Politics Of Fuel Subsidy

[Defender]

The duty of every responsible  government is to make the provision of basic amenities for its citizens, and in a situation, where the people are facing harsh economic condition, it is this same government that should introduce different measures and policies aimed at cushioning these negative tendencies.

This trend has been passed down from government to government. In Nigeria, the issue of fuel subsidy has become a sort of salvation to the masses.

When President Goodluck Jonathan was campaigning for April, 2011 general elections, he promised Nigerians that he would give his best to them, like good roads, electricity, water supply, health, education, among others.

After being elected by the people, he has quickly forgotten his promises and vows to the people that elected him their president, but only cares about what pleases his party men and women and his highly-placed supporters, who are encouraging him to remove the fuel subsidy.

As the president, who is supposed to manage and control the welfare of the citizens of the nation, he is being scared by threats from Boko Haram and MEND, which eventually resulted in the cancellation of Independence Day anniversary celebration. This has shown that the whole nation is not safe, if the president could be that scared.

His next plan is now to remove fuel subsidy without considering the negative effects of such act on the people and their standard of living.

Though the president is being supported by some governors and some northern senators, who also share the same selfish interest with him in the sinister plan, it does not still mean that the decision is masses-friendly.

Even the Nigerian Labour Congress, under Comrade Abdul-Waheed Omar has decided to back the masses, thereby further compounding the issue.

With this division among governors, legislators and labour, where lies the fate of the masses? We are just like the proverbial grass, which suffers when two elephants fight.

•Saheed Adebayo, Ile-Ogbo, Osun State.

Osun Defender