AN OPEN LETTER TO MR. SANUSI LAMIDO SANUSI
Good evening Sir.
I read with pain that anyone would hurl insults at you and your preceding generations. This is unbecoming of Nigerians and is contrary to the noble upbringing and sound education we received on the topic ‘respect your elders’ during our formative years. Perhaps Nigerians are changing with the trends. So it is true that a useless father will in no time diminish before his children and will become a subject of ridicule. I am a concerned citizen and poised to write this rejoinder to an article credited to you via e-forums on the pertinence to remove subsidy. My comments are stated below:
1. Your statement that ‘Removing subsidy has costs in terms of nigerians paying more for PMS-which by the way is not the fuel for generators, power plants, production facilities, heavy duty goods transportation trucks and even luxury buses’ is very untrue. Did you carry out a feasibility study? Was there a risk assessment before taking this decision on subsidy removal at the exquisite villa maintained by our national treasure? You most definitely must be kidding. According to Pareto’s theorem, 80% of Nigerians generate their electricity for domestic consumption through generators powered by PMS. 50% of the small scale businesses (which is the order of the day) considering that most of the large scale businesses have packed and relocated to a more conducive environment, run on power generated through PMS. This 80% also go to work via personal owned vehicles, commuter buses and Okada; and they all run on PMS. Tomatoes and related food items are also transported and distributed through commuter buses and station wagons that run on PMS and in some cases transported through lorries/trucks too since the railway system has gone moribund (please visit mile 2 someday. You may or may not be disguised). So tell me, do all the aforementioned belong to the middle class? Is it the hustling security guard that earns N15,000 naira monthly whose transportation cost has risen to N700/day belong to or the police man that now spends N600 to get to his duty post? Since you allude that the middle class shall feel the brunt more, why the nonchalance? Do you hate the middle class whom invariably comprises of the youths? Are you unaware that the cost of running business has increased since we all depend on PMS to do everything? Are you insensitive to observe that many will be laid off as workers will demand employers subsidize transportation to work or increase in wages and salaries which will lead to mass retrenchment? Please be informed that the majority of the youths that besieged the roads yesterday are reflections of the terminal disease called unemployment which government has been unable to postulate any cure for. Please note, that for production and investments to thrive, the citizenry must be well catered for by the government. These are simple economic principles. I remember during my MBA class, that we were taught that motivation is the greatest tool to achieve success in any organisation and polity. Also bear in mind that the people are the most expensive resource in any organisational entity. On this note the entire economic team has failed.
2. To the crux of the matter, we do not support subsidies too. I am sure you are shocked at my comment. In my opinion, from all i have read, the touted subsidy by the FGN is a charade. Why should the government subsidize when we own the crude oil, own refineries and the marketers are locally and readily available? it is an irresponsible act by government. Truth be told, what Nigerians are clamouring for is the reversal of the price of PMS to N65 or less whilst still achieving savings on the astounding amount pilfered in the name of subsidy through the vehicle of corruption. I was very nauseated when you stated at the town hall meeting that importers falsify waybills at the ports and also export the crude oil to neighbouring countries after collecting subsidy with no punitive action by any arm of the government other than to remove subsidy. Isn’t this a shameful statement from a respected scholar like you who ought to protect our collective interest whilst in government? It is very unethical and please learn not to speak in such manner again instead act proactively because it is the duty of the government to tackle the menace other than lament. What in the world happened to a major management principle of ‘monitoring and controlling’? it is very obvious that the cabal is the present day government and the present day government is the cabal. I want you to please avail us the details of how the subsidy spiralled from N300b in 2007 to N1.3tr in 2011. I strongly believe it is based on the reasons previously mentioned and Nigerians should bear the brunt instead of closing in on your friends who the government of the day awarded import licences to, as a reward for the excellent job done during the elections. No wonder the list of importers grew from few major firms to a large number of a mix of all and sundry. Please tell me, is anyone probing the scam since the list was published? From where i sit, i am led to believe that the economic team believes that the era of everybody chop should come to an end, thus full deregulation. Only those who have the wherewithal and meet the standards should import fuel – that is the big boys. Who is fooling who? Who will recover all the billions pilfered by these unqualified agents who ship water to the ports in vessels with claims of PMS? Who will bring to book the importers of adulterated fuel all in a bid to maximize profit? Will the government fold its arms and propose Nigerians pay for the ineptitude of government? What responsibility does this government wish to bear if it outsources all of its responsibility with no option of equity to supposed foreign investors (themselves)? Please let the federal cabals learn from the Transcorp saga.
