After work yesterday, I had to do some sort of sober reflection on Nigeria’s nascent democracy; I call it nascent because we are still growing and not yet close to the proverbial Promised Land. I realized that besides the fall outs from the June 12 elections, nothing has ever elicited such a collective and emphatic stance from Nigerians as the removal of fuel subsidy right from 1960 up to this moment though I stand to be corrected.
So, in my own little quiet zone, being not such a great fan of Nigerian politics due to many factors that has culminated in giving me a liberal standpoint politically, I decided that for the couple of days to come, I would be taking a look at some of the issues that has led to this rather unfortunate milestone in our political journey and how such future occurrences could easily be averted, though it would not be rigidly limited to just the removal of fuel subsidy.
For me, I believe it’s high time our democratic ‘rulers’ ( I call them rulers because leaders do not make unilateral decisions) began to engage citizens of this great country in matters of decision making, especially in issues as sensitive and volatile like the pricing of fuel, a commodity known to dictate the pace for most if not all sectors of Nigeria’s economy.
I also believe, we have gotten to a point in our burgeoning democracy were our ‘rulers’ began to see themselves as a part of the bigger circle which is Nigeria and in essence would not just sit in a meeting and make decisions that would affect the lives of Nigerians in all ramifications without taking a proper look at the short term and long term implications cum effects of such decisions.
Now, I learnt from a reliable source that the government would be providing 1,500 buses for public transportation as a means of quelling the strain which the removal of fuel subsidy has put on the movement of Nigerians. To me, this is just another typical example of medicine after death that and besides, this measure is not all encompassing
The way I see it, it is a panic measure on the part of the government because they never envisioned that this singular act would lead to so much outburst and vehement protest from Nigerians because while pushing for the removal of the subsidy, it never mentioned this as a palliative measure it would take in helping us withstand the hardship.
Also, this does not solve the problems of many SMEs who run their businesses on alternative means of power supply because the power provided by PHCN is erratic and unreliable. You are providing buses so that people would not feel the strain of the removal too much, what would happen to this businesses if they cannot afford to get fuel to power their equipments because of the cut throat pump price. Meaning, that this businesses would eventually fold up.
If the government had properly involved public opinion and proper public participation and not some clandestine town hall meetings, even if the process would not be totally impeccable, it would have sailed through much more easily.
In more developed countries, decisions are not shoved down people’s throats; they are allowed to be the architects of their own futures via policies with the government being the party that would implement whatever consensus that is reached. In some of these countries which I know some of us are conversant with, these policies are first thrown open to the public with all the different options/ alternatives available and some sort of mini polls via text messages or other modes of ballot would be carried out. It is now the task of the citizens to sieve through all this variations and vote for the one they feel would be more suitable.
So, I strongly suggest that our ‘rulers’ starts taking strong steps in replicating such models of decision making in Nigeria, I believe it would save them the trouble of having to contain a nation filled with disgruntled citizens due to unfavorable policies.
By: Fakile Wale
http://www.goodlife.com.ng/reviews_page.php?reviews=read&id=983
So, in my own little quiet zone, being not such a great fan of Nigerian politics due to many factors that has culminated in giving me a liberal standpoint politically, I decided that for the couple of days to come, I would be taking a look at some of the issues that has led to this rather unfortunate milestone in our political journey and how such future occurrences could easily be averted, though it would not be rigidly limited to just the removal of fuel subsidy.
For me, I believe it’s high time our democratic ‘rulers’ ( I call them rulers because leaders do not make unilateral decisions) began to engage citizens of this great country in matters of decision making, especially in issues as sensitive and volatile like the pricing of fuel, a commodity known to dictate the pace for most if not all sectors of Nigeria’s economy.
I also believe, we have gotten to a point in our burgeoning democracy were our ‘rulers’ began to see themselves as a part of the bigger circle which is Nigeria and in essence would not just sit in a meeting and make decisions that would affect the lives of Nigerians in all ramifications without taking a proper look at the short term and long term implications cum effects of such decisions.
Now, I learnt from a reliable source that the government would be providing 1,500 buses for public transportation as a means of quelling the strain which the removal of fuel subsidy has put on the movement of Nigerians. To me, this is just another typical example of medicine after death that and besides, this measure is not all encompassing
The way I see it, it is a panic measure on the part of the government because they never envisioned that this singular act would lead to so much outburst and vehement protest from Nigerians because while pushing for the removal of the subsidy, it never mentioned this as a palliative measure it would take in helping us withstand the hardship.
Also, this does not solve the problems of many SMEs who run their businesses on alternative means of power supply because the power provided by PHCN is erratic and unreliable. You are providing buses so that people would not feel the strain of the removal too much, what would happen to this businesses if they cannot afford to get fuel to power their equipments because of the cut throat pump price. Meaning, that this businesses would eventually fold up.
If the government had properly involved public opinion and proper public participation and not some clandestine town hall meetings, even if the process would not be totally impeccable, it would have sailed through much more easily.
In more developed countries, decisions are not shoved down people’s throats; they are allowed to be the architects of their own futures via policies with the government being the party that would implement whatever consensus that is reached. In some of these countries which I know some of us are conversant with, these policies are first thrown open to the public with all the different options/ alternatives available and some sort of mini polls via text messages or other modes of ballot would be carried out. It is now the task of the citizens to sieve through all this variations and vote for the one they feel would be more suitable.
So, I strongly suggest that our ‘rulers’ starts taking strong steps in replicating such models of decision making in Nigeria, I believe it would save them the trouble of having to contain a nation filled with disgruntled citizens due to unfavorable policies.
By: Fakile Wale
http://www.goodlife.com.ng/reviews_page.php?reviews=read&id=983
All we need now is to copy this and send to Aso ROck..
ReplyDeleteGbam!