BREAKING :Fuel Subsidy Removal: Palliatives can’t cure our pains — Nigerians cry out

 

CITIZENS, including lawyers, human rights activists, academics, and artisans have

faulted the palliative measures put in place by some state governments to bolster the consequence of the removal of fuel subsidy on the people, saying it was a wrong strategy.

Some governments announced payment of N10,000 monthly for public sector workers, some allowances for medical personnel and occasional distribution of food to the poor and most vulnerable households as well as free bus rides for students of tertiary institutions. In their reactions, a number of the residents insisted that it was a rip-off while others said the Federal Government should have put in place a proper plan before getting rid of fuel subsidy.

Professor Ihechukwu Madubuike, two-time Minister of Education and Health, said that for any palliative option to be meaningful, it should not be selective but one that would impact everybody. He argued that the effects of fuel subsidy removal “is on everybody” irrespective of one’s socio-economic status, hence, nobody should be discriminated against in government palliatives.

“The effects of fuel subsidy removal are on every citizen. So, the government should think of cushioning plans that everybody will benefit from.” Professor Madubuike blamed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for hastily removing fuel subsidies without any ready action plan to cushion the effects of the removal.

He said that the savings from the fuel subsidy should be evenly distributed to benefit all citizens irrespective of their class because everybody gets the heat of the subsidy removal.

He said that the first step to be taken by the government to cushion the effects of subsidy removal was to crash the cost of governance. He said it was a contradiction for the government to be talking of fuel subsidy removal on the one hand, only to be recklessly increasing the cost of governance on the other hand. “Our Presidents are behaving like kings and monarchs. But monarchy is gone even in Britain, people oppose it now”. The former Education Minister who decried the high cost of governance in the country insisted that only a conscious downscaling of the cost of governance will save Nigeria from imminent insolvency. The former Minister for Health also strongly advocated a shift from consumption to production. He regretted that Nigeria had remained the only oil-producing country without a functional oil refinery, a development, he said, smacks of cluelessness in leadership. “We must think differently if we must move forward as a nation. We must start producing something, and stop being a consuming nation”.

Mr Ayo Fadaka, former South-West Zonal Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP said, ”we have a fundamental economic problem that can only be addressed through a comprehensive action and not tokenism as currently obtained by state governments reactions. The Tinubu administration that exacerbated our economic woes is yet to put on its thinking cap in the midst of this crisis and that is disappointing. Government at all levels must think deeply and rescue Nigerians from serious economic woes, as failure to do that is simply to plan for a crisis. We are all poor now and rapidly reverting to hitherto unimaginable practices as people now trek kilometers to eke a living, this is not an advancement but retrogression.

Before Tinubu’s inauguration, the poor could still get an uninspiring meal for N100, that is no longer possible today because of the accelerating and galloping speed of inflation. The devaluation of the Naira clearly indicates that President Tinubu did not come into office prepared to tackle the sloppiness of the Buhari era but to accentuate same and this is disappointing when due cognisance is accorded to the education and training of both men, Buhari was a soldier with a questionable O Level result while Tinubu is a certified accountant with a pedigree. We are suffering in today’s Nigeria and we need help, I just hope that one day soon, social crisis will not erupt and create a dislocation that will be very costly to the nation.

Bishop Edem Offiong of the True Worshipers Assembly, Calabar, Cross –River state, said, “The situation is dire. The church offering has dwindled, attendance has gone down drastically, and the joy of being in the presence of the lord has disappeared from the faces of many members owing to what they are going through. In spite of the low offering, after service, many members line up to see me and from what we have collected, we share to them. Therefore, how can you see people dying and you keep money for programmes or development of the church. We have to give out. The palliatives talk is just trying to take the mind of Nigerians away from the real issues they are going through. Very soon, you will see people dying of hunger, diseases, and abject needs. Perhaps, this government is bent on placating its creditors in International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and China who are insisting on reduction of the country’s population to get more loans.