3. As I earlier mentioned, N65/litre is achievable without giving anybody money as subsidy. The country exports 2.5million Barrels of crude oil daily. Is it impossible to set aside the quantity for local consumption to be given at slightly above cost price as opposed to international price? From the analysis I have read, the local consumption for PMS is embedded in not more than 100,000 barrels. If set aside at a cheaper rate, and refined partly via our below capacity refineries and the other part refined at a government approved refinery abroad, the refined products delivered through the same approved firm to forestall a decline in quality, pending when we make our refineries work, then we will achieve less than N65/litre for PMS. The analysis has been done by renowned elites who have served in government. Please refer to the Abacha model that gave birth to the Petroleum Trust Fund. I am astonished that the economic team keeps blackmailing us with stories of economy collapse solely due to subsidy. It is inappropriate to subject the populace to international market rates when crude oil is our national resource. I have a popular parable: “only a foolish farmer will harvest cassava and sell it all off at the market and ask his household to purchase garri at prevailing market rates whilst amassing wealth to himself under the guise of rehabilitating the farm without consideration that his household can make garri from the produce, reserve some for consumption and also sell same at the main market”.
4. Sir, since the freedom of information bill has been passed, please avail us of details on how the excess crude oil account maintained by OBJ was disbursed and closed? We heard rumours that GEJ was busy sharing the loot on the same night the Abuja bomb blast at the mammy market was let off. So all the billions of dollars have gone into the last do or die elections abi? Secondly, we demand to see how our foreign reserves dropped from $80b to $30b (please correct the figures if wrong)? Thirdly, what has happened to the excess savings that have accrued since GEJ took over in 2010 till date? It is ludicrous for government to say money was borrowed to service subsidy. Why were these basic infrastructure not executed from these savings? Instead, the recurring expenditure to the executive arm of government keeps increasing every year whilst the masses suffer. We have not seen any capital project in the last two years despite the allocation of billions for infrastructure yearly. Despite this negligence and daylight robbery, Nigerians kept quiet. You therefore expect us not to clamp on you for emphasising that it is the subsidy on fuel (which has been corrupted by a corrupt government, which really should not even be in existence if things were properly done) that has marred the provision of infrastructure. It is a shame that Ore-Benin road is still a death pit.
5. Our demands are simple. Provide power, electricity, employment, good roads, education, health care, housing, security etc by deploying the billions allocated for these utilities in the budget into good use and furthermore, by using the excesses from the sale of crude oil. Concurrently, should the FGN wish to continue selling all of crude oil and allow their cohorts import fuel, a transparent and pragmatic system should be put in place to prevent falsification of waybills, importation of poor quality fuel and exportation of subsidized fuel. This will save the FGN about N1tr yearly. However, the apposite way to go is as advised in item ‘3’ above. We also demand that the procurement process for the execution of projects should henceforth be in tandem with global standards. Inflated contracts should be discouraged. Adequate planning should be employed before policies are implemented and executed. This in my opinion is lacking.
6. This government should learn to respect its citizenry. It is shocking that few weeks ago at the town hall meeting one of the Ministers was begging for the citizenry to trust the government; unfortunately some of us thought her plea was sincere and dialogue would bring all parties to a common ground. To our dismay, the suspension of subsidy on January 1 as against the prescheduled April 2012 is complete deceit and shows that the GEJ led government has no respect for its populace. More especially when we were still recovering from the Xmas day massacre. The action was too immature.
