Leadership (Abuja)
Amaechi Dike
15 August 2008
column
Mr. Odein Ajumogobia's renewed campaign for the removal of a phantom subsidy on petroleum products is grounded neither in logic nor in rhythm. Indeed, his obdurate insistence on the "subsidy" syndrome since he was appointed Minister of State for Energy (Petroleum) by the Yar'Adua administration, has more than a little dose of nuisance for a people who have been surviving by the sheer grace of God! It would appear that Ajumogobia's only brief as minister of state in the oil ministry is to plot how to inflict unending hardship on Nigerians by means of "subsidy" removal! And we reject such obsessive tendency in its entirety.
At a time when the masses are brooding over the increasing hardship to which they have been subjected by governments without any end in sight, a public officer feigns insensitivity to our plight and must seek further punishment for us through some obscure governmental policies. Last week, at the The Nation's round table discussion, Ajumogobia canvassed what he called a phased "subsidy" removal over a five-year period. The junior minister, who has been gallivanting all over the place since his appointment into the nation's gold mine, argues that "subsidy is uneconomical and an unsustainable policy." According to him, "Nigerians need to embrace change to move the economy forward" - whatever that means!
Labouring under a delusion of grandeur, Ajumogobia told an apparently bewildered panel why he thinks the removal of "subsidy" and the fixing of what he considers an appropriate pricing of petroleum products have become a desideratum or, indeed, a sine qua non. He said the refineries, despite having a capacity to refine 445,000 barrels of oil daily, have never exceeded 360,000 barrels per day and that the 360,000 refining capacity merely worked for a very short time. He said the removal of "subsidy" would enable the government to divert funds to finance development of infrastructure like roads, electricity and health services, among other projects which, he argued, would have direct positive impact on the people. The junior minister went from the puerile to the absurd in his hollow rationalisation of this wicked agenda.
Listen to him. "The refineries are public assets held in trust (blind trust, may be!) by government for Nigerians and in public asset management , the federal character is applied which makes efficiency difficult." He added: "We have reinvested in them and we have to try to get the best value. There are many options. There could be management contract, where government can keep the ownership and give the management out. The way to go is privatisation and this administration has embraced the policy of privatisation, liberalisation and deregulation. It is the deregulation aspect that we came to discuss, which is to say if we don't do so we are constraining the sector and we have seen it over the last eight years. These debates on deregulation are not new. What I hope is new is the fresh approach in terms of engaging stakeholders early, putting the facts on the table and letting the facts guide us in terms of the direction we should go, how far and fast we should go, what we need to do with whatever savings we realise and how do we monitor the use of those savings…"
Sounds like sweet nonsense, indeed! There is really nothing new in Ajumogobia's message. It is like a retraded tyre and we reject both the new messenger and his old message. How do we monitor public savings in this God-forsaken nation? Was it not before our watchful eyes that Obasanjo and co. robbed us dry and stripped us of our patrimony as no government ever did? Think of the power probe. Think of the NNPC bazaar. Think of the two hundred million blind trusts in Transcorp shares. Think of the wasted trillions on spurious road contracts. Think of the PTDF looting spree. Recall the billions of naira burnt on Obasanjo's Turn-Around Maintenance (TAM) of our refineries which are deliberately left comatose for the sake of boosting petroleum imports by the deranged oil czar and his surrogates!
At the twilight of the failed regime of Mr. Obasanjo and the dawn of Yar'Adua's presidency, the departing maximum ruler had hiked the prices of petroleum products as part of his booby traps for the new administration. Unknown to unwary members of the public, Obasanjo had actually intended the successor administration to fail so that he could continue to parade himself as the messiah Nigeria ever needs. But, seeing through his selfish traps, President Yar'Adua managed a truce with labour and the civil society groups over the protest which greeted the senseless price hike, and thus prevented a major catastrophe which almost rocked his wobbling presidency.
To be sure, the decision by government to retain what it called a marginal figure form the callous hike imposed by Obasanjo, provided a reprieve to Nigerians who were subjected to all kinds of hardship for the duration of the face-off with the organised labour. And with the gradual return to normalcy, the public had hoped that the vexed question of "subsidy" removal would abate for a very long time to come, while government concerns itself strictly with a quick delivery of democracy dividends to cushion the growing harsh economic situation.
Unfortunately, nothing has changed since then and Nigerians can hardly point to any governmental programme which has impacted positively on their lives since the change of baton in Aso Rock. Rather than provide us with quality and affordable healthcare facilities, we have a situation where Medicare for the masses has gone from bad to worse. At the moment, only a privileged few with access to public office can pay their medical bills, essentially outside the shores of this land. Life has, therefore, become so-cheap as mortality rate in Nigeria has assumed a dangerous proportion. In the same vein, our education system has virtually collapsed with no signs in sight as to when things would begin to look up in that very important sector. Only recently, our primary and secondary school teachers managed to call off their five-week strike which virtually crippled the system over a Teachers Salary Structure (TSS) that would guarantee their optimum performance and ensure improved standards in schools. Regrettably, while the forced closure of schools lasted over that legitimate demand, the Federal Government merely played Pontius Pilate and claimed that the responsibility for teachers, welfare in primary and secondary schools rests squarely with the state governments. So, it did not matter how long the teachers decided to insist on an answer to their demand!
Meanwhile, the roads across the length and breath of this expansive country have virtually atrophied into disuse. In fact, what can be called roads today in Nigeria, except in Abuja, are mere craters. Most of them have been washed away by erosion; and movement across the country has become a hellish nightmare. Besides the trauma and agony which Nigerians go through in their daily struggle to eke out a living, the high cost of transportation which they bear as a result of the chequered economic situation in the land makes life more lamentable. Neither does any solace come from the power sector. With more darkness than light in the absence of "Emergency Declaration," life has become brutish, nasty and short! This forced return to the stone-age has consequently induced a legendary sense of déjà vu in us. Yet the sheer burden of the unjustifiably high cost of living which we have had to pay to oil the wheels of our democratic bugaboo, has continued to reduce our being in all respects.
In Nigeria, governments do not as a necessary routine embark on upward review of workers' salary and remuneration. No occasional thought is spared on the welfare of workers by government and other employers of labour. Save for occasional agitation by the organised labour, such an exercise is a big luxury which must be considered an exceptional favour by employers of labour. The net result is that per capita income is abysmally low, with the concomitant effect that Nigeria is reputed as ranking as one of the few poorest countries of the world whose citizens live well below acceptable poverty line.
In spite of this grim and glaring economic slavery, our leaders continue to threaten us with further economic Armageddon; without any qualm of conscience. Pray, why is Mr. Ajumogobia driving us rough when this government has not been able to tackle the basic necessities of life that could save the masses from the palpable hardship in town? Why must we be treated with this nauseating platitude of "subsidy" removal when all we hear every day is about looted billions and trillions of our naira and dollars? Can't some one tell this junior minister to get off our bumpy backs and try something else? This talk of "subsidy" removal is arrant nonsense. Let's think of better slogans, please!
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