LETTER TO GEJ'S APOLOGISTS


JUNE 2007 GENERAL STRIKE
Towards the tail end of its inglorious rule, the Obasanjo government took some decisions which many patently could see as nothing but deliberate steps taken to benefit cronies and inflict further hardship on the already over-burdened masses. Issues in this regard include the hike of fuel prices, the cheap sales of Kaduna and Port-Harcourt refineries, the suspension of the implementation of the 15% pay rise already approved for federal workers, etc.

Given the depth of mass anger and protests which greeted these policies and especially faced with a nationwide general strikes/protests, President Yar'Adua, who himself was embroiled with serious crises of political legitimacy, arising from his own emergence as President from brazenly rigged elections, had little choice other than to make very limited retreats on these controversial issues. However, when a critical analysis of his directive/decision in this regard is undertaken, it is very easy to see that President Yar'Adua's response is no more than the usual self preservative, self-serving measure of bourgeois leaders. Take the concession given by the government on the fuel hike issue for instance. At the end of the day, government grants total reversal of the increments on diesel and kerosene. It reversed the additional 100% increment of the VAT. In addition, government also reduced by 50% the increment on petrol. And finally, government pledged not to increase the fuel prices for the next one year.

To many government apologists, these concessions and pledges collectively show that President Yar'Adua is a "listening" president. In reality however, there is nothing new in the particular and general methods used in tackling the issue of fuel hike, which was not borrowed word for word from the Obasanjo's inglorious era, including relying on the Labour leaders not wishing to challenge the government. For instance, the pledge not to officially hike fuel prices for the next one year is a pledge to continue with the past policy of incessant fuel price hike without commensurate rise in masses' purchasing power. Very tragically too, these "pledge" only provides official shield for the fact that kerosene and diesel, currently and openly sold above government official prices and also the fact that petrol itself is only being sold at official N70 per litre in major cities across the country. As a result of incessant power outage, virtually every factory relies on electricity generator runs on diesel which is consequently passed on the consumers. Thus, at the end of the day, the so-called concessions granted by the President in this respect added very little economic value to the overall economy and masses' living conditions.

THE REVERSAL OF SALES OF THE KADUNA AND PORTHARCOURT REFINERIES
The suspension of the sales of the Kaduna and P/Harcourt refineries to Aliyu Dangote and Femi Otedola (two of the capitalist octopuses created through the mass scale looting of the treasury by the Obasanjo's neo-liberal government) was hailed by many bourgeois ideologues and pseudo radical leftists as an indication that a Daniel has finally come to judgment. In reality, there is nothing new in this kind of measure. Sometime in 2002, 55% of NITEL, the nation's telecommunication carrier, was sold to a company called International London Investment Limited (ILIL), for a sum of $1.3billion. To secure this sale, ILIL had to make a down payment of 10% of the cost price and was expected to pay the balance within a period of 8 days after the conclusion of the transaction in issue. However, either by design or accident, the company could not come forward with the balance until 9 days after the transaction was signed. Invoking the clause regarding period of payment, President Obasanjo promptly revoked the sale to ILIL. 5 years after this revocation, 75% of old NITEL, plus 75% of its new subsidiary (MTEL), was subsequently sold to Transcorp, a company where Obasanjo reportedly has the major shareholding, for the mere sum of $750million.

Thus from DSM experience, the revocation of sales of a particular public asset or institution for whatever reason is not necessarily beneficial or progressive, so long as the authorities are still committed to privatization policy, which President Yar'Adua has publicly announced as the economic credo of his administration. Therefore, in this respect, it is a matter of time before these public assets and several other juicy public properties are sold to same or other capitalist individuals and corporations and even possibly at lower prices.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 15% PAY RISE FOR FEDERAL WORKERS
Firstly, the point must be made that this is a mere implementation of a policy, which Yar'Adua's predecessor in office already granted but unreasonably suspended. Even if this policy had been initiated by Yar'Adua government, on its own, it amounts to little or nothing in the prevailing socio-economic climate, for those who solely derive their incomes from fixed salaries with no access to large scale treasury looting. To further worsen matter, this marginal increment was implemented with the notion that government is at liberty to "right-seize" its workforce, an euphemism for mass retrenchment of workers. Meanwhile, it should be recalled that the obasanjo government increased wages by over 300% in its maiden period in office. As a result, many states government were put under pressure to effect significant increment in workers wages.

