was central in that navigation and the ruler ship of today even though claiming democratic credentials could humbly meet such a person for lesson in managing heterogeneous tension at moment of crises.
I don’t know who advises President Jonathan. I don’t know what the ultimate goal of his administration is or put the other way, what core values and objectives they desire to achieve while in office. Sometimes, I am drafted to thinking that this accident ascendency to power that Nigeria has faced most of the time since independence in 1960 is tragicomic. It is responsible for the ascendency of cluelessness in high places which by and large is responsible for the poor outing of leaders.
How does a government that is preaching so much and committing a trillion into security be so insecurity conscious by jacking up the price of refined products, this time around PMS a commodity that has multiplier effect on every facts of our national life? Soon after the Madalla bombing and politics that has been made out of it, one would think that the government would parry a while before going into such a dangerous terrain of subsidy removal.
In the whole subsidy debate, one fact that is missing is the role of refineries in the country. What happens if this over a trillion Naira is used to build refineries across the country or is anybody telling us that such a huge sum cannot build refineries? Why would any government that is responsible continue to blame itself of incapacity and after such admission, proceed to pass bulk to the common man?
This is the black and white of the subsidy debate. Government is anti-people. They are not ready to go by simple economics; instead, they are opting for delicate economic theories to solve simple problems. Build refineries please and government will not need to subsidize anything for anybody. This lazy approach to solving endemic economic issues have caused the nation so much in the past. I don’t like the PTF approach to infrastructural development in the country. Agreed that it did work before but it may not now under the current dispensation. What we are asking for is the proper management of the nation’s scarce resources and everything will be in place. No matter how much we pay for petrol there will be no infrastructure in place. We have heard this government gimmick for a while now.
Well, Nigerians are at liberty to decide what to do. If they feel they are okay with the situation, that is fine but if they are not they must demand for real fresh air and not this pollution that is blowing all over the place. Government does not need to subsidize any product we consume but it must do the right thing by investing heavily on refineries and encouraging others to do the same in the sector.
In the plethora of protest placards, there was one which made a lot of meaning to me. The angry Nigerian wrote “We now know who the Boko Haram is.” Nigerians are definitely angry and it has become the style of leaders in this country to insist on either what we don’t like or pick delight in seeing us angry. But I want to urge Nigerians to stick to the dictates of reason and their conscience in resolving the endemic national questions that are raging all over. Our hope is that the leadership understands the magnitude of the crises at hand and is prepared to deal with it in a democratic fashion.