7. I have more queries to raise but I have to go now. It is midnight. To interest you, my wife and I leave the house 5.30am daily and return 11pm due to daily traffic from Victoria island through 3rd mainland bridge until we reach home. The generator is also making so much noise right now. Sir, please justify your nomination as purported by one of the foreign tabloids that you are the most intelligent Nigerian (in their dreams). We will discuss the drawbacks of your cashless society plan some other time. Good night Sir and sweet dreams.
Yours faithfully,
Concerned Nigerian
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayGood evening Sir.
I read with pain that anyone would hurl insults at you and your preceding generations. This is unbecoming of Nigerians and is contrary to the noble upbringing and sound education we received on the topic ‘respect your elders’ during our formative years. Perhaps Nigerians are changing with the trends. So it is true that a useless father will in no time diminish before his children and will become a subject of ridicule. I am a concerned citizen and poised to write this rejoinder to an article credited to you via e-forums on the pertinence to remove subsidy. My comments are stated below:
1. Your statement that ‘Removing subsidy has costs in terms of nigerians paying more for PMS-which by the way is not the fuel for generators, power plants, production facilities, heavy duty goods transportation trucks and even luxury buses’ is very untrue. Did you carry out a feasibility study? Was there a risk assessment before taking this decision on subsidy removal at the exquisite villa maintained by our national treasure? You most definitely must be kidding. According to Pareto’s theorem, 80% of Nigerians generate their electricity for domestic consumption through generators powered by PMS. 50% of the small scale businesses (which is the order of the day) considering that most of the large scale businesses have packed and relocated to a more conducive environment, run on power generated through PMS. This 80% also go to work via personal owned vehicles, commuter buses and Okada; and they all run on PMS. Tomatoes and related food items are also transported and distributed through commuter buses and station wagons that run on PMS and in some cases transported through lorries/trucks too since the railway system has gone moribund (please visit mile 2 someday. You may or may not be disguised). So tell me, do all the aforementioned belong to the middle class? Is it the hustling security guard that earns N15,000 naira monthly whose transportation cost has risen to N700/day belong to or the police man that now spends N600 to get to his duty post? Since you allude that the middle class shall feel the brunt more, why the nonchalance? Do you hate the middle class whom invariably comprises of the youths? Are you unaware that the cost of running business has increased since we all depend on PMS to do everything? Are you insensitive to observe that many will be laid off as workers will demand employers subsidize transportation to work or increase in wages and salaries which will lead to mass retrenchment? Please be informed that the majority of the youths that besieged the roads yesterday are reflections of the terminal disease called unemployment which government has been unable to postulate any cure for. Please note, that for production and investments to thrive, the citizenry must be well catered for by the government. These are simple economic principles. I remember during my MBA class, that we were taught that motivation is the greatest tool to achieve success in any organisation and polity. Also bear in mind that the people are the most expensive resource in any organisational entity. On this note the entire economic team has failed.
2. To the crux of the matter, we do not support subsidies too. I am sure you are shocked at my comment. In my opinion, from all i have read, the touted subsidy by the FGN is a charade. Why should the government subsidize when we own the crude oil, own refineries and the marketers are locally and readily available? it is an irresponsible act by government. Truth be told, what Nigerians are clamouring for is the reversal of the price of PMS to N65 or less whilst still achieving savings on the astounding amount pilfered in the name of subsidy through the vehicle of corruption. I was very nauseated when you stated at the town hall meeting that importers falsify waybills at the ports and also export the crude oil to neighbouring countries after collecting subsidy with no punitive action by any arm of the government other than to remove subsidy. Isn’t this a shameful statement from a respected scholar like you who ought to protect our collective interest whilst in government? It is very unethical and please learn not to speak in such manner again instead act proactively because it is the duty of the government to tackle the menace other than lament. What in the world happened to a major management principle of ‘monitoring and controlling’? it is very obvious that the cabal is the present day government and the present day government is the cabal. I want you to please avail us the details of how the subsidy spiralled from N300b in 2007 to N1.3tr in 2011. I strongly believe it is based on the reasons previously mentioned and Nigerians should bear the brunt instead of closing in on your friends who the government of the day awarded import licences to, as a reward for the excellent job done during the elections. No wonder the list of importers grew from few major firms to a large number of a mix of all and sundry. Please tell me, is anyone probing the scam since the list was published? From where i sit, i am led to believe that the economic team believes that the era of everybody chop should come to an end, thus full deregulation. Only those who have the wherewithal and meet the standards should import fuel – that is the big boys. Who is fooling who? Who will recover all the billions pilfered by these unqualified agents who ship water to the ports in vessels with claims of PMS? Who will bring to book the importers of adulterated fuel all in a bid to maximize profit? Will the government fold its arms and propose Nigerians pay for the ineptitude of government? What responsibility does this government wish to bear if it outsources all of its responsibility with no option of equity to supposed foreign investors (themselves)? Please let the federal cabals learn from the Transcorp saga.
