[size=14pt]Why fuel subsidy must go now, by Jonathan[/size]
By Vincent Ikuomola41 minutes ago

[img]http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/thumbnail.php?file=Goodluck_Jonathan_436239920.jpg&size=article_medium[/img]
Dr. Jonathan

No way, Reps insist

THE economy took the front burner yesterday as the President got into the Yuletide mood.

Dr Goodluck Jonathan insisted that fuel subsidy must go and that Nigeria cannot continue to borrow to fund its economy.

But he explained that the idea is not to inflict pains on Nigerians.

The administration’s plan to remove fuel subsidy has raised so much dust.

The President spoke – for the umpteenth time – on the subsidy during the 2011 Christmas Carol Service held at the banquet hall of the Presidential Villa, last night.

President Jonathan reminded his audience of the global economic challenges and warned that this country is not insulated.

He said: “I will plead with religious leaders – both Christians and Muslims - to join the government and see how we will improve the economy of this nation.

“We are witnessing a nation, at least those who are my age, 50 years and above, as the years are going, the challenges are becoming more. Most societies are becoming more enlightened. The demand for power has increased; the demand for water, the demand for everything. Probably at independence, how many cars did we have in this country? Even after the Civil War, how many vehicles did we have? How many roads? How many streets had light?

“I remember the day I was chatting with a group of elders and they said after the war there was electricity everywhere, they travelled out and so on. I came to live in Port Harcourt in 1955. Even then, it was only Port Harcourt that had electricity, even the big cities, Bonny. But now, government must make sure even the smallest village and settlements have electricity light.

“Without light, you cannot preserve farm produce. See how the demands for everything has expanded over the period, there are more challenges. And we believe with the present for the past several years, government has been borrowing money to run its affairs and the amount we borrow continues to increase. Who are we borrowing this money for? Who will come and offset the debts?

“I normally asked. And of course the professionals in the oil industry are making predictions that the oil reserve that we have, that in 35 to 40 years, it will dry up.

“By God’s grace we will discover more oil reserves but based on what we have now and assuming we are unable to discover more in 35 to 40 years it will dry up. I pray not to live up to that time anyway, but some of the people here will witness that situation.

“So, even now that we have oil we are borrowing and we are not expanding the economy. In the next in 35 to 40 years, assuming we don’t discover more oil reserves, what will happen to our children and grandchildren? Do we begin to plan a country where our children and grandchildren will become slaves? Even now, Nigerians are running out of this country. There was a time we were talking about check out, but now that slogan has died down.

“It will come to that point government must look for ways to expand the economy. We must look for other ways of earning money. We must go back to farming. And not just subsistent farming that we know, but really taking farming as a business. We must create wealth through farming; we must industralise; we must begin to produce things in this country and we need resources to do that.

“And, especially with the number of people graduating from the universities every year, how do we create jobs for them? And I believe we cannot continue with the number of people graduating from the universities every year. How do we create jobs for them? And I believe we cannot continue to borrow. In fact, last year, our capital budget was N1.146 trillion and we borrowed the whole capital budget and even a little more.

“This year, with the present budget, we are paying back the part of the money we borrowed, but what is in the budget is only N560 billion, just about half of the money we borrowed. Who will pay the balance and when, with interest? There is no way we can continue to run the economy this way.

“We find it difficult to do things that appear not to be popular and I know that one of the things that worry us is the fear of the unknown. If there is subsidy, what will life be? Yes we know there will be a little pain because we know ourselves; Nigerians sometimes exploit opportunities.

“Ordinarily, the pains would have been minimal in the sense that as we are talking now diesel is deregulated since Obasanjo’s time and nobody is going to touch diesel and most of the vehicles we use in carrying load use diesel.

Ordinarily, transport cost for any vehicle that uses diesel is not supposed to change, but Nigerians, being who they are, at the beginning will try to be funny and we must encourage use of gas and all that and use of vehicles that have fuel efficiency.

Most countries, even the bulbs they use now are the ones that consume very little power. Nigerians must adjust and I believe that apart from the fact that some people will want to exploit us at the beginning, just like when GSM just came in, when MTN started, they were even hoarding the sim cards.

To buy a sim card at a time, you had to do funny things because people were desperate, but now the companies give you sim card with credit on it just to hook up to their line. I tell Nigerians that we are very hopeful and so nobody should fear.

“There is no government, maybe in very few cases in history. Well, it is also recorded somewhere in the Bible where somebody wanted to take over from the father and promised to flog the people more, but of course we also know what happened, the whole empire scattered. There is nobody who will want to deliberately inflict suffering on his people. Goodluck Jonathan can never be one.”

The President went on as the audience listened attentively:

“I know the pains Nigerians are passing through, yes, I am here in the State House and being fed by government, but that does not keep me so far from the people. There is no day that I don’t interact with Nigerians both low and high and I appreciate the pains of the people.

