The Subsidy is dead. Subsidy has resurrected again. The Nigerian political leadership is treating Nigerians like mumus. In local parlance, it’s like they are using us to catch cruise. Won fi ose pa wa in Yoruba, they are soaping us. For several moons this year, we underwent a currency change and cash illiquidity. Instead of stopping those using money to corrupt the electoral system, they stopped us from using our own money to run our families and businesses. At the end of the day, both new and old currency notes remain in circulation with nothing achieved, except unnecessary inconvenience for some people and economic deprivation and even extreme poverty for the masses.
Then in the name of continuity, passing from one Sufferhead APC government to another, it was announced that subsidies are dead and Naira can float to the Moon. Once again instead of stopping the subsidy cheats, namely the oil companies owned by them, the people were made to pay exorbitant prices for petrol. Millions of Nigerians were tossed into an economic washing machine and dryer, only for the government to now stylishly reverse and resume pay subsidies. As Fela sang we go dey parambulate and still dey same same place. We have become as Fela sang, one yeye (aimless) ball that one yeye wind has blown to one yeye corner.
When some of us criticized Tinubu after his inaugural speech, his followers cried it was too early, not knowing that economic direction like a strong wind is easy to know. You simply can’t remove subsidies without breaking the social contract of government to make life easy for the people. Not just about theories and political grandstanding. For crying out loud, how can $10 billion be too much to subsidize a $500 billion economy and 200 million people, amounting to a mere 2%. Yet you want us to pay 25% taxes. No good roads, no social justice, no water, no light. Nothing. The only thing the government can say they are doing for everyone was the oil subsidy, yet you want to tighten the tax net. It’s like Nigerians have no brains.
President Jonathan came out to remove oil subsidies after agreement with various stakeholders, but it was opposed vehemently with weeks of protest organized by those who are now implementing it. While on the Jonathan line, another thing nobody is talking about is the sudden increase in electricity supply. Jonathan was determined to bring to an end to power failures, or at least provide 18hrs of electricity, and went about increasing electricity generating capacity to 13 gigawatts by recruiting the likes of Professors Nnaji and Nebo. President Jonathan came out and announced that there would be light for 18hrs. There was light for a month or two, then darkness. Prof Nebo revealed that there were Gas Wars as gas pipelines were being sabotaged by unknown persons.
When Buhari came into power, he commissioned Siemens, a German company to study the electricity issues and they wrote a report that yes the capacity had been increased to 13 gigawatts from 5 gigawatts by Jonathan but we could only supply gas to generate about 4 gigawatts due to sabotaged gas pipelines. Who was sabotaging and why, we were never told as the electricity power cuts cost us billions of dollars in lost production and lost lives over the last decade. Then suddenly, May 29th 2023, we begin to have electricity like it’s going out of fashion. Did President Tinubu fart the gas now supplying our thermal electricity plants, or are the saboteurs now in government and gone international to sabotage Niger Republic electricity. Is it a case like Asari Dokunbo has come out to confess that he has a private army used to conduct some deep state or illegal actions.
Talking of which, for several years we had terrorists everywhere. Even bold enough to attack our military infrastructure in Kaduna State. Kidnappings everywhere. From a whole school being kidnapped to a whole train derailed and it’s passengers kidnapped. Then suddenly everything went quiet when the elections came around. Come on now, you dey wind us? The African political classes are taking the masses for fools. This is why the armies are being killed in large numbers by terrorists who the political class and Western governments are protecting.
The political class claim subsidy fraud is the problem and reason subsidy has to be scrapped. Instead of killing corruption, they decided to kill Nigerians with overpriced fuel. They claim we can’t afford cheap petrol and have to make collective sacrifices, but they go ahead to increase cost of governance with 48 ministers, getting free petrol to drive around with huge entourages and award themselves huge salary increases and holiday bonuses. They want to increase the tax net but not the job employment net. Fanciful Western economic theories but not practical solutions to create an industrial takeoff. They don’t even have an idea, instead of building railways to spur industrial growth, they would rather conscript the youth to farms or the army to go fight for the Western imperialists in Niger.
Not only Tinubu but the entire Nigerian political classes are pushing us to the wall. They don’t even know that they exist because of a social contract to make our lives better, not for them to get rich. As Prof Obasi Igwe rightly stated the ESSENCE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO SUBSIDIZE LIFE and SOCIAL CONTRACT IS SOCIAL SUBSIDY AND A GOVERNMENT REMOVING SUBSIDY IS IN BREACH OF THAT CONTRACT.
Tinubu proudly announced the death of subsidy and increased the price by 300% to N600. However due to his ignorant policy of floating the Naira, there has been a 20% fall in Naira value since the last petrol price increase which logically translates to a corresponding increase in the price of petrol, but due to the warning signs that another increase in fuel prices might spark anarchy, he has found a roundabout way to offset the costs, thereby reintroducing subsidies through the backdoor. As well as indirectly stopping the floating or sinking Naira. However, the prices are not reversed to what they were before his economic adventurism whose bill is paid by We the people.
The sociopolitical commentator Dele Farotimi gave a profound analysis that the problem of Nigeria is not corruption but impunity. As we say ‘See Finish’ leads to patronizing and contemptuous relationships. Our leadership is taking the piss, excuse my Cockney. Hmmm, one day the African monkey leadership will go to the market and not return, ending up in someone’s pot. We are not crash dummies and mumus that they can be using to test one chance buses driven off cliffs. I can’t shout, I can’t be bothered, but it will get to a point that if pushed to the wall, we would headbutt you.
Those of us that study the trends have heralded the 250 year return cycle of Oya revolutionary change that brings down unjust global political structures. The last Oya cycle in late 1700s brought the Haiti, US and French Revolutions, before that we had the early 1500s revolutionary change to the Roman Catholic, Ife and Nri civilizations, before that was the late 1200s revolutionary change against Islamic rule in Europe etc
Right now, political, economic and cultural revolutions are brewing.
