i often hear it being said that behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining. its something i have believed in for a long time and i usually console myself with this saying when i'm having a really bad day at work (cue yesterday). yesterday was such a horrendous experience at the office that i just kept hoping that somehow, some cheery news would just interrupt my day and make it all right.
as usual, i was listening to the radio on my way home and happened upon the interview with yinka odumakin who happens to be some official of the action congress (a political party in nigeria). the topic for discussion on the programme (and dare i say, on every nigerian's lips today) was "what the heck does the government think it is doing by de-regulating the downstream petroleum sector?"...well, not exactly in those words but you get the drift. the gist of the issue is, we now get to buy petrol for 95 naira and kerosene for 102 naira.
like i expected, every other line of his argument was laced with the failure of the PDP and how the PDP has ruined this country. but beyond the political rhetorics however, the following things hit me:
1. Nigeria's poverty rate is at 76% today. It means that 7 people out of ten live on less than a dollar a day (i.e. 160 naira from morning to night including for transport, feeding etc). basically. we are a poor country driving the latest cars
2. Singapore (not an oil producing country, has 34 refineries), nigeria hasn't even smelled one refinery in almost 50 years of independence
3. India (another Nigeria comparison in terms of development) has just completed the world's 4th largest refinery
4. Government has asked independent oil marketers to cease importation because according to it, NNPC has enough product in storage
5. There was some militant activity in PH on Tuesday
armed with these facts, and the many questions from nigerians, like "why now?", "what are we to be using the excess crude fund for now that no more subsidies are to be paid?", "is yaradua senile?" and all that, it occured to me that there was truly no silver lining behind this particular dark cloud. Is this a deliberate attempt to destroy nigeria? is someone in a dark room somewhere masterminding the perfect formula for ensuring that this country becomes a failed state by 2020 as predicted by the United States? because it just doesn't add up.
this is how i see it. we stop oil importation, then remove the subsidy on local consumption in the midst of an international recession and possibility of a re-commencement of hostilities in the Niger Delta and hope that what will happen? the rumour mill has been agog that Zain, British Airways, Skye Bank and some multinationals have been silently relieving themselves of their personnel. In summary, we now have more qualified people hanging around without jobs, and to add to that, they are expected to buy kerosene at 102 naira (almost a dollar) to cook and a litre of petrol at 95 naira to move around? From what money? By the time universities get the autonomy they are asking for, what will happen to school fees? How much more can nigerians really take? i think that the ultimate test of the patience of the average nigerian has finally come. will we the people turn back from the wall we have obviously reached and fight back? or will the now-dead NLC just go rhetorical and embark on ineffective strike actions?
for the first time since i started listening to the radio though, i heard a few encouraging signs that indicates that nigerians are not dead. that we are feeling the pinch. more than two callers spent all two minutes of their call asking for a military take-over. right there on the air (thank God for GSM and freedom of speech)! we quickly forget that the same military we are asking for will take away our rights to make such brazen comments if they do heed the invitation. someone even went as far as saying that we need a rawlings in Nigeria to come in, gather the few misled politicians in power and have them executed! wow...thank goodness for democracy o. who were we to even talk during abacha's time?
so now we're stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. to keep democracy and remain the proverbial 'blind being led by the blind', or to finally give in to the natural instinct to fight for our individual and collective survival through violence and blood.
i wish i had something cheery to write today...i really do.
as usual, i was listening to the radio on my way home and happened upon the interview with yinka odumakin who happens to be some official of the action congress (a political party in nigeria). the topic for discussion on the programme (and dare i say, on every nigerian's lips today) was "what the heck does the government think it is doing by de-regulating the downstream petroleum sector?"...well, not exactly in those words but you get the drift. the gist of the issue is, we now get to buy petrol for 95 naira and kerosene for 102 naira.
like i expected, every other line of his argument was laced with the failure of the PDP and how the PDP has ruined this country. but beyond the political rhetorics however, the following things hit me:
1. Nigeria's poverty rate is at 76% today. It means that 7 people out of ten live on less than a dollar a day (i.e. 160 naira from morning to night including for transport, feeding etc). basically. we are a poor country driving the latest cars
2. Singapore (not an oil producing country, has 34 refineries), nigeria hasn't even smelled one refinery in almost 50 years of independence
3. India (another Nigeria comparison in terms of development) has just completed the world's 4th largest refinery
4. Government has asked independent oil marketers to cease importation because according to it, NNPC has enough product in storage
5. There was some militant activity in PH on Tuesday
armed with these facts, and the many questions from nigerians, like "why now?", "what are we to be using the excess crude fund for now that no more subsidies are to be paid?", "is yaradua senile?" and all that, it occured to me that there was truly no silver lining behind this particular dark cloud. Is this a deliberate attempt to destroy nigeria? is someone in a dark room somewhere masterminding the perfect formula for ensuring that this country becomes a failed state by 2020 as predicted by the United States? because it just doesn't add up.
this is how i see it. we stop oil importation, then remove the subsidy on local consumption in the midst of an international recession and possibility of a re-commencement of hostilities in the Niger Delta and hope that what will happen? the rumour mill has been agog that Zain, British Airways, Skye Bank and some multinationals have been silently relieving themselves of their personnel. In summary, we now have more qualified people hanging around without jobs, and to add to that, they are expected to buy kerosene at 102 naira (almost a dollar) to cook and a litre of petrol at 95 naira to move around? From what money? By the time universities get the autonomy they are asking for, what will happen to school fees? How much more can nigerians really take? i think that the ultimate test of the patience of the average nigerian has finally come. will we the people turn back from the wall we have obviously reached and fight back? or will the now-dead NLC just go rhetorical and embark on ineffective strike actions?
for the first time since i started listening to the radio though, i heard a few encouraging signs that indicates that nigerians are not dead. that we are feeling the pinch. more than two callers spent all two minutes of their call asking for a military take-over. right there on the air (thank God for GSM and freedom of speech)! we quickly forget that the same military we are asking for will take away our rights to make such brazen comments if they do heed the invitation. someone even went as far as saying that we need a rawlings in Nigeria to come in, gather the few misled politicians in power and have them executed! wow...thank goodness for democracy o. who were we to even talk during abacha's time?
so now we're stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. to keep democracy and remain the proverbial 'blind being led by the blind', or to finally give in to the natural instinct to fight for our individual and collective survival through violence and blood.
i wish i had something cheery to write today...i really do.
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