Fuel Subsidy Removal and the Disappearing Noise About Palliatives

Fuel Subsidy Removal and the Disappearing Noise About Palliatives

Before May 29, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took his oath of office, Nigeria was battling with hardships and 133 million of her population statistically adjudged to be living in multidimensional poverty. Multidimensional Poverty Indices use the household as their unit of analysis to determine the incidence and intensity of poverty experienced by a population

Before May 29, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took his oath of office, Nigeria was battling with hardships and 133 million of her population statistically adjudged to be living in multidimensional poverty. Multidimensional Poverty Indices use the household as their unit of analysis to determine the incidence and intensity of poverty experienced by a population

Multidimensional Poverty Indices cover areas of health, education and standard of living. Standard of living is further broken down to cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing and assets. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) the 133 million Nigerians are deprived of more than one essential survival need including good health and good standard of living.

The situation could be worse now as it was compounded with the pronouncement of “subsidy is gone” which raised the price of premium motor spirit popularly known as petrol by almost two hundred percent. That has triggered price increases across board, increased cost of living and imposed a new regime of hardship on Nigerians.

Recently, a video went viral, showing a fully loaded commercial bus with bags of rice whose Driver decided to have a temporary stop at Iwo Road, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Sunday 10th September. The people around the area, ostensibly hungry, saw the bags of rice in the bus and regarded them as palliatives. They descended on the bus looting the bags of rice. The bus had to move away from the “maddening crowd”, but not until more than half of its content has been robbed. That typifies the kind of hunger that has birthed criminality across the country. The owners of that bus would not be able fathom what offence they have committed doing their legitimate business of conveying goods and humans around Nigeria.

Without much ado, the message is clear: Frustration in the land is making more people to embrace criminal acts for their survival. A friend narrated his experience about a robbery in his apartment with the robbers only carting away pots of soup and all foodstuffs and provisions in the flat. They left alone all the electronic gadgets in the flat. Hunger in the land is biting hard.

In the wake of the removal of fuel subsidy, governments at different levels promised palliatives to cushion the effects of the hardship occasioned by the removal of subsidy. The initially proposed N8,000.00 per household grant from the World Bank was flatly rejected by Nigerians as grossly inadequate and nonsensical. But, despite all mouth-watering offers to Nigerians, several millions are yet to have a feel of the palliatives. Both the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress that made noises and threatened thunder and lightning would have become fatigued and frustrated for not making a headway.

Labour leaders went in out of the presidential villa at will trying to secure reliefs for Nigerians but it appears their actions were full of sounds and fury that have signified nothing significant in terms of bringing succour to Nigerians. relief to the masses. It’s an understatement to say Nigerians have been dipped into deeper poverty. Many vehicle owners have abandoned them because of prohibitive cost of fuel. Inflation has reached rooftops and further bequeathed its debilitating effects on standard of living, a larger percentage of the population, with food disappearing from family tables.

Palliatives that are meant to target and touch households are not forthcoming and the noises and propaganda around the palliatives are not only dwindling but disappearing. It’s doubtful if many Nigerians look forward to the delivery of government’s palliatives as much as they did two or three months ago; they are becoming accustomed to the sufferings. Government has done its usual – deceived the people and the labour unions. A lot of Nigerians now query the essence of government and are worried about its existence. After all, the government is expected to do for people, collectively, what they cannot do for themselves as individuals; that is why they surrendered their sovereign power.

Now, the question is, what has happened to the palliatives? It was reported this week that the organised labour has threatened to begin an indefinite strike should the Federal Government failed to meet its demands at the end of a 21-day ultimatum which will expire in approximately one week’s time. This follows the failure of the Federal Government to provide palliatives to assuage Nigerians’ hardships as a result of the fuel subsidy removal.

The labour union had on September 1 handed down a 21-day ultimatum to the FG over the delay in sharing of palliatives, saying it might be compelled to declare an indefinite labour action if its demands were not met. The NLC leadership had said its two-day warning action was in preparation for a total shutdown which would start at the expiration of the ultimatum next week.

Among other demands, the NLC and the Trade Union Congress were asking for wage awards, implementation of palliatives, tax exemptions and allowances to the public sector workers and a review of the minimum wage. Some states announced different wage awards but majority are yet to make public what they are doing to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal.

The federal government recently promised a grant of N5 billion to every state of the federation out of which it paid N2 billion. But questions are being asked on what the states have done with the money as households have not been touched in any way. Will the palliatives still be provided? When would they be? Must the country go through a nationwide shutdown of services before the basics for a good standard of living are provided for the people? The government must act to avoid a mass revolt by the people.

Ayo Aluko-Olokun
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