Nigerians and their elected and selected ruiners have a penchant for uncommon drama. For the umpteenth time lately, the pump price of petroleum products has hit the roofs despite the best efforts of the Dangote refinery. For every failed policy, the regime arms its officials and the remaining handful of supporters with puerile explanations. Dr AG Ahmed aptly described the government’s handout to the citizenry as a load of PhDs – poverty, hunger and disease. President Tinubu as usual chose the period to take a well-deserved vacation.
While government agents are busy rationalising the irrational, the ever-creative Nigerian latches into the depths of its humour satchel helping us navigate the brutality of these policies with some of the most impressive memes. A particularly creative one is the one that described the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) as the archetypal groom that abandons his legitimate four wives at home in search of a side-chick. This was its apt description of the shameful role that the NNPCL plays as it abandons its non-functional four refineries to play the role of middleman to Aliko Dangote’s mega refinery.
Painful as the direction that the government’s abandonment of regulation is, its apologists regale us with how mercurial the prices of petroleum products have been even in the so-called abroad. This is superficially true, because from Canada through America and all parts of Europe, vehicle owners have been groaning at the pumps. This is the superficial explanation of the global phenomenon at a time when even these advanced nations tell us that they will soon relegate our oil to the status of coal with their electric vehicles.
As anyone who has lived outside our continent knows, it is possible to live abroad without owning a vehicle. It is also possible not to miss not driving or having a driver’s license. This is where these ingenious clowns get it wrong. Europe and America did not just rise one day to withdraw the so-called subsidy on petroleum products. The countries that our government vuvuzelas refer to have erected some of the most efficient public transport systems in place that they are constantly improving.
NOA seeks media support to promote essential family practice campaign
As lately as three decades ago, Europe improves its rail and road transport network and copied Japan with the introduction of high-speed trains making both road and air travel an avoidable luxury. This has incredibly improved human transportation and the movement of goods and services. It makes the ownership of a private vehicle almost a show-off. This is why London, one of Europe’s busiest cities introduced the infamous but now accepted congestion tax. Anyone familiar with London knows they could have access to public transport by walking five or 10 minutes from any direction they face. Eat your heart out Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano?
Western countries have mechanised agriculture and perfect the transportation of farm produce to the remotest parts of their nations in such a way that the price difference is either little or non-existent. This unwittingly regulates the cost of living for most citizens. In addition, these countries have privately run food banks that cater for the lowest of society as well as public housing that addresses the needs of society’s poor. What have we done with mass housing anywhere in Nigeria?
While our president insults health care practitioners that have left the shores of our nation after training and our irrational assembly attempted to bench them; western countries have an effective and efficient health care system. That system provides free primary and tertiary health care to citizens. Some of these societies have subsidised health insurance schemes taking care of the health and well-being of the citizenry. While our president overflies the gullies and potholes that are called road networks, these countries have autobahns and expressways.
In the field of education, these countries run a time-tested public school system catering for the present and future needs of the country. Fast-thinking countries introduce scholarships for A-grade students, higher tuition for foreign students wanting to tap into its superb teaching and research facilities. After paying through their noses to acquire education, these countries absorb the best among them with residency offers. This way, the new immigrants start a new life, sustain their new hosts with their sharp knowledge and help sustain the ageing population while maintaining qualitative standard of living.
We did not mention their authentic and well-funded public free education at primary and secondary levels or the robust student loan schemes for the indigent. Nigeria has turned its JAMB into a money-making venture.
Other countries maintain a database that tracks the progress of its students as they mature into higher education. This tracking system places students into areas where their talents are best tapped while JAMB perpetuates an arcane quota system that rejects the best candidates in favour of catchment areas where admission is at parity with low IQ. The latest global ranking of tertiary institutions in Nigeria is a shameful call to action to revamp universities in the country as only one privately owned university hit the ‘A’ band.
We know that shame is not a globally applicable commodity of leadership. This explains how people resort to fake data when excusing governments for their ineptitude. While reminding us that Rome was not built in a day, they forgot to say that Nero was not fiddling while it is burning. Who lays the foundation for a functional Nigeria? Certainly, not those who jet out to treat headaches leaving their citizens to return to stone-age practices for their own ailments.
The case against the EFCC
So, 15 states have joined Kogi in challenging the existence of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). With this gang-up before the Supreme Court, if ludicrous had an illustration, these states would feature in it.
From the very backward headquarters of Kogi State, Usman Ododo orders his attorney-general to go and challenge an agency of the federal government because he believes that immunity from prosecution should be eternal. While the allegation against his predecessor shortchanges the treasury he inherits thereby impoverishing the state, one would have expected a serious successor to do everything within his power to ensure that any funds stolen from the state treasury is recovered. In Ododo’s case, he appears determined to prevent his cousin, Yahaya Bello, from facing justice.
If that is not tragic enough, he has found 15 other incumbents who share his crazy dream with him. One of the collaborators, Oyo State, even has its own anti-corruption agency – the Oyo State Anti-Corruption Agency, yet it has joined this naked dance for reasons best known to its current rulers. All the co-travellers in this journey are states wracked with poverty induced by the corruption of its leaders – mostly past and present. It is shamefully understandable why they want the EFCC disbanded so that sleaze is upgraded.
While commenting on the substantive suit might be subjudice, the level of sleaze bedeviling our nation calls for more investigation into corruption, not less. Nigeria has no future until its current level of dishonesty is contained. We cannot have a society where pen robbers enjoy immunity while petty thieves do not.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
