Subsidy Removal: Patriotism is Reciprocal -By Tope Oke

I used to be amongst the crowd that thronged to the scene of the Occupy Nigeria protests in 2012 to foolishly protest the removal of fuel subsidies by the government. While it is consoling that the folly was a pandemic then, it is even more regrettable that with the benefit of hindsight, we were all tools to catalyze the piercing propaganda to oust a ‘good’ man from office.

Eleven years later, it is quite an irony that the same people who engineered and sponsored the protests are now bent on removing it, this time even more ruthlessly. Without any consultation, conversation, or communication with the relevant stakeholders, Nigerians woke up to a new dispensation and another episode of fuel scarcity after prices were jacked up by a mammoth 200%!

While there is a consensus that subsidy has to go, the conundrum is the process. Announcing it unilaterally and suddenly is definitely not the way and is a reminder of the sustained contemptuous relationship between the government and the people.

Nigerians have made so many sacrifices for Nigeria and are always willing to but one cannot be infinitely patriotic to a country that continues to degrade the life expectancy of its people. It is sheer wickedness that those who are appealing to Nigerians to make sacrifices are not leading by example. There is no attempt whatsoever at scaling down on the over-bloated cost of governance. There is no attempt whatsoever to rein in the brazen oil theft which is put at over a million barrels per day! The futile attempt to fix at least one of the four refineries (which is the genesis of the subsidy regime) has only swallowed trillions of naira with nothing to show for it.

To buttress the irresponsibility of government, Stephen Oronsaye, a full-blooded Nigerian and former Head of Service was commissioned to produce a framework to make the civil service leaner. He recommended the abolition and merger of some government agencies and parastatals. A reduction in the number of statutory agencies from 263 to 161; 38 agencies were recommended for abolition, 52 should be merged, and 14 to revert to departments in existing ministries. He also admonished the government to discontinue the funding of professional bodies and councils, and religious pilgrimages amongst other wastages.

As clear as the White Paper was, NOTHING in it has been implemented. In the usual Nigerian way, one committee is followed by another committee to review the findings of the first committee, after which another committee is set up to study the reports and draft another White Paper. At the end of the day, rather than reduce or merge some agencies as recommended in the report, even more agencies were established! That is why there is a foreign affairs ministry and also a diaspora commission as if there are different breeds of Nigerians overseas and why there is the FRSC and the VIO as if they inspect different car models!

Let’s not even delve into the humongous amount that is readily made available to the 469 ‘distinguished’ and ‘honorable’ men and women of the ‘hallowed’ chambers. This year, they increased their budget from N169b to N228b simply because they are the ‘representatives’ of the people and therefore whether Nigeria or Nigerians are broke, they must continue to get their own money regardless. First line.

What is even more puzzling is that the government hasn’t put anything in place to ameliorate the sudden spike. The comical $800m loan it took from the World Bank will only leave a huge N8,000 each in the hands of 133m Nigerians it is meant for. Added to this, there’s no electricity guarantee, and no increase in wages yet some people will sit in their solar-powered homes defending the government that has failed to provide even the most basic of amenities to survive. This has always been the problem in Nigeria anyways. I better pass my neighbour.

So imagine sitting in darkness in your home, consoling yourself with a mound of eba and okro soup with fresh fish, unable to buy fuel for your generator after buying for your car, and then you tune in to the news after power is somehow restored, to hear that the budget for the President’s food for the year is N5b or one minister bought 10 fire trucks for N30b or a tag team between snakes and rats led to the disappearance of N500m cash How will the eba digest? What is the guarantee that the supposedly saved funds will be channeled appropriately to make life better? Will the sacrifice be worth it?

These are the issues. The trust deficit is so wide and can only be bridged if government lead by example. People will buy into whatever policy they churn out.

Patriotism is reciprocal.