Palliative is a joke – Prof Ossopong, UNICAL, C-River

A Professor of Political Science at the University of Calabar, Ntimasu Ossopong, submitted that “provision of palliatives to cushion the effect of subsidy removal is just a joke. 90 percent of Nigerians feel the pain of what is going on in the country, so who do you palliate and who do you leave out. How can N10, 000 or N8, 000 meet the needs of an average Nigerian? Those talking about palliatives to cushion effects of what we are facing are just not serious yet. As a professor I live at 8 Miles, in the outskirts of Calabar and each day I come here (University of Calabar), I buy 10,000 fuel which cannot bring me here the next day. My salary is less than half a million. If I take taxi, I pay N3, 000 back and forth. Moreover, at my status, I cannot ask students to give me money and yet my needs are mounting. Some junior lecturers earn far less, yet, they have families, and other needs. Therefore, the whole thing is just funny.

On his part, Comrade Nnanna Nwafor, the Executive Director, Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development (FENRAD), expressed doubt in the sincerity of government with the various palliative measures being promised. He said he was not convinced that government was serious in rolling out any palliative to cushion the biting effects of subsidy removal on the citizenry. Nwafor who said that the impacts of the subsidy removal on the masses had been devastating, said that government ought to have adopted gradual/phased subsidy removal instead of unprepared outright removal. He advocated social welfare packages that every citizen would benefit from, but regretted that such programme would be sabotaged or abused due to endemic corruption in the country.

According to him, “all these palliative measures cannot go a long way to addressing the suffering people due to government insincerity, corruption and government long term of betrayal and lack of data to ensure the most vulnerable persons are captured. I can see insincerity and lack of trust by government to fulfil this promise.”

By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South; Dayo Johnson, Regional Editor, South-West;Sam Oyadonagha; Jimitota Onoyume; Egufe Yafugborhi; Steve Oko; Marie-Therese Nanlong; Rotimi Ojomoyela; Peter Duru; Emma Una; Shina Abubakar; Emem Idio and Chioma Onuegbu

CITIZENS, including lawyers, human rights activists, academics, and artisans have

faulted the palliative measures put in place by some state governments to bolster the consequence of the removal of fuel subsidy on the people, saying it was a wrong strategy.

Some governments announced payment of N10,000 monthly for public sector workers, some allowances for medical personnel and occasional distribution of food to the poor and most vulnerable households as well as free bus rides for students of tertiary institutions. In their reactions, a number of the residents insisted that it was a rip-off while others said the Federal Government should have put in place a proper plan before getting rid of fuel subsidy.

Professor Ihechukwu Madubuike, two-time Minister of Education and Health, said that for any palliative option to be meaningful, it should not be selective but one that would impact everybody. He argued that the effects of fuel subsidy removal “is on everybody” irrespective of one’s socio-economic status, hence, nobody should be discriminated against in government palliatives.

“The effects of fuel subsidy removal are on every citizen. So, the government should think of cushioning plans that everybody will benefit from.” Professor Madubuike blamed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for hastily removing fuel subsidies without any ready action plan to cushion the effects of the removal.

He said that the savings from the fuel subsidy should be evenly distributed to benefit all citizens irrespective of their class because everybody gets the heat of the subsidy removal.

He said that the first step to be taken by the government to cushion the effects of subsidy removal was to crash the cost of governance. He said it was a contradiction for the government to be talking of fuel subsidy removal on the one hand, only to be recklessly increasing the cost of governance on the other hand. “Our Presidents are behaving like kings and monarchs. But monarchy is gone even in Britain, people oppose it now”. The former Education Minister who decried the high cost of governance in the country insisted that only a conscious downscaling of the cost of governance will save Nigeria from imminent insolvency. The former Minister for Health also strongly advocated a shift from consumption to production. He regretted that Nigeria had remained the only oil-producing country without a functional oil refinery, a development, he said, smacks of cluelessness in leadership. “We must think differently if we must move forward as a nation. We must start producing something, and stop being a consuming nation”.

Mr Ayo Fadaka, former South-West Zonal Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP said, ”we have a fundamental economic problem that can only be addressed through a comprehensive action and not tokenism as currently obtained by state governments reactions. The Tinubu administration that exacerbated our economic woes is yet to put on its thinking cap in the midst of this crisis and that is disappointing. Government at all levels must think deeply and rescue Nigerians from serious economic woes, as failure to do that is simply to plan for a crisis. We are all poor now and rapidly reverting to hitherto unimaginable practices as people now trek kilometers to eke a living, this is not an advancement but retrogression.

