|
Will the curse of the black gold ever end?
By Adetutu Folasade-Koyi,
Abuja
Nigeria
is at crossroads again! The road to this present dilemma started four months
ago, precisely in June. No. That calculation would be wrong. The journey
actually started after 1999.
Like
a thief in the night, all in the name of deregulation, Nigerians suddenly came
face to face with the reality that the season of subsidy enjoyment was over.
The only major mineral resource, which the Almighty in his benevolence had
blessed the people with, suddenly became our major source of sorrow. As is the
norm, whatever happens in the international market is felt, rather harshly, at
home.
But
it never was like this. At a point in time in our collective history, at least,
the four refineries installed in the major zones in the country worked not
optimally, but not bad enough for them to satisfy our domestic needs. With
time, oil, also nicknamed black gold, became the harbinger of whether Nigerians
will be sad or happy. That state of mind affects the high and the low. Even the
legislature is not immune to whatever (mis)fortune oil has brought on the
nation.
Last
June, when the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) threatened to embark on a strike
over a unilateral increase in the pump price of petrol, it took the
intervention of the court and legislature for a return to the status quo.
That
intervention came from Senator Azu Agboti, who, in his capacity as the
chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) called on
marketers to respect the wishes of the court. Unfortunately, that same court
can no longer save the NLC.
Is
it not ironic that the same judiciary where Comrade Adams Oshiomhole ran to for
succour last June is the same system that has pronounced that labour cannot go
on strike? Going beyond that, the court even said that the very office, which
confers the right to lead the labour union on Oshiomhole, is
“illegal”. Call that killing an ant with a sledgehammer! What some
lawmakers, who declined to be named, told this paper is that the events of the
last two weeks are akin to a Yoruba proverb, which says; Aje ke lana, omo ku
loni. Tani o mo wipe aje to ke lana lo p’omoje. (With apologies to Alagba
Adebayo Faleti, I would attempt a literal translation. The witch cried
yesterday, the child died today. Who does not know that the witch who cried
yesterday killed the child)?
Okay,
so you want to know how all these have any bearing with what is happening in
Nigeria today?
The
Senate passed an amended Trade Union Act, which cancelled the “ancient”
idea of the nation having a central labour organisation. Barely 48 hours later,
an Abuja High Court ruled that the NLC has no right to go on strike, petrol
marketers showed their hands. And there is tension in the land.
Now
on the other side of the divide, Agboti has had to explain his
committee’s position. This time around, Agboti explains just where he
stands on this matter when he called on stakeholders to deliberate on the
correct pump price of fuel, a move, he said, would curtail incessant increases.
“We should look what should be the correct pump price of fuel. If that is
sorted out, then Nigeria would join other countries of the world in achieving a
lasting solution for the pump price of fuel”, said Agboti.
Two
other legislators who never shy away from shooting from the hips are Senators
Umaru Tsauri and Farouk Bello-Bunza. Tsauri is the chairman of the Senate
Committee on Rules and Business, while Bello-Bunza is the vice chairman of the
Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Financial Institutions.
Tsauri,
the lawmaker representing Katsina Central in the Upper Chamber, spoke of a
personal experience, which necessitated his support for the price increase but
faulted the timing. “Before now, I am used to taking my vehicles to Niger
Republic where I will fill all my cars with fuel before coming back to Nigeria.
Then, I used to fill my tanks at N100 per litre. But with the price increase,
fuel is now available in filling stations. But the timing for the increase, I
believe, is wrong. It is a sad development. I do not like the way the increment
came. It is either too early or we are too eager. To be sincere, I am not
comfortable with it. As a senator and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), I don’t know how this came about. I have discussed with some
senators and they said they did not know as well. I was shocked to hear on the
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that an independent marketer canvassed
N65 as a realistic price. It is a sad situation. If you ask me how the
increment came about, sincerely, I don’t know,” he said.
Tsauri
also faulted the timing of the assent of the Federal Government to the
increment. “I hate fuel increment because increase in fuel prices is an
increment in the price of almost everything. There is a mistake in the increase
of fuel price. Personally, I think we should revisit the issue of this price
increase. I personally believe that the federal government increased the price
of fuel because the court has whittled down the powers of the NLC. Why did the
federal government increase the price just after the court said the NLC has no
power to go on strike? My feeling is that this increase is a wrong
timing”, he said.
On
his part, Bello-Bunza stated that he has been vindicated on his reaction that
the Senate was used to emasculate labour, with the courts used to sound the
death knell of NLC and the voice of opposition in the country. “What we
should ask ourselves is this: why the fuel price increase at this time? The
reason is because there is an international increase in the price of fuel, has
moved from the approved $26 to $48, what have they got to show
Nigerians?” he asked.
As
panacea, Bello-Bunza called on the government to revive and provide social
amenities, which would help cushion the rippling effects of the fuel hike.
“For a reasonable government, for a government that really thinks, if
they are going to increase fuel price, then the windfall should have been used
to put in place effective social amenities. Cheaper transport system and the
rail system should have been improved. The health sector should have been
improved too. Have you benefited from the National Health Insurance Scheme
(NHIS)? Has it worked? Are you treated free in the hospital? Has the windfall
been deployed in this area? How about public schools? Are the Nigerian public
schools working?
“I have not seen this government justifying this
increase. There is no justification for it. I have been vindicated. Recall my
reaction to the Labour Bill two weeks ago. Now, they have clamped down on all
forms of opposition. The National Assembly has been silenced, the court
judgment has silenced the NLC, labour unions have been muscled and silenced.
The common man cannot even go to court or the National Assembly for redress.
What will follow is an act of desperation by the common man,” he said.
|
