KWENU: Our Culture, Our Future

State of the Nation on Subsidy Removal

MAX GBANITE

maxgbanite@yahoo.com

Saturday, January 21, 2012

On January 1, 2012, as Nigerians entered the New Year, the transformation and change agenda promised by President Goodluck Jonathan entered the first phase. The phase came with the announcement that the ‘Petroleum-Oil-Subsidy’ had been removed. The news was welcomed with mixed reactions before the national shockwave. Those who had travelled from their various locations to the Southeast and South-south suddenly realized that their journey back was now going to cost them twice more!

The labor unions NLC & TUC swung into action, calling on all their affiliates, civil societies and Nigerians to go on strike. Originally, the strike was meant for people to sit at home and do nothing. However, in my own opinion, politicians who lost in the last general elections to the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) -- notably members of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) -- in collaboration with the ever-compromising Conference of National Political Parties (CNPP), took advantage of the situation and high-jacked the civil protests.

The same politicians erected a concert stage at Gani Fawehinmi Park (renamed Freedom Park), located in Ojota, Lagos. As if they had planned it earlier, they immediately printed and distributed expensive T-shirts, provided transport refunds for their supporters, provided food and water for their thugs, etc. They made sure that performing artists and entertainers such as musicians, Nollywood actors, lawyers, pastors, women activists, and magicians spoke and performed; in short, the atmosphere was an ‘owambe’ circus. Yet, labor union members were missing from the rally, and those present were denied the opportunity to speak.

In Kano, supporters of CPC and All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) went on a rampage. Political thugs in their midst started burning vehicles and houses. I was indeed very surprised because petrol has never sold for anything less than 100 naira in Kano or anywhere else in the north when available. Therefore, it was surprising to see the carnage exacted in Kano. It shows that the once highly politically-savvy Kano indigenes have been compromised.

Similar scenario played out in Niger State: Vandals were used by irate opposition politicians who took advantage of the innocent protests orchestrated by labor unions to cause havoc in the city of Minna. They burnt buildings and caused irreparable psychological damage to the good people of Niger. At this point, let us pause and ask, “What have these evil reactions got to do with subsidy removal?”

In the Southeastern States (Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Imo, and Ebonyi), the people adhered strictly to labor union orders. Civil servants and other workers simply stayed home. Traders moved on with their businesses in the belief that, if government adds money to the cost of one liter of petrol, they too will pass on the increased cost of commerce to consumers of their commodities. Husbands spent scarce but quality time with their wives. Those who had lost dear ones in the genocidal Pogroms of 1966, and in the current killings of Ndiigbo in the north, took time to reflect and mourn. Many others continued to mourn the passage of the great Ezeigbo Gburugburu and Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who is yet to be interred. Besides, Ndiigbo are the only ethnic group who can readily adjust to any market forces, whether negative or positive.

Some people may not like this particular posture by Ndiigbo, but they have learnt their lessons from the civil war and the infamous NADECO demonstrations. The Lagos-axis politicians always want to drag Ndiigbo into political instability in the country. Yet, they have not for one day issued a categorical statement condemning the unwarranted killings of Ndiigbo. It is simply all about their interests. Period! When President Olusegun Obasanjo was in office, he mismanaged the economy; the Southwest zone benefitted tremendously from his misadventure; and he never delivered on good governance. Obasanjo abrogated the rule of law with impunity; yet, they did not consider it necessary then to demonstrate at any ‘freedom’ park.

Lest we forget, when Governor Fashola erected a toll-gate at Lekki, those that came out to demonstrate had their heads smashed by a combination of Police and LASTMA. The people cried foul, but religious leaders ignored their cries. Alas, recently, despite the fact that labor unions have called off the enunciated strike, some politicians and pastors who felt disappointed by their electoral misadventure, and who had wanted regime change, decided to go back and continue preaching hatred. The Federal government, borrowing a page from Fashola and guided by the Constitution, allowed the military the right to perform their ‘peace support operations.’  

My question to those complaining is a simple one: What have you done for Ndiigbo lately; what is your investment in Igboland; and will you support Ndiigbo to produce a president for Nigeria? Ndiigbo, in partnership with the North, remain the political stabilizers of this country, and that is why Ndiigbo residing in the North must not be afraid when they are attacked. Those who built the ‘ogbunigwe’ (bomb) are still alive, and all that is required is to couple the damn thing and allow many to go off in Kano, Kaduna, Jos or even Adamawa. The Holy Bible and Koran preach “an eye for an eye.” This way, when everyone is blind, those who wish to continue the killing will not see whom to kill.

