Nigerian actor and comedian Oluwaseyitan Aletile, popularly known as Seyi Law, recently shared his thoughts on President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy.
While acknowledging the difficulties the move has caused for many Nigerians, Seyi Law believes it is a step in the right direction.
According to him, the fuel subsidy should have been scrapped much earlier, specifically in 2012, during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. At that time, the opposition, led by Tinubu, protested against the removal, but Seyi Law feels that if Nigerians had gone through the pain back then, the country would be in a better place today.
“Fuel subsidy should have been long gone. If it had been removed in 2012, we would have experienced the hardship, but by now we would be healing,” he said.
He also shared that he was one of the few celebrities who stood against the anti-fuel subsidy protests at the time.
He pointed to a statement by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former finance minister, who warned that the country couldn’t afford to keep borrowing to pay salaries. Seyi Law said this highlights the unsustainable nature of the subsidy and reinforces his belief that removing it was necessary, despite the current challenges.
In essence, Seyi Law hopes that Nigerians will eventually see the benefits of this decision, even though the initial impact has been tough on many.
