Dishing out crumbs of palliatives that barely even get to the deadening poor masses in the grassroots is window dressing and a pathetic charade aimed at impoverishing the already poverty-strained masses. It may appear to be some sort of low hanging fruit at the moment but the fruit that seems even much more lower is the reversal and review of subsidy payment.
Question is, are you going to be doling out these palliatives on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis? If the answer is no, which is presumably so, then it is only logical to know that you cannot provide ephemeral solutions for a perennial problem and go to sleep in the conviction that the problem is solved.
Have you thought of the N3.27trn reportedly earmarked for palliatives and how much more such monies would have been used to fund subsidy? Of course, the pathetic drama at the national Chambers and sundry misappropriations at the atriums of power come to mind.
Payment of subsidy is not a sin. The government must go after those individuals, past and present, who knocked off subsidy regime to a scam. Why let the already stifled citizens pay for sins they know nothing about for apparent fear of holding the sacred cows to account for their mess? Go after the sacred cows. Leadership equals bravery.
The real problem still sits pretty under our nose: and that’s leadership failure. You must subsidize energy for your citizens, as a government desirous of being responsive, responsible and tactful, it’s hard-and-fast, incumbent and non-negotiable.
In Nigeria, whatever affects the energy sector impacts negatively on every area of our human existence. And the reason isn’t far-fetched; energy is the only lifeline of our economy, almost everything you can think of breathes through the nostrils of energy(PMS, Power).
There was never a reason to remove subsidy and there shouldn’t have been, anytime in the near future no matter who would have been president. In fact, it was a campaign error to have sold such idea by the big three presidential candidates, build up to the 2023 general elections.
Why do we keep slipping through the cracks in every successive administration? What would it take to recalibrate and be positioned on the right trajectory? At all levels, state levels most especially, the outright disdain in addressing the protracted plight of citizens keeps defying any possible cure.
Meanwhile, aside constantly knocking on the federal government to live up to expectations, the state governors must learn to roll up their sleeves, scale up and take leadership seriously.
A fair-minded state governor must cravingly do business and as well invest in meaningful ventures that can serve as an enduring therapy for the interminable scourge of poverty across the land.
