THE NEED FOR THE REMOVAL OF FUEL SUBSIDY AND THE POLITICS OF INTEREST

The ongoing subtle campaign for the removal of fuel subsidy seems to be gaining more momentum in the recent days. It shows clearly from all indications that the. subsidy regime is not sustainable if we must continue to have the fuel in abundance at our filling stations, good roads hospitals etc.

Please, don't get me wrong. There is no country in the world where subsidy doesn't come to play even in the United States. It is a welfare package necessary to make life more bearable for the low income earners and those who earn none. But where subsidy is channelled may be the real cause of debate.
I am of the opinion that there is no President in Nigeria that doesn't want the best for the country including the former President, Goodluck Jonathan. But how come we do not still have power,hospital, good roads etc. It is easy to say it is due to lack of political will. Yes! Having a political will is great but there is something stronger
than a political will. It is called POLITICAL INTEREST. That is a talk for another day.

One of the best decisions of Goodluck Jonathan was his proposal to remove the subsidy far back 2012 but political interest knocked it off. Of cos I wont blame the Nigerian society who had lost confidence in the leadership all the way from the military regime down to the PDP era as a result of level of consistently failing promises and the level of corruption. So, it was tough for such a policy to thrive. Apart from the nationwide protest that shut the economy down for over a week, Elder David Tam West nailed the coffin by his statement of Channels Television. He did a calculus analysis on the National Television and came out with a report that "subsidy never exists". With my little understanding of permutations and combinations and basic arithmetic, I am yet to grasp the formula he used to generate that result.

This aggravated the ongoing protest popularly called "occupy Nigeria" at that time. Opposition took advantage of the soft spot to make their presence more known in the national polity. The whole thing came down to the battle of ego between the FG, and labour Union. For the government not to be perceived weak, there had to be a common ground that eventually brought down the price to N97 per litre.

Pls listen! Economy policy and national security have one thing in common. They cannot be politicised and the people not suffer in the long run.
The current minister of state for petroleum, Dr Kachikwu used the word "unsustainable" last week in Abuja. The former CBN governor, Prof Charles Soludo raised it in one of his recently published articles. Another former CBN governor, Emir Lamido Sanusi Lamido clamoured same. The question is, will the APC led FG be bold enough to champion it now and not be viewed as Hypocrites? Remember, the NLC came out few weeks back and warned the FG not to dare it. Will the civil society led by some great leaders including Pastor Tunde Bakare demand for the removal now and not be seen as vested interest? Remember that, Nigeria under Jonathan is more united than the one currently under Buhari as a result of the last election except if we want to deceive ourselves.
I raised it sometime ago, that our politicians had succeeded in dividing us into two groups, APC Nigerians and PDP Nigerians even without being card carrying members. Psychologically, we have been brain washed to reason that way.

APC Nigerians are ready to defend every nonsense of the government as being right and perfect. While PDP Nigerians never saw anything good in the government. In all this, the politicians remain unchanged . If not, the last ministerial list won't contain 60% of old PDP guys who once destroyed the nation. They might have changed logos, colour, and design, they remain in the same political class.

The APC led federal government has a lot to offer in fulfilling her promises including 5000 Naira promise to the 25M unemployed, One meal per day to school children, 5000MW addition annually etc. Our major source of income is oil and it is sold at the moment between 45 and 50 Dollars Per Barrel. So, fuel subsidy must go for the government to succeed. But how will the removal be done and not raise a brouhaha in the country and the government not be seen as hypocrite is the real contention here. This is where robbers miss this way.

This is what you experience as a people when our entire life is politicised on a platform of vested interest. But as a person and as an Economist , I will always support the removal of the subsidy comes rain comes shine.

God bless Nigeria

TUNDE ADENUGA
twitter @tunde_adenuga