We are facing challenges but we must take certain decisions to reposition our economy so that things will ease out. If we don’t have the courage to do so, then we will continue to be dying in pains, until God knows when. So, my belief is that at a particular time, people must be courageous to take the rightful decisions.”

“We may experience some minor pains for some months, but people will want to exploit. Ordinarily if people don’t want to exploit us, it is supposed not to be so when you look at the chart, even if you remove subsidy on fuel on the world average, the price of fuel in Nigeria still be among the last 30 percent, the charts are there because most countries add a lot of tax on fuel, but we are not adding any tax”.

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/29952-why-fuel-subsidy-must-go-now-by-jonathan.html

Its like GEJ has been on NL. I am glad he knows this. Well, he is our leader and we are the masses. May God give him the wisdom to lead Nigeria right!
Very thoughtful, to be honest.

Is it such a difficult thing, as he has been told by some elder statemen (eg Gowon) and noble citizens (eg Father Kukkah); he should embark on the strategy of ending subsidy by making the refinieris to start working. In 18 months our existing 4 refineries can be producing at 60% capacity which is enough for our local consumption.

Why so much insistence on the option that will more than double the price of fuel and create a serious hyper-inflation and make life unbearable; then start looking for ways to curb the inflation. Why create a problem then start looking for solution?

Like Gowon said, the multiplier-effect of runaway/galloping/hyper inflation through the economy will be so much, no palliative can solve it; it will be beyond the control of the goverment.

There is a better optiion. Why not take it.

There is always several paths leading to a stream; why insist on a particular one, full of sharp stones, broken bottles, undulating valleys that can break legs and backbones.

Why not take the one that is tared and smooth like the road in Aso-Rock, even if is is a little longer.

The important thing is to get to the stream. To get there in good time (the country cannot collaspe in 18 months), with the least dificulty; not with broken bones and cuts on legs gushing out with blood.

The goverment is the guradian of the people and it ought to behave like a good parent.

Nairalanders that are echoing what goverment officials are saying, that subsidy removal will stop the "few Nigerans" (aka Cabal) from feeding fat off the country, are I'm sorry to say, du.llards. And ofcourse, those officails are liars icluding Ngozi Iweals herself. Because we don't work in Worldbank does not mean we have no sense of economics at all.

The cabal will not stop feeding FAT; instead of collecting the money from goverment in form of subsidy, they will now be collecting it from the masses in form of fuel increase. If anything, they may even start making more money.

The option which will will deal with the Cabal is one that brings a stop to fuel importation. But PDP won't like that. Fuel-importation is the biggest business of someone like Otedola and so many others. It's the biggest instrument of political patronage used by PDP for rewarding itself and its benefacors.

Then go ahead and remove it but be ready for what may follow after.

lanre_front:

Is it such a difficult thing, as he has been told by some elder statemen (eg Gowon) and noble citizens (eg Father Kukkah); he should embark on the strategy of ending subsidy by making the refinieris to start working. In 18 months our existing 4 refineries can be producing at 60% capacity which is enough for our local consumption.

Why so much insistence on the option that will more than double the price of fuel and create a serious hyper-inflation and make life unbearable; then start looking for ways to curb the inflation. Why create a problem then start looking for solution?

Like Gowon said, the multiplier-effect of runaway/galloping/hyper inflation through the economy will be so much, no palliative can solve it; it will be beyond the control of the goverment.

There is a better optiion. Why not take it.

There is always several paths leading to a stream; why insist on a particular one, full of sharp stones, broken bottles, undulating valleys that can break legs and backbones.

Why not take the one that is tared and smooth like the road in Aso-Rock, even if is is a little longer.

The important thing is to get to the stream. To get there in good time (the country cannot collaspe in 18 months), with the least dificulty; not with broken bones and cuts on legs gushing out with blood.

The goverment is the guradian of the people and it ought to behave like a good parent.

Nairalanders that are echoing what goverment officials are saying, that subsidy removal will stop the "few Nigerans" (aka Cabal) from feeding fat off the country, are I'm sorry to say, du.llards. And ofcourse, those officails are liars icluding Ngozi Iweals herself. Because we don't work in Worldbank does not mean we have no sense of economics at all.

The cabal will not stop feeding FAT; instead of collecting the money from goverment in form of subsidy, they will now be collecting it from the masses in form of fuel increase. If anything, they may even start making more money.

The option which will will deal with the Cabal is one that brings a stop to fuel importation. But PDP won't like that. Fuel-importation is the biggest business of someone like Otedola and so many others. It's the biggest instrument of political patronage used by PDP for rewarding itself and its benefacors.

You make a lot of sense!!!