Before Tinubu’s inauguration, the poor could still get an uninspiring meal for N100, that is no longer possible today because of the accelerating and galloping speed of inflation. The devaluation of the Naira clearly indicates that President Tinubu did not come into office prepared to tackle the sloppiness of the Buhari era but to accentuate same and this is disappointing when due cognisance is accorded to the education and training of both men, Buhari was a soldier with a questionable O Level result while Tinubu is a certified accountant with a pedigree. We are suffering in today’s Nigeria and we need help, I just hope that one day soon, social crisis will not erupt and create a dislocation that will be very costly to the nation.

Situation is volatile – Bishop Edem, C-River

Bishop Edem Offiong of the True Worshipers Assembly, Calabar, Cross –River state, said, “The situation is dire. The church offering has dwindled, attendance has gone down drastically, and the joy of being in the presence of the lord has disappeared from the faces of many members owing to what they are going through. In spite of the low offering, after service, many members line up to see me and from what we have collected, we share to them. Therefore, how can you see people dying and you keep money for programmes or development of the church. We have to give out. The palliatives talk is just trying to take the mind of Nigerians away from the real issues they are going through. Very soon, you will see people dying of hunger, diseases, and abject needs. Perhaps, this government is bent on placating its creditors in International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and China who are insisting on reduction of the country’s population to get more 

A Professor of Political Science at the University of Calabar, Ntimasu Ossopong, submitted that “provision of palliatives to cushion the effect of subsidy removal is just a joke. 90 percent of Nigerians feel the pain of what is going on in the country, so who do you palliate and who do you leave out. How can N10, 000 or N8, 000 meet the needs of an average Nigerian? Those talking about palliatives to cushion effects of what we are facing are just not serious yet. As a professor I live at 8 Miles, in the outskirts of Calabar and each day I come here (University of Calabar), I buy 10,000 fuel which cannot bring me here the next day. My salary is less than half a million. If I take taxi, I pay N3, 000 back and forth. Moreover, at my status, I cannot ask students to give me money and yet my needs are mounting. Some junior lecturers earn far less, yet, they have families, and other needs. Therefore, the whole thing is just funny.

On his part, Comrade Nnanna Nwafor, the Executive Director, Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development (FENRAD), expressed doubt in the sincerity of government with the various palliative measures being promised. He said he was not convinced that government was serious in rolling out any palliative to cushion the biting effects of subsidy removal on the citizenry. Nwafor who said that the impacts of the subsidy removal on the masses had been devastating, said that government ought to have adopted gradual/phased subsidy removal instead of unprepared outright removal. He advocated social welfare packages that every citizen would benefit from, but regretted that such programme would be sabotaged or abused due to endemic corruption in the country.

According to him, “all these palliative measures cannot go a long way to addressing the suffering people due to government insincerity, corruption and government long term of betrayal and lack of data to ensure the most vulnerable persons are captured. I can see insincerity and lack of trust by government to fulfil this promise.”

Palliative is wrong approach – Nsuke, MOSOP president, Rivers

President of the Movement for Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) and lawyer, Fegalo Nsuke, said, “People need a functional system that offer opportunities and encourage production and not to be made to live on humanitarian gestures. Moreover, given Nigeria’s resource endowments, citizen’s living standards can significantly improve with investments in infrastructure and investor-friendly incentives.

“The present state of Nigeria is pathetic and I do not think things will get better with palliatives given the state of our roads and distribution system, power supply, and other essential infrastructure. Therefore, the government should begin with building infrastructure and providing security for farmers to boost food production while other sectors are being developed. The palliatives will not be sustainable if standards of living continue to decline. We also have to face the realities.

Workers must get commemorate pay rise to cope with the pains of subsidy removal. Nigerians will not pay same price for energy like citizens of Saudi Arabia and be on a minimum wage of N40, 000 per month (approximately $50). In essence, palliatives will be meaningless in an economy with exponentially rising inflation, increasing unemployment and high insecurity. Government should deliberately invest in building social infrastructure and food production. That will be a better way to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal than free transport and all that, which are not sustainable

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CREDIT. Vanguard News .