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in one of the numerous video clips that surfaced from the recent protests against hardship, otherwise known as ‘END Bad Governance’, one participant said the protest was belated. His stance was not a reaction to the logic that one year was nothing in the effect expected from economic policies to nail a government.
His concern was that the protest ought to have come against Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), which, in his view, declared another person as the winner, and even the courts looked away from issues that ought to negatively affect one of the candidates. The matter has gone beyond elections because a winner has since mounted the saddle. One year after, the people woke from their slumber in a manner that those who act with impunity in matters of politics and governance know that it can no longer be business as usual.
In all honesty economic hardship in the land was not birthed with the Tinubu regime. Things had deteriorated over time. Prices of goods had increasingly shut through the roof. Skit makers had made skits about the astronomical rise of prices in the last three regimes. While rice, Nigeria’s emergent staple food, has literally returned to what it was in those hey days; an occasional food. Protein such as beans and meat have gone beyond the reach of people. As people grappled with the hunger and looming starvation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it could no longer bear the brunt of importing petrol and, apparently, selling at a subsided price. Consequently, another round of petrol piece hike and its attendant came into being.
In all honesty, economic hardship in the land was not birthed with the Tinubu administration. Things had deteriorated over time. Price of goods had increasingly shut through the roof. Skit makers on social media had feasted on the price disparity to create all manner of content on the price of goods during various regimes. While rice, Nigeria emergent staple food, sold for seven thousand naira per bag(50KG) in 2014, it shut up to N30,000 in 2015 and has now it has hit N76,00 in my location, and perhaps more in other places. The Take it Back movement, a pro-democracy group, has hinted at its intention to organize another round of protests for October first, the traditional day of Independence. The movement described the current regime as a symbol of hardship .
A major determinant of prices in this clime is the cost of movement of goods and persons. The means of movement in Nigeria is largely by road. Movement of food stuff by road has a debilitating effect on the prices of goods and services. People tend to protest vehemently when a hike occurs on the price of petrol, given that it is the determinant of other prices. The matter of increment in the Premium Moter Spirit also known as petrol has always attracted protest and resistance which was why the Dangote Group embarked on a major investment by investing on a refinery project. The group invested a whooping 20 billion dollars in the project that was expected to make the product available, and perhaps, affordable.
In the process of the project, chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote grew grey hairs. The grey hair was worth it, given that the project is the largest single Endeavor embarked upon Africa’s richest man. The project is envisaged to keep him at the top of the ladder of money men in the continent for a long time. For a nation that has been unable to maintain its refineries, and has, over the years, resorted to importation of petroleum products, such an accomplishment qualifies to be described a feat, one that has the capacity to elicit grey hairs in the debonair man.
He has grown grey for the right reasons. When Dangote described his grey as golden, he has every reason because the Refinery, one of the largest in the world, is monumental achievement.
He has dared what the nation could not. But the snag is the question of affordability of the petroleum products. The company has been said to reduce the price od diesel and aviation fuel. It is yet unclear if the company’s operation would bring a decline to the price of PMS. Is has been stated by industry insiders that government’s decision to allow the company to set its price maybe a clear indication that the price may not crash. The Chairman, Aliko Dangote said, in an interview, that the Refinery was awaiting the government to fix prices before government reportedly gave the Refinery a free hand to operate as a commercial entity. There are clear reasons government would not interfere in the matter given the implications of fixing prices that may not meet production cost and thus cause losses to the company. Government would pay the shortfall, a back road to subsidy, which government says bled the nation in the past even when indications are that the NNPC was subsidizing products, contrary to the President’s pronouncement in the infamous ’subsidy is gone’ inaugural speech. It was said to be hasty. some people have argued that subsidy is inevitable in government, especially in critical sectors like power, agriculture, education e.t.c.
If the private sector gets involves in such sectors, companies would either pay the market price and push the effect to consumers or government pays the difference. There is no free lunch anywhere. Someone has paid or will pay for it. If government agrees to pay for Dangote’s golden grey hair, then fuel petrol prices would come down, or the people would pay. But the point must be made that Dangote has done what government could not dare. He has to reap. So who pays for Dangotes’s grey hair; government or the people.