I also suggest that he sells the refineries to Otedola, Dangote, Adenuga, Jimoh Ibrahim, Sayyu Dantata, Wale Tinubu and co and let them run it. We'll see whether they will run well or not.

X-factoria:

You make a lot of sense!!!

I also suggest that he sells the refineries to Otedola, Dangote, Adenuga, Jimoh Ibrahim, Sayyu Dantata, Wale Tinubu and co and let them run it. We'll see whether they will run well or not.

Thanks.

Whilw your suggestion is not necessarily a bad one, the truth is the country is well capable of running 4 refinries if selfish interests of the ruling party are kept at bay. Ofcourse they can be more refineried owned by private indidviduals.

Knowing how things work in Nigeria, the danger is that the refiniries may be given out at peanuts. If governent can own at least just the 4 big refineries, it can be used as a stabilizing factor in terms of pricing when the so many other private refiniries come on board.

lanre_front:

Is it such a difficult thing, as he has been told by some elder statemen (eg Gowon) and noble citizens (eg Father Kukkah); he should embark on the strategy of ending subsidy by making the refinieris to start working. In 18 months our existing 4 refineries can be producing at 60% capacity which is enough for our local consumption.

Why so much insistence on the option that will more than double the price of fuel and create a serious hyper-inflation and make life unbearable; then start looking for ways to curb the inflation. Why create a problem then start looking for solution?

Like Gowon said, the multiplier-effect of runaway/galloping/hyper inflation through the economy will be so much, no palliative can solve it; it will be beyond the control of the goverment.

There is a better optiion. Why not take it.

There is always several paths leading to a stream; why insist on a particular one, full of sharp stones, broken bottles, undulating valleys that can break legs and backbones.

Why not take the one that is tared and smooth like the road in Aso-Rock, even if is is a little longer.

The important thing is to get to the stream. To get there in good time (the country cannot collaspe in 18 months), with the least dificulty; not with broken bones and cuts on legs gushing out with blood.

The goverment is the guradian of the people and it ought to behave like a good parent.

Nairalanders that are echoing what goverment officials are saying, that subsidy removal will stop the "few Nigerans" (aka Cabal) from feeding fat off the country, are I'm sorry to say, du.llards. And ofcourse, those officails are liars icluding Ngozi Iweals herself. Because we don't work in Worldbank does not mean we have no sense of economics at all.

The cabal will not stop feeding FAT; instead of collecting the money from goverment in form of subsidy, they will now be collecting it from the masses in form of fuel increase. If anything, they may even start making more money.

The option which will will deal with the Cabal is one that brings a stop to fuel importation. But PDP won't like that. Fuel-importation is the biggest business of someone like Otedola and so many others. It's the biggest instrument of political patronage used by PDP for rewarding itself and its benefacors.

You are right that you are not an Iweala and do not understand economics, the bolded portions have given you out and made destroyed the rest of your argument.
Firstly, getting the refineries working at 100% will not stop fuel importation; in fact the refineries are all working at a high percentage of their installed capacities right now, except for Kaduna (a mistake that should never have been built). GEJ has also ordered that they all must be in full working order within 2 years, so your argument is simplistic, mute and of no use.

The elephant in the room is smuggling, and it is the one your argument has neatly left out. The fuel importers, knowing that they are guaranteed to be paid by the FG; import fuel, get it recorded at our ports, then move it all to our neighbouring countries where they get paid at close at market price. Most of these importers have fuel stations and refineries in those neighbouring countries. After nearly all of the fuel has been distributed in neighbouring countries and the importers paid there, the Nigerian govt is presented with the bill. It is an exponential swindle that see's Nigeria effectively subsidising the energy needs of Benin Republic, Niger, Cameroon, Burkina Faso etc. Basically, we are subsidising W. Africa.

Why should Nigeria feed other countries when the money can be used on Nigerians? It must end.

Also, in the past, the amount of fraud was hidden by the fact that there was always fuel scarcity, but GEJ's drive to end that disgraceful phenomenon has seen the importers awash with even more fuel to juggle the life of the common man and defraud the nation with.

To fix that loop, govt will have to fix the following in one swoop without bloodshed; port authorities, NNPC, customs, police, large swathes of elite. we already have boko haram and intense fires of ethnic bigotry. The only option is to toss the the entire fuel import ecosystem into the trash can and sanitise it without govt payments; then we can split the task of taking on those groups one by one.

The scandal must end today, there is no sane reason to call for govt to wait, while the whole country has been sold into the slavery of a few hundred with the poison fruit of N65.00 per litre. The man on the street has enough pride and self-worth to stand for that.

Removal of subsidy is like administering an injection. The insertion of the needle is painful but the work of the drug it contains is needful. Besides, it is expected that any child taking an injection will scream, protest, writhe in pain and what have you but that doesn't stop the doