Since the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan came on board, it has been filled with one controversy or the other, though not the sort of controversies one would find since 1999.Many would however, disagree with the word controversy and rather settle with the fact that the whole 'Goodluck' thing has been a mistake all the way. This writer is of the belief that the President has been visionless, lacks foresight and has failed to understand the basic realities of the Nigerian system. Policy makers in Abuja would disagree with this rather harsh criticism and say since the administration is just a little more than a year old, there is more it wishes to give Nigerians to better their lives, instead of being quick to judge. However, when an administration begins its tenure with the intention to remove the poverty gap amongst the vast majority of its people by giving what it does not have, then such administration should seriously be having a rethink.This writer is of the opinion that the Goodluck who drove all night and day, asking the electorate for their votes with a face of sincerity and belief that it would not be business as usual in a political terrain known for its lack of patriotism, high handedness and penchant for chicanery, during the few days Professor Attahiru Jega's INEC allowed for electoral and political campaigns, has suddenly forgotten why Nigerians voted for him and not his myopic party, else, the insistence by his administration to remove subsidy wouldn't have occurred in the first instance.It has perhaps become a routine for all Presidents in Nigeria to win elections and the first thing they do is to make the vast majority of the people who brought them to power more miserable than they were. For those who do not see the deceit millions of Nigerians have been subjected to since 1986, it is high time we the silent majority woke up from our 51-year-old slumber and openly disagree with the Okonjo- Iweala-led Economic Team and the Goodluck administration as a whole on their insistence to remove oil subsidy. The lie we hear all the time is that petrol in Nigeria has always been heavily subsidised and must be removed so government can free itself from subsidising our cars and generators and use the money for development. This argument began in 1986 when the Babangida-led junta argued that petrol was too cheap at 23 kobo per litre and an increase of 70 kobo per litre was made in 1991. Many would have thought the increase was fair since it was still in the range of the kobo not until the interim government of Chief Ernest Shonekan also argued in the same line and increased it to N5.00 per litre. As a result of the June 12 crisis which the late General Sani Abacha inherited and who desperately wanted acceptance from the masses, he reduced it to N3.25 kobo and having taken firm control of the country, deceitfully increased it to N11.00 in 1994. Abacha's intention was to use the freed subsidy to set up the Petroleum Trust Fund for exactly and surprisingly the same reason President Goodluck Jonathan is giving Nigerians today. When General Abdusalami Abubakar (rtd) also came on board, he increased it to N25 and later reduced it to N20 when Labour kicked. However, many had thought since democracy had come to stay since 1999, petrol would become a blessing, but Baba Iyabo became the face of subsidy removal in this country. From N22 and N40 to N75, all these prices were arrived at when Labour and the public cried out. It was not until the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua came on board that the price was eventually reduced to N65 which Nigerians are still managing till date. By 2012 as it is being predicted, fuel prices will triple with the same set of excuses given since 1986. The question this writer keeps asking is: Since petrol price had been increased, which development has been achieved in the health, education and all sectors of the economy' Is petrol the only product subsidised in this country that the powers-that-be have always been hell bent on using it to make life difficult for its people' What have all the proceeds from oil over the years been used for' Can the Jonathan government tell us how much Baba Iyabo made for the country, firstly, when he increased pump prices about three times and secondly, during the second Gulf War which saw oil prices reach an unprecedented high' If one moves round the geo-political zones, what meets the eyes are bad roads, jobless youths and malnourished population. Since development breeds industrialisation, urbanisation and a healthy workforce, which was the main arguement of past leaders for subsidy removal, where are these developmental monuments in the country' President Jonathan should be asking series of questions amongst which is: Why are there are no workable refineries in the country for decades and why has Nigeria been bedevilled with importation of oil for years' Are there no other means to remove subsidy without making the vast majority of the people share the burden' Who are those controlling the oil sector that has made it a curse rather than a cure for our woes' Why has oil continued to be the nation's main stay when there are other natural goldmines waiting to be exploited and can pave the way for the government's so-called development blueprint' Jonathan cannot deny the fact that the removal will hurt Nigerians while the political elite which he belongs, will continue to enjoy its largesse. Nigerians condemn removal of oil subsidy in its totality. The government should look for other means to free the economy of burden and begin its development blueprint. If Nigerians are to accept any form of removal of oil subsidy, then all those who at one point or the other brought an increase in fuel prices upon us in the guise of development, should be made to answer to the wanton poverty brought upon Nigerians and bleeding of the economy to nothing. Raheem Oluwafunminiyicreativitysells@gmail.com
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