The Rants of A Nigerian Boy

Nigerians are out in the streets protesting the government policy removing the fuel subsidy. This decision was received with shock by most people as it was not the kind of New Year gift they expected to receive from the government. Nigeria as it is now is almost in a state of chaos with the people on one side furiously pursuing their anti-government campaign tagged Occupy Nigeria while the federal government is on the other side.

Despite the seemingly good intentions of the government, they still did not

get it right. I expected a massive media campaign by the government sensitizing the populace (since they bear most of the burden of any change) on the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy and the supposed benefits to them in the future. You don’t expect people to just wake up one morning and realize the price of fuel which determines the cost of food, water and transportation has doubled and there is no increase in their income or measures to cushion the harsh economic effects on their already poor standards of living.

I for one am not against the removal of the petroleum subsidy removal but what I am against is the wrong timing and manner in which it was done. At a time when there is a poor standard of living on a meagre N. 19,500 minimum wage, the Boko Haram menace is threatening to disturb the peace and unity of this country, mass unemployment among the youth is a common thing, the security of lives and property is not guaranteed, corruption in the rank and file of government, political instability and a degradation in public infrastructure, that is a very wrong move by the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan led government.

No wonder professional bodies and Nigerians from all works of life took a cue from the recent revolutions in Libya and Tunisia and Egypt came out massively to protest against the removal of fuel subsidy which they see as an anti-people policy. Nigerians have used this medium to vent their anger which has been building up for years over the series of disappointments they have experienced in the hands of the various governments that have ruled us in the past.  The protests are becomingly increasingly violent in some parts and could lead to a state of anarchy if left unchecked.

I may have envied President Jonathan in the past but not now when the same people that voted massively for him and made him president have turned their back on him and turned him into an element of mock, ridicule and insults. The man must have the most difficult job in the world right now.

I do not know the intentions of this government but let me ask a few questions:

If this is truly a people oriented government, why is it so difficult for the government to revert the price of petrol back to N. 65 when the masses and even the house of assembly have asked the presidency and those involved to revert the price of petrol?

Who are the so called cabal hijacking the nation’s resources and why is it so difficult for them to be exposed and the corrupt politicians jailed?

What happened to the money realized from the previous deregulation of diesel? Did it go into rebuilding the economy as the proponents of fuel subsidy removal claim it will be this time around or was it spent running a government reputed as the most expensive democracy in the world?

Is it true that the combined salary of our senators and executive cabinet members is over N.1.2 Trillion naira while the whole country really battles to save 1.2 Trillion naira?

What is the need for basic salaries to the executive government officials when they are still provided with travel, food, housing, transport allowance and other unnecessary expenses worth millions or do I say billions? Why should a Nigerian senator earn more than the President of the United States of America?

Why is the Boko Haram menace so difficult to curb?

Only when these questions are truly tackled can we begin to see real development in the Country. My advice to President Goodluck Jonathan is that the present state of chaos in the country should be resolved now that it is still possible to handle the situation. I should have proposed a solution here but for some inexplicable reasons I cannot disclose everything here. After all, I’m just one Nigerian boy whose voice may not even count.