On The Nationwide Protest Over Fuel Subsidy Removal —Odunayo Joseph

There is no doubt that the ongoing gridlock over the removal of fuel subsidy can be traced to four factors in governance in our country today.

One hovers around the lack of seriousness in the handling of looting of public funds by highly placed government officials, thanks to the latest addition of oiling tools of corruption in the polity – plea bargaining.

Two, the seeming refusal and studied silence on the part of the Federal Government at unmasking and bringing to book the cabal in the nation’s oil industry.

Three, the already rooted mistrust between our governments at all levels in the country and the people, an unfortunate situation that has been brought about by the openly lavish lifestyles of our leaders made possible through misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds at all levels of government in our country and the open display with impunity of illegal wealth in the face of the impoverished people.

Four, the unchecked high cost and the unpreparedness of our governments to block all wastages in the running of democracy in our country. Until these enumerated factors are addressed by the three tiers of government, the task of convincing the people, labour movements, human rights bodies and the various corruption watchdogs for good governance in Nigeria to accept the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy may pose a hard nut to crack. The situation today in our country regarding the action of the Federal Government on the fuel subsidy removal can best be described as putting the cart before the horse.

What the Federal Government should have done before the hurried implementation of change in the pump price of fuel at filling stations nationwide by oil marketers was to have addressed the stinking rot in our oil industry, a fact that has already been accepted by both two key players in the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Governor of Central Bank, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi should take drastic action against the activities of the cabal in and their accomplice who are abroad. There is no doubt that the pervasive rot in the oil industry would have been checked had the private bill on asset forfeiture by Nigerians who live above their income that was sent to the Senate and the House of Representatives long before the April 2011 general elections by the immediate past chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Chief (Mrs.) Farida Waziri had been acted upon and not left in the cooler by the immediate past and current Senate and House of Representatives.

Until corruption in governance is seen by the people to be tackled headlong at all levels of government in our country, the difficulty in convincing them to go along with the Federal Government for support on issues such as the fuel subsidy removal and on future government policies that may be considered as lofty by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration will undoubtedly continue to be viewed with scepticism by the ordinary Nigerian.

•Joseph wrote in from Mopa, Kogi State