The Federal Government keeps telling us that it spends about a trillion naira on subsidy every year; that the masses are not benefiting from it and that there is a cabal which is making a massive rip-off, from it. Therefore it is in the national interest to remove the subsidy to prevent the cabal from continuing its rip off; that it is better to let market forces dictate the price of oil and that the trillion naira would be better spent on the provision of capital projects. What a lie!This is what will happen after fuel subsidy has been removed:a) Cost of petrol and all petroleum products will go up to as much as N200 per litre, because we will be buying fuel at prices dictated by the international market.b) Since our economy is run almost solely on petroleum-based vehicles, there will be a rise in the price of almost every consumer goods produced in this country, due to the high cost of getting the goods to the end-users.c) There will be a rise in the prices of foodstuffs because of the high transport cost, in getting the foodstuffs from the agricultural producing centres to the major population centres.d) There will be more contraction in the economy, as companies will have to lay-off workers and or freeze pay rise in order to accommodate the associated rise in business costs or even shut down.e) There will be a further decline in the quality of living with the complete decimation of the middle class, an ever increasing pool of unemployed youths and a wider gap between the rich and the poor.f) People will pay more for services from artisans and the like.h) Since corruption has not in any way been effectively tackled, most of the trillion naira that government plans on saving will end up in private pockets than in the provision of any tangible capital project.This is, however, what government ought to do before removing fuel subsidy:a) Ensure that the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria is completed; that the National Integrated Power Projects are all on-stream and generating at full capacity, and that electricity is being delivered on a consistent and constant basis.b) Ensure that the refineries are all working, even if they cant operate at optimum levels because of age, and even try and build at least one new one to complement them.c) Ensure the speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill to ensure that the nation gets the maximum return from its petroleum resources and for better management of the oil and gas sector. The extant law regulating the industry, the Petroleum Act 1969 is out-dated and long overdue for a total repeal.d) Do its utmost to fight corruption, and begin the crusade from the top. Without fighting corruption, the nation cannot make any meaningful progress. In the 1960s and 70s, when the country was on the progressive path, corruption was on a manageable level and it was not all-pervasive as it is today. From the 1980s to the present, when corrupt tendencies became more pervasive in the national life and seemingly uncheckable, the country has back-tracked on every progressive front, leading to the disappearance (or stealing) of public funds and it also accounts for the shoddy quality of works being done by contractors on contracts awarded to them by government.e) Implement policies that protect our indigenous industries from unfavourable competition from foreign companies and the economy from becoming a total dumping site for all sorts of imported materials from even other Third World countries like ours. In other words, act like the Chinese.Seyi Awodugba, Esq.2, Beco Street, Mangoro Bus Stop,Ikeja, Lagos State.
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