However, faced with the vicious anti-poor policies of incessant hike in fuel prices, commercialization and privatization of social needs like education, health care and combined with sustained mass retrenchment of workers in both public and private sectors, this sizable increment effected in workers' wages became totally inadequate to guarantee the basic needs of the working masses and their dependants. Therefore, from the socialist point of view, wage increment can only be significantly beneficial to the working class living standards when taken side by side with the costs and access of the wage earners to decent houses, food, healthcare, jobs, functional and affordable infrastructures, etc. Thus, to call the implementation of 15% pay rise for federal workers only an outstanding achievement is a product of ignorance/self-deception.

bunch of miracle waiters! if you have the magic wand to change nigeria in 10 years raise up your hand.how do you expect miracle of wiping poverty stricken society caused by past successive govts in one ,two years.do you know what it takes a new government of diverse ministers/personalities with diverse background to plan and execute well thought out policies that impact positively to the populace?
anyway,power supply has improved significantly in my lagos area more that ever.i still believe in this government,no matter the distractions it recieves from all quarters.
WHAT A LEADER NEEDS IS SUPPORT TO SUCCEED. A BIRD AT HAND IS BETTER THAN IMAGINARY THOUSANDS IN THE BUSH.

These are the Nigerians that claim to be wise. a very big shame I must say. May God keep you alive to the day that GEJ will have completed the exact number of days that Yaradua spent in office before his demise (God keep his soul) and then you will repeat this poll. that is if bh doesn't get to him. we are like dry leaves that are carried about by any little wind. look deeper and see foundations being laid for a Nigeria that will never be the same. God bless Nigeria.

What in the world are you folks doing comparing these two together for? I mean after all you suffered under yar adua, you still feel it is sane to find comparisons for him? At this point, I am forced to ask if it is the case that some of you(the majority it seems) are slow or even all the way _retard_ed?

@poster Buhari

@ obinna. Gej provided lag water? I can deliver nigeria within a year! Mark my worda

@junkie. Ask urself first

Well, for one I do not engage in such VAIN and IMBE-CILIC acts as you have here. So please answer the question. Do you also pick out the worst of your past to compare every hope of your future to? Is that a good idea of how you live your life there??

Hope of the future? Not d betterment of the present? When is d future? 2000 yrs? U ve got to be kidding me

um . . . This is your today and future . . . this man is here till 2015(since there are all indications you will likely DO NOTHING about his being here past his 200 days)

And u think this snail will get there before 2015. Are u from utuoke, utumama or utuabula?

Sorry junkie, he is not my today cos I am part of the masses who never gained from the hypocrite. Am sure u are part of the bourgeoisie

^^ I hate to break it to you but he is your present -- he is the president of Nigeria and no matter how much you want to deny it, he is probably here to say(unless God takes him before 2014). And who knows, he might even get re-elected since many are still engulfed by the mundane.

If I have my way, I would remove him from the list on nigerian president. I repeat! He is not my present!! I have put him behind me and he knows it. Are u from utuoke

well the country is falling apart under GEJ 's government Yara was sick remember? or jazzed hysterically into his grave as some thinks. Mohit is doing better than Nigeria is managing her nation

Gej Added N10,000 to NYSC Allowance, am curently flexing it, even if it aint much.

Gej Added N10,000 to NYSC Allowance, am curently flexing it, even if it aint much.

Don't finish ur nysc again. U go hear wehn!

alienvirus:

Don't finish your nysc again. U go hear wehn!

SMH