Recount the gains and benefits of 2011 in Nigeria?
2011 was marked with more pains, regrets and losses rather that gains and benefits to Nigerians.
The Federal Government lost the capacity to protect Nigerians and even foreign citizens as the Boko Haram sect terrorized Nigerians and even foreigners. Nigerians lived in fear and became hostages of terrorists.
The growth of the nation remained stunted and virtually all sectors witnessed massive underdevelopment. Nigeria scored first in almost all negative indicators globally, including corruption, poor governance, high infant mortality, hunger and even sports that used to unite us.
We had a Government that made no impact on livelihoods through positive and progressive change.
On a seemingly brighter note, we were able to hold another round of general elections into public offices, though the conduct of the process was marred with widespread malpractices that greatly eroded the benefits of democracy in being a government of the people.
What are the crucial challenges facing Nigeria as a nation?
· The challenge of curtailing insecurity in the land
· The challenge of making the factories to work and giving jobs to citizens
· The challenge of reinventing governance making it work for the people
· The challenge of ensuring social services work and providing infrastructural facilities
· The challenge of upholding integrity, accountability and openness.
· The challenge of reducing the cost of governance and making governance impact meaningfully on the citizens
· The challenge of strengthening the naira to reduce the cost of imports
· The challenge of turning policy into practice.
· The challenge of enforcement rule of law
· The challenge of harnessing local resources for local development
· The challenge of reducing high population growth rate
What can you say about the Oil and Gas sector?
This is Nigeria’s cash cow that is riddled with corruption at all levels. The oil and Gas sector has been the source of ill gotten wealth for a handful of Nigerians over the years, and also brought misery, woe and suffering to millions of others through environmental pollution and destruction of livelihoods. The battle among Nigeria’s elite class and their foreign collaborators (the oil companies) to access Nigeria’s oil wealth is the source and crux of the crises facing the Nigerian nation today.
The recent removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government was bitter to Nigerians, what do you have to say?
As a Student leader 23 years ago, I led a protest when fuel price was increased by the Babangida administration from about 26k to 29k. Can’t remember the exact adjustment now, but it was so marginal. Over the years, there have been several other removals of subsidy by each succeeding government. The simple question we should ask ourselves is that why is this subsidy unending and when will the so called subsidy end?
The simple fact that most Nigerians have not realised is that as long as Nigeria’s crude oil is exported and re imported as refined oil, and as long as the Nigeria’s national currency continues to fall, Government will still be claiming one form of ‘fuel subsidy’ or the other as the final price of oil in the Nigerian market will be dictated by International price and the value of the naira which we all know continues to slide. Therefore even if the entire so called subsidy is removed this year, and fuel sells for N141, by the time the International price of oil rises or if the value of our naira slides down, the price of imported fuel will again be hiked otherwise Government will claim to still be subsiding consumed fuel.
The implication is that as long as we continue to import the oil we produce here and as long as our national currency continues to slide downwards, we cannot win the race against oil subsidy.
A patriotic and wise government should therefore know that the solution is in making the refineries work so we do not need to import what we produce. But because of the massive funds being corruptly appropriated by the powers that be, through oil importation, they have vowed that the Oil refineries must not work.
I foresee further increases in Oil prices in the very near future in the guise of removal of oil subsidy. I foresee more volatile protests in the near future as Nigerians resist their systematic impoverishment. I foresee the Nigerian revolution starting at bus stops as commuters argue with transporters over high transport prices and as thousands am stranded unable to afford the astronomical transport fares.
Do you believe the removal of subsidy is in a long term advantage of the nation’s economy?
The rehabilitation and rebuilding of refineries is what will be in the long term advantage of the nation’s economy. If the refineries are working, there will no be a need to import fuel and subsidise the market price. The interesting yet tragic development is that though Nigeria’s Oil Minister recently vowed that Government has not Business in rehabilitating refineries, we all know that several individual Nigerians own refineries abroad from the ill gotten funds they were able to steal from public office. But all wicked men in Nigeria in and out of Government will soon face the wrath of the people and the judgement of God.
Do you believe in the Government?
The Movement for Revolutionary Change (MRC) of which I am the Coordinator recently issued a charter of demands for good governance in Nigeria, and on top of these demands is that all political officer holders should voluntarily resign their appointments and pave way for the constitution of a peoples Transition government to be manage by representatives of mass democratic bodies. This is the way forward to a great nation. Nigeria cannot afford to wait till 2015 for a leadership change which the master in electoral manipulation may not allow to happen. We want the change now. Let the present Vagabonds in Power drink the Hemlock and resign.
Is Nigeria a failed state?
Yes, by all objective and subjective parameters…….. Extreme poverty, Terrorism, Mass illiteracy, Graduate unemployment, Youth unemployment, Hyper inflation, Public unaccountability, Bad governance, Weak national currency, High maternal mortality, Infant mortality, Hunger, Food insecurity, Massive Corruption, Insecurity, Energy crises, Drinking Water scarcity, Poor sanitation, Religious intolerance and conflicts, Armed Robbery, Sponsored Assassinations, Labor unrest, Bigmanism, Cultism, Moral decadence, Child labour, Human trafficking, Poor access to Justice, Environmental pollution, Poor Health care delivery, Deplorable roads, Road accidents, Collapse of mass transit system, 419, Drug trafficking, Materialism, Preventable diseases, HIV and AIDS, Low life expectancy, Overpopulation, Urban migration, Human rights violation, Debt, Tax evasion, Low productivity, Poor work ethics, Unsustainable Consumerism, Poor maintenance culture, Tribalism, Social insecurity, Gender disparity, Poor Enforcement, Monitoring, and Evaluation, Drought, Erosion, Deforestation, Crude capitalism, Brain drain, and Collapsing educational system …..
Exceprts of an Online Interview by Babatope Babalobi of theMovement for Revolutionary Change (MRC)
Our urban cities, need to develop integrated mass transit cities system. This is what is in place in all big cities throughout the world.
As Dim Emeka Ojukwu goes home the issues he raised, the issues he led his brethren to a civil war over are, still recurring forty years after.