I commend the Ijaw who showed maximum support for their son, President Goodluck Jonathan, during the forced subsidy strike. Although, Jonathan is their son, he was voted into office by a combination of the Southeast, North, Southwest, and other South-south citizens. Whereas, they may lay claim to him, he is now our president and must be allowed to carry out his policies of ‘change and transformation’ without ethnic and religious distractions.

Those who would want to blame the Ijaw forgot that they simply took after Afenifere which, in 2000, rose stoutly to defend the then President Obasanjo when former Senator Arthur Nzeribe raised ‘the twelve impeachable sins of Obasanjo.’ At this point, it is worthy to mention that whereas the Ijaws voted for their son, Jonathan, the Afenifere never voted for OBJ; therefore, who is better placed to defend their son and reap where they sowed? For as long as we dwell on ethnic interests over those of the nation, such nuances will persist.

The communication strategy adopted by the President’s hawks on subsidy removal was poorly done. Although they later came up with promises of palliatives, most commentators agree that the palliative measures should have been placed ahead of time. The adopted mode of communication should have been diversified to maximize the community outreach impact. I this case, radio would have done much more than television and newspapers. This should really be a case study for students of communications in various tertiary institutions.

The troika of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (CBN Governor), Arch. Dieziani Allison-Madueke (Minister of Petroleum), and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Minister of Finance), failed woefully as presidential communicators in making a case for subsidy removal. All they needed to do was explain to Nigerians the difference between arithmetic, mathematics, and algebra. On some occasions, they talked about subsidy removal; other times, it became deregulation. It ended up a simple price increase, a practice that former president Olusegun Obasanjo perfected during his tenure without achieving much with the money realized.

Without over-flogging this issue which is now behind us, the point should be noted that those that failed the President are the same people that voted for ‘transformation and change.’ That was what the President promised Nigerians during his elections campaign. My question to the advocates of ‘change and transformation’ is a simple one: when does it start?

If you recall, sometime before the elections labor insisted on a minimum wage of 18,000 naira as a pre-condition for endorsing the President for 2011 elections. The President agreed. The recent revelation by Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency document, being discussed in the House evaluation of the agency’s activities, indicate that Labor signed an agreement for the price increase to 141 naira per liter in August 2011, and for such increase to take effect in 2012. Therefore, for labor to call out Nigerians to strike smacks and smells of betrayal of the President and the agreement they signed ab initio.

After the President signed the minimum wage into law, the governors went to Abuja, held the President to ransom; and insisted that the only way they are able to meet up with the minimum wage is for him to cancel the sovereign wealth fund (SWF) proposal and withdraw petroleum oil subsidy immediately. The President acted, but the governors hid their faces like the proverbial ostrich. The governors did not come out to defend what they had initiated. They did not introduce any palliatives to assuage the sufferings of their people. For instance, I expected the Southeast governors to provide free transportation for Ndiigbo stuck in their zone to enable them return to their various destinations, as part of their palliative support for a policy they forced upon the President. They did not lift a finger; instead, they left the President out in the cold. This, too, must be a lasting lesson for the President to learn.

What the President must do now is to get the National Assembly to pass a law supporting his program on Subsidy Removal Empowerment (SURE) program; make it similar to the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) program enunciated under General Sani Abacha, and get the same Chief Kolade to head it. He must identify all the unfinished infrastructure development presented the committee on abandoned infrastructure led by Chief Earnest Shonekan, GCFR (former interim president), and start working on them. He may also opt for a policy of one program per year. In this case, for one year, tackle the power sector. With a vibrant and constant electric power supply, the private sector and foreign companies will easily set up factories and take advantage of low-cost labor. The second year, tackle federal roads and railway lines;  this will increase the inter-state transportation of commodities, while reducing the wear and tear on existing roads. The third year: health, education, and human capacity development. If he pursues these agenda holistically, he would have succeeded in achieving his set objectives of ‘transformation and change,’ which remains the bedrock of his presidency. If President Jonathan fails, the opposition will be in an advantageous position to effect a change democratically in 2015.

The President has already promised to restore the existing refineries to full capacity and to build three new ones in partnership with the Chinese. Nigerians must give him the benefit of doubt. He must give the fight against corruption the muscle required by the various agencies, notably EFCC, ICPC, Police SFU, SSS-Anti sabotage unit, to discharge their duties without interference. The judiciary must be encouraged to do what is right, constitutionally; while the President makes sure that those elected in 2015 election are the people’s choice. Nigeria must end the bad political equation called ‘doctrine of imposition of candidates.’ If the president is able to accomplish this, believe it or not, many Nigerians will dust off their old CDs and start singing “Goodluck for you, Goodluck for me, and Goodluck for everybody, o’ yeah” …. come 2015.