By Farooq Kperogi

In trying to justify Buhari's latest callous hike in the price of petrol (amid a pandemic, no less), Buhari’s supporters increasingly sound like noisome idiots straining hard to be low-grade morons. Here are 4 reasons it’s stupid to compare Nigeria’s petrol prices with others:

1. Nigeria is the undisputed poverty capital of the world, thanks entirely to Buhari’s inept “leadership.” That means, on average, most countries on earth have a higher standard of living than Nigeria.

With a $77 per month minimum wage, Nigeria has one of the lowest minimum wages in the world. In other words, everyday Nigerians are worse off than most people in the world and don’t have the same economic vitality as citizens of other countries.

2. Nigeria is an oil-producing country. It’s unreasonable to deny Nigerians the expectation of cheaper prices for petrol. It’s like asking people to hold cream on their hands while their faces and bodies are dry. That’s cruelty. Most Nigerians would be at peace with high petrol prices if their country doesn’t produce oil.

A wealthy parent who starves his children and justifies his cruelty by pointing to the starvation of the children of his poor neighbors is an irresponsible parent who doesn’t deserve his children.

Buhari and his gang of buccaneers are irresponsible to invoke the petrol prices in neighboring African countries (that are not oil producers) as a justification for increasing domestic petrol prices.

3. Oil is the engine of the Nigerian economy in ways it is not elsewhere. When the price of petrol goes up in Nigeria, everything else goes up—except, of course, the already measly salaries of everyday people. This is not the case in many countries.

In the US, Benin Republic, even Saudi Arabia, etc., fluctuations in the price of petrol doesn’t automatically activate across-the-board inflation. So you can’t just arbitrarily jack up petrol prices and ignore its other unsettling effects on other facets of the Nigerian society.

4. A way bigger waste than the “waste” of petrol “subsidy” that people aren’t talking about is the extortionate amounts Nigeria expends to subsidize the obscene opulence of its political elite—from the president down to a ward councilor.

If the subsidies that finance the luxuries of the political class (such as billions budgeted to buy new cars in the presidency every year) are directed towards everyday Nigerians, Nigeria can afford way cheaper petrol than it currently does.

Very true. Buhari needs to stop driving a Mercedes limousine and moving in a convoy with 50 cars or more. He should start using cars made by Innoson and other local manufactorers.

Aso Rock shouldn't be spending N1bn on food alone. Buhari should start living according to the actual situation of the country.

If Buhari does it, everyone else will follow. Nigerians can not be suffering while politicians continue living in excessive luxury.

and one fool will still come hear to lick buhari ass. my guy this country is walking dead

I wonder why a stuff that doesn't have an alternative be deregulated.

Who this guy is Abeg.?

Why you did'nt layed these your henous statements to all the previous governments that use to shares some portions of our looted funds with their ass-lickers like you? must we blame everything on Buhari.?

we nigerians are the real problems of ourselves, while trying to solve a particular problem you'll hear another problem leaked.

True

Above is an extract From Atiku’s campaign document.

So, what better alternative do we really have? The downstream peyroleum sector has been fully liberalized. Market forces will henceforth determine the prices of petroleum sector. Government will only play regulatory role so as to ensure that industry players play by the rules and consumers and not unnecessarily exploited.


We must all accept the reality that the era of paying billions of dollars for petrol subsidy is gone. Even if Buhari want to continue the subsidy regime, there is no money to pay as a result of shortfall in government revenue.

What we should all be clamoring for is the immediate privatization of all the useless refineries and the issuance of additional license to private investors to build more refineries.