3. As I earlier mentioned, N65/litre is achievable without giving anybody money as subsidy. The country exports 2.5million Barrels of crude oil daily. Is it impossible to set aside the quantity for local consumption to be given at slightly above cost price as opposed to international price? From the analysis I have read, the local consumption for PMS is embedded in not more than 100,000 barrels. If set aside at a cheaper rate, and refined partly via our below capacity refineries and the other part refined at a government approved refinery abroad, the refined products delivered through the same approved firm to forestall a decline in quality, pending when we make our refineries work, then we will achieve less than N65/litre for PMS. The analysis has been done by renowned elites who have served in government. Please refer to the Abacha model that gave birth to the Petroleum Trust Fund. I am astonished that the economic team keeps blackmailing us with stories of economy collapse solely due to subsidy. It is inappropriate to subject the populace to international market rates when crude oil is our national resource. I have a popular parable: “only a foolish farmer will harvest cassava and sell it all off at the market and ask his household to purchase garri at prevailing market rates whilst amassing wealth to himself under the guise of rehabilitating the farm without consideration that his household can make garri from the produce, reserve some for consumption and also sell same at the main market”.
4. Sir, since the freedom of information bill has been passed, please avail us of details on how the excess crude oil account maintained by OBJ was disbursed and closed? We heard rumours that GEJ was busy sharing the loot on the same night the Abuja bomb blast at the mammy market was let off. So all the billions of dollars have gone into the last do or die elections abi? Secondly, we demand to see how our foreign reserves dropped from $80b to $30b (please correct the figures if wrong)? Thirdly, what has happened to the excess savings that have accrued since GEJ took over in 2010 till date? It is ludicrous for government to say money was borrowed to service subsidy. Why were these basic infrastructure not executed from these savings? Instead, the recurring expenditure to the executive arm of government keeps increasing every year whilst the masses suffer. We have not seen any capital project in the last two years despite the allocation of billions for infrastructure yearly. Despite this negligence and daylight robbery, Nigerians kept quiet. You therefore expect us not to clamp on you for emphasising that it is the subsidy on fuel (which has been corrupted by a corrupt government, which really should not even be in existence if things were properly done) that has marred the provision of infrastructure. It is a shame that Ore-Benin road is still a death pit.
5. Our demands are simple. Provide power, electricity, employment, good roads, education, health care, housing, security etc by deploying the billions allocated for these utilities in the budget into good use and furthermore, by using the excesses from the sale of crude oil. Concurrently, should the FGN wish to continue selling all of crude oil and allow their cohorts import fuel, a transparent and pragmatic system should be put in place to prevent falsification of waybills, importation of poor quality fuel and exportation of subsidized fuel. This will save the FGN about N1tr yearly. However, the apposite way to go is as advised in item ‘3’ above. We also demand that the procurement process for the execution of projects should henceforth be in tandem with global standards. Inflated contracts should be discouraged. Adequate planning should be employed before policies are implemented and executed. This in my opinion is lacking.
6. This government should learn to respect its citizenry. It is shocking that few weeks ago at the town hall meeting one of the Ministers was begging for the citizenry to trust the government; unfortunately some of us thought her plea was sincere and dialogue would bring all parties to a common ground. To our dismay, the suspension of subsidy on January 1 as against the prescheduled April 2012 is complete deceit and shows that the GEJ led government has no respect for its populace. More especially when we were still recovering from the Xmas day massacre. The action was too immature.
7. I have more queries to raise but I have to go now. It is midnight. To interest you, my wife and I leave the house 5.30am daily and return 11pm due to daily traffic from Victoria island through 3rd mainland bridge until we reach home. The generator is also making so much noise right now. Sir, please justify your nomination as purported by one of the foreign tabloids that you are the most intelligent Nigerian (in their dreams). We will discuss the drawbacks of your cashless society plan some other time. Good night Sir and sweet dreams.
Yours faithfully,
Concerned Nigerian
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God bless u for this Tip!!!! The govt of the day is Luciferous and rotten.
ReplyDeleteThis is a thouthful and well articulated piece. The government need to be constantly mindful of the agitations of the Citizenry. God bless you and bless Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteit is a shame shame shame to nigerian and their leaders ,immediately after the election they started increasing their salary and packages, now it looks like they have finnished the treasury,see the ways they waste our Gods given wealth.
ReplyDeleteDavid Mark earns N600 million annually, enough money to set up at least, 100 schools in his Benue State
President Jonathan and his friends will eat N1 billion worth of food in 2012, while fuel ling their cars for N1.7 billion. This amount will build at least, 50 good health care centers in the South-South
N200 million was budgeted to water the gardens of the President in 2011. This is enough to educate 200 Nigerians through university education
This is more than a quest for economic rights, it a quest for justice. This is not about fuel subsidy, it is about the ruling class’ war on the Nigerian masses. They cannot claim our country is broke when president Goodluck Jonathan continues to feed fat on N3 million worth of food everyday. They cannot claim to be broke when they increased the recurrent expenditure of the 2012 budget by another N92 billion. They cannot claim to be broke when the First Lady just spent N5billion furnishing an office. They cannot claim to be broke when in the whole budget is about their salaries and allowances.
Government seeks to impoverish us the more by removing fuel subsidy while they continue to waste money on their friends and families
i think they need to go back and think twice for we are no fools
Funny isn't it. That each president that comes into power comes with his own personal agenda. The trend is that the latter becomes more terrible than the former. So for each term, a worse president comes into power. OBJ did his own, we thought we had seen the worst. you can see that Nigerians ain't seen nothing yet. If we don't stop this now, then we are slaves for ever. Come to think of it, the sums quoted above are mind-boggling, yet the ordinary citizenry finds it hard to eat three good meals per day. I remember a news piece I heard last year about a man who was jailed for stealing yoghurt because he was hungry. now tell me, how do you justify the 1 billion naira budgeted for food for the president when a poor man couldn't afford just one meal a day? Will the food be brought from paradise to Abuja, hence the astronomical allocation for the president's feeding? Food for thought.........
ReplyDeleteI have read this piecce again and again since the day I wrote the article and tears well up in my eyes each time. We must not relent in our prayers for this Government!
ReplyDeleteenough of this stories, it is now time for elimination.these bad men should be dealt with. Take a look at ghana their currency is now higher than ours and we all know what they did before they got their bearing. Fellow nigerians let us have a new independent.
ReplyDeleteLook at egypt, they made it to the end and we are here waiting for NLC. We need gadaffi to rule nigeria. He was killed for not putting his pen down but he was rulling well.we need to help ourselves forget all those police, soldiers and airforce men. We need to carry our cross.2015 nigeria will be for sale, to stop it from happening let us act now. Take for example NEPA now called power holding did not take light during the strike for us to stay at home and forget the protesting, immediately after the strike they started with their normal routine. Therefore the government, NLC and the people sponsoring or heading the protest were all thinking of their pocket. By the time the universities,polytechnics, college of edications and the youth of this country start to fight for our right then the international organisation will interven. We cannot afford to be slave again. I don't care if price is N200 but the well being of the citizens of nigeria should be put to consideration.