I seat in my room in the buzzly Ajao estate of Lagos South west Nigeria an ruminate over the unfolding events of the next coming days and weeks and have the urge to cry for this my beloved behemoth called Nigeria.
The Federal government at the prodding of an excitable governor of the central bank and the high sounding Minister of Finance Okonjo Iweala has removed the only true link to governance that the 160 million Nigerians have to their government and all the billions of dollars in the annual budgets i.e. Petrol.
A government that has failed in all other indicators like Security, Power, Education, Health care, Infrastructure, transportation and has left its citizens confounded in crass poverty, fear, hopelessness and abject emptiness. For over 10 years, Fuel subsidy has been the only small connection that the millions of Nigerians have as a solace.
Today the issue is clearly that of trust, No single Nigerians can categorically say that they have 100% trust that the government of the day has the ability of prudence and responsibility to manage the 1.3 Trillion Naira that will be saved from this Fuel subsidy removal.
A more rationale method will be a phase in phase out Removal/refinery Re-investment strategy that will be open and transperent to all citizens. This has not come to the minds of the Government advisers and that is why this is very worrying.,
People in power who could not invest with over 10 trillion Naira budgeted and spent in the last 2 years of Jonathans reign, what is the impact that 1.3 trillion to be saved from subsidy removal will wmake. It will just fizzle like a gaseous element in the midst of the cabal that has continously drained the economy in mind boggling white projects and fictitious contract awards.
These fat cows are okay for all micro economic indicators to experience doubling and tripling and with direct hit on the poor masses meagre earnings and they are okay to continue earning 400million naira per annum each in the legislative house consuming free fuel on the nations account.
1. How will they know what the masses are suffering?
2. How will they feel th eneed for government to earn the trust of the populace before asking for the masses to cough out 1.3 trillion Naira.
3. How will they know that the prices of all items in strret side markets and local transportations have gone up by 150% and more.
The dont know and they will not feel it. They live in the dripping fat of ill gotten government money and looking for additional layers of fat to grow their excesses.
I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that this is te time to stand up to the 1% who have held us in this tight state of economic morass that we are currently sinking. I have dusted my ALUTA (STRUGGLE) shoes again that I left since my Student Union Goverment protest days in Ahmadu Bello University in 2002 against the government of Jonathan Goodluck because of the following reasons:.
1. I beleive the time is now or never.
2. If we dont do it, nobody will.
3. Better die fighting than fight as a dying man.
4. Each generation of men must out of relative obscurity discover their mission, either to fulfil or betray it.
ALUTA CONTINUA, VICTORIA ASCERTA!!!
JOSEPH ONUORAH (Deme Deme I of Orumba)
LAGOS NIGERIA.
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