A parable for my land

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A parable for my land - 2

Written by Tope Popoola Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Let all things be done decently and in order 1 Corinthians 14:40
I pray that by the time you are reading this, the subsidy issue would have been somewhat laid to rest.

The mass of people that gathered in various parts of this nation last week is not only mind-boggling, but also eye-opening. The crowd in Ojota, Lagos is unarguably the largest gathering of Nigerians anywhere outside the ambit of religion. On Thursday, there were over half a million people. Even at the close of the rally on Friday (it ended early so that Muslims could go for the Juma’at service) scores of people were still trooping in from all directions of Lagos. No political rally has recorded that kind of gathering anywhere in this nation. I have never seen Nigerians unite like this around one cause. Even the June 12 protests did not draw this kind of overwhelming participation. The beauty of it all is that there is no record of violence or a fight breaking out. No record of theft or pilfering. Even area boys who were extorting money from people in various parts of the city gave free passage to anyone who could show that he was headed for Ojota to join the rally. Incredible!

Day by day at the rally, you could see that the angst of most people is really not about the removal of fuel subsidy. Most people believe that the deregulation of the oil industry is long overdue. As people from all walks of life took turns to address the gathering, it became clear that government was speaking a different language from that of the people. The key issues that no government agent has ADEQUATELY addressed but which are the kernels of the mass protest are simple and obvious.

Unfortunately last week, the President addressed the nation without addressing the issues.

First on the plate is the issue of timing. Nigerians are angry that a government they so massively voted into power could turn round to give them such an unwholesome New Year present without even taking their feelings into consideration.

Second is the monumental corruption and greasy sleaze that characterise the operations of the NNPC and the entire oil industry. I read the damning KPMG Audit Report on NNPC for 2007-2009 last week and my heart sank. This country is bleeding and very profusely too! Several cases of false declarations, over-invoicing, extra-budgetary expenditure etc., would make you wish you were born on another planet! In a more decent clime, some people should by now be rotting in jail! I was dumbfounded when I heard our Petroleum Minister say on TV that the mythical “cabal” around the oil industry was untouchable! If the cabal cannot be dismantled because it is more powerful than government, I don’t need to be a prophet to know that such cabal would simply mafia style, move to position itself in the areas to which the funds saved from subsidy would be channeled!

As for the palliatives captured in government’s SURE document, most people are convinced it was an afterthought and comes with a ring of déjà-vu to it. Events since the protest started seem to be proving them right. As corroborated later by the Minister for Finance, Okonjo-Iweala, our governors asked for subsidy removal so they could afford to pay minimum wage, not because of infrastructural development! This brings to the fore the issue of a credibility gap between government and the people. Why not put these in place before removing subsidy? People are of the opinion that the President should reduce the size of government by about 50% instead of talking about a 25% salary reduction.

Furthermore, people are outraged about certain provisions in the budget especially in the Presidency. For instance, what kind of garden requires N200m to maintain? What kind of kitchen utensils will be bought for N300m? How many Newspapers does the VP read that warrants a budgetary provision of N45m? Or what kind of culinary desire will require almost N1b to satiate in one year?

In addition, people are wondering why we still import fuel in spite of having four refineries. Why are our refineries still not doing up to 30% in terms of functionality in spite of the billions purportedly spent on Turn Around Maintenance over the years?

The question people are asking is, “Why make the majority pay for the profligacy and inefficiency of a few?”

Lastly cost of running government. It was circulated on the internet last week that the Secretary to the Federal Government alone has 12 Special Advisers! I have not proved the veracity of this though and so I am not stating it as a fact. Experience from our recent history has shown that each time government has made more money, it has only enlarged the size and cost of its bureaucracy. Or how else did we end up spending over 75% of our income on running government?

Those who come to equity must come with clean hands. Shikena! Cooooouuuuurt!

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!