January 9th dawned on Nigeria as a day to remember. It was the day Nigerians decided to stand up to the government of the day in move known as #Occupy Nigeria. From Lagos to Ibadan down to kogi up to Abuja, Nigeria was occupied with protest led by the organized labor and the civil society groups.
This protest was an offshoot from the government’s decision to end “subsidy” on fuel on the 1st of January, 2012, there by increasing the price of PMS to N141. This decision by the government did not go down well with the people who felt that the “subsidy” was the only dividend they enjoyed from the only natural resource in Nigeria being utilized by the government.
The Governments excuse is that it is losing money daily and that the country cannot afford to continue with the business of subsidization because it has so much projects to complete in the coming months which the funds formerly used for subsidizing would be used for.
There is also the issue of deregulation of the down stream sector of the oil industry which the government states would be made possible if it stops subsidizing.
There is also the issue of deregulation of the down stream sector of the oil industry which the government states would be made possible if it stops subsidizing.
The peoples grouse with the government is first, the timing of the said removal was ill- timed and that all lot of Nigerians were still in the yuletide mood and many of them were left stranded when they traveled to their home towns for the holidays. Secondly, most Nigerians believe that the so called subsidy was a myth that it did not exist but only in mind of the government. Thirdly, If it is true that the country cannot continue to fund the so called oil subsidy, then how come they can afford to pay themselves jumbo salaries, allowances, come up with extravagant lifestyle, and so on the list is endless. The removal of subsidy on fuel skyrocketed the price to N141 which had a negative effect on everything both goods and services, because the prices of items were increases 100% which further impoverished the Nigerian people and thereby starting the year on a low note.
This situation is stems from the fact that the Nigerian government has done nothing to gain the trust of the Nigerian people, the issue and sentiments behind the subsidy removal is laudable but what gives them the assurance that the said fund would not be embezzled like the others. Nigeria has not had the joy of good governance, trust worthy leaders, corruption free environment and people oriented policies from past leaderships. These issues and others to many to mention are what finally exploded as the occupy Nigeria rallies and demonstrations.
On January 16th,2012, the Nigerian government decided to increase the price from N65 to N97 instead of the earlier N141 and the Labor organization announcing that the strike has been suspended which left most Nigerians wondering that if after one week of protest the government would not heed to the peoples demand, what is the way forward for the people, how would their voices be heard?
So the question on every ones lips is what is way forward? Only time would tell….
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