Subsidy here, bad roads there

The word reigning in Nigeria currently is ‘subsidy’. It has driven a wedge among discussants of what it means in Nigeria. You either like the word or you don’t. You may like its sound from an Atiku Abubakar or from a President Bola Tinubu. You may also not like the word at all. So, you could either like the ongoing debate around it or you are just as confused as those Nigerians who are still trying to figure out what exactly the political weather is turning out to be in the camp of their General – Atiku Abubakar. To some of the people in Atiku’s political camp, the forecast shows a gathering storm. But from afar, it still looks as unpredictable as the English weather. It is simply a subsidy regime in their political firmament.

In the camp of Bola Tinubu, all they can see is confusion. Confusion in their enemy’s camp. The proposition (and prevarication) by their challenger in African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, that he would re-introduce subsidy should he win the presidential election, has defined that confusion. This Atiku’s idea has given the Tinubu Camp their as how now…? moment. They are currently feasting on it and have made a meal of Atiku Abubakar through various media channels. To the Tinubu camp, what has befallen their opponents evokes some level of pity and concern; and a pithy statement which carries all those thoughts was issued by Mr. BayoOnanuga.

So, Nigeria is effectively back to fuel subsidy conversation, courtesy of Atiku Abubakar. In 2020, this same Atiku Abubakar praised Muhammadu Buhari for removing fuel subsidy. He said that was something he had advocated for a long time and for which he was vilified by a vocal section of Nigerians. He was happy that all he had thought and advised were done. Now he has made a U-turn. Could it be that he had seen something from the alleged mis-governance of the subsidy gains by the Tinubu administration? Like Onanuga stated, the Nigerian economy is a serious matter. In that wise, half-truths, grey areas and, in some cases, outright lies cannot help us. Clarity of purpose and truth must reign supreme.

In 2012, during that half-hearted attempt by Dr Goodluck Jonathan to do what Tinubu is doing now, the matter got way hotter than this. There was a huge outpouring of negative sentiments against Jonathan’s action on petrol subsidy. There were street protests in many Nigerian cities. All the things BayoOnanuga and co are telling us now about crude oil, its pricing and management, and petrol were not on their lips. They were not ready to listen to anything Jonathan and his team members were saying. A character named Subsideen was created by that notable dramatist, Kola Ogunjobi in that era. The character was popular in Story-Story, a hilarious radio drama sponsored by the BBC which aired in many Nigerian states. Much as Jonathan tried, the protests rather increased in intensity and eventually got him and his government to back down on the policy.

Now that the Tinubu machine has succeeded in turning whatever emotions you might want to evoke with subsidy on its head, what has changed in real terms? What are the concrete differences there are in the economy – is it not the same questions of inflation, high cost of living and cruel business environment? It is now on the Tinubu team to explain the achievements of the government. And they are still doing it with the arrogance of the past, because they are the present government. I don’t think that so much has changed in the economy even with the humongous amount of money the states are receiving owing to the subsidy removal.

Inflation, induced largely due to that singular action, takes whatever is received by the workers, and the masses. The value of the Naira is also taking its toll. Yet, Nigerians are unwilling to do what they were made to do during Jonathan. But would there be a twist in the tale as campaigns hot up? Will Atiku be able to rouse that kind of emotion? I don’t think so. So, Tinubu is very lucky. Even Oshiomhole said he mobilised against the removal of subsidy by the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo. He proudly narrated how he did that because he thought the administration of Chief Obasanjo lacked the capacity to manage whatever gains there might have been from the subsidy removal.

While Nigerians wallow in suffering, the government has been busy explaining the hardship, narrating its palliative measures and campaigning with it. The suffering is a phenomenon government spokespersons couch in convenient euphemism. The presidency has continually doubled down on their thought that President Tinubu has loaded the governors with money and therefore, you should face your governors. “When somebody says they have done something and they have to spend one hour explaining what they have done, then they have done nothing. When you have done something, you shut up, the things you have done speak for themselves.” That is the submission of that popular Kenyan lawyer and public speaker, Patrick Lumumba.

So, if all the government is telling Nigerians as the achievements of the Tinubu administration is falling on deaf ears, who do we blame for that? The volume of doubt in the country is so much that it drowns whatever the government comes up with. Are the people justified? The achievements will not just resonate. For instance, the trader moving goods from Ado Ekiti to Ikole-Ekiti or Omuo will not agree with whatever the Federal Government is saying about achievements in road infrastructure. They will not be pleased with the beautiful tales around one coastal road somewhere, when their experience of roads is one ugly mess they wade through all the time. It is needless to say that they spend a substantial chunk of their capital on transportation alone and, on top of that, they will spend an unreasonable number of hours on the road due to the collapse of the roads.

A number of Nigerians living in Ibadan dread going to a part of that massive city known as Omi Adio. Omi Adio should be within the lips of many Nigerians outside the city, and it should also echo among government officials because the community is home to one of the train stations in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. But travelling from parts of Ibadan to Omi Adio is one experience many people would rather not have because of bad federal roads. We must weigh the amount of truth Nigerians are told about road infrastructure in the country. Don’t forget that Edo State is a standard nightmare for road trips to the South South and the South East parts of the country.

The rate of road failure in the country is such that the government should declare an emergency in that sector. It is heartbreaking that the government is aware of the poor quality of work being done in parts of the country and no one is held accountable. Travelling by road in Nigeria is one of the worst nightmares awaiting Nigerians. Since the majority of the populace cannot afford to fly, they resort to road trips. They take on the hellish highways…

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Perhaps, if there was an iota of truth in how the Nigerian petroleum ecosphere is governed, Atiku Abubakar might not have recanted. He would not have ignited fresh debate in that sector, regardless of how the government sees his outbursts. If Nigeria and Nigerians had experienced or witnessed something merely close to half-truth in the administration of Nigeria’s petroleum universe, there might have been confident responses to the ongoing faceoff. Bola Tinubu might not have resorted to name-calling and what now looks like a desperate response to the so-called knowledge murk of candidate Atiku Abubakar. In all of these, Nigerians are the victims while they are the lucky ones.

Subsidy here, bad roads there, confusion everywhere is our lot as Nigerians for now. A spoonful of solutions here and there is the country’s situation for now – a kind of palliative interventions to drive us to the presidential election. What hopes are there after the elections? Who would listen to suffering Nigerians after elections might have been won and lost?