The primary reason why we decided to OccupyNigeria in the first place is the monumental waste that we have seen over time. The government has vowed to cut cost, but what do we see? January 10th Daily Sun has 5 full paged advert powered by Neighbour to Neighbour initiative. Simple question from me to whom it may concern: who funds the N2N?
Let us analyse the ridiculous submissions from the N2N on the front page of the said advert.
Were the poor really benefitting from petroleum subsidy?
Government’s subsidy on 1 litre of Petrol was N75.70
Mama lives in Maza village in Plateau State. She walks to her farm and back. Cook her meals with fire wood. She has no need to commute by bus or use any petroleum products. She got N0.0 kobo as subsidy.
Adam, a gateman, takes a bus from Kubwa a satellite town in the FCT to federal Secretariat and back. It takes a bus about four litres to do this journey and back. This bus takes sixteen commuters. Fuel subsidy on the 4 litres of fuel used is N302.8. if you divide this by 16 people in the bus it gives you N18.90. Adam got N18.90 as subsidy.
On the other hand, Joe Collins, an Executive has 6 cars. His official car, one for school runs, one for his wife, one family car, one afterhours car and one for the dogs. He buys up to 300 litres of petrol. Multiply that by N75.70k subsidy. Our Executive got a subsidy of N22,710 each time he bought petrol.
So who really was benefitting from subsidy?
It is right to Transform the way we do business in the Petroleum Sector.
It makes sense. (sic)
First, a government that is very proud to tell the world and whoever cares to listen that in the 21st century it has citizens who walk to their farms and back, cook their meals with firewood, and have no need to commute by bus or use any petroleum product, should hide its face in mud. Is this shameful? Yes! Is it a fact that in reality there are millions of people like Mama in Nigeria today? Yes! This is another cogent reason why we must demand for the heads of the lunatics who have plundered our resources into a state of infamy. This is one of the reasons why we have decided to OccupyNigeria in the first place
Next, Adam, a driver takes a bus from Kubwa…Blah Blah Blah. Unfortunately for Adam this government is willing to confiscate the singular benefit that he is provided with.
Finally, fortunately, the Executive mentioned in this case is not a politician neither is he a member of the draconian group that loots the commonwealth dry. He is hard working and earns every kobo that he spends. He doesn’t have the luxury of ‘eating’ over N2.5 million daily.
This is the reality that we face in the Nigeria of today: The government is now willing to ensure that Mama in Plateau state gets nothing from the subsidy as usual. It wants Adam, whose minimum wage, debated for years is not more than N18, 000 to get nothing as subsidy. It is willing to ensure that Mr. Executive, the hard working and successful young man, must get nothing from the government. And so I ask: what then would we need a government for in Nigeria if we have to provide our own power, healthcare, education, infrastructures, security, etc?
The saddest reality in my opinion of this N2N campaign is the fact that once again our ‘Rulers; have demonstrated to us that not only are they incapable of providing us the basics of life and leading us to the Nigeria of our dream, they are also incapable of entrusting our money into the hands of the right people.
Who heads this N2N? Who sanctioned this fable they are trying to sell to us on the pages on newspaper with our money?
It doesn’t make sense!
OccupyNigeria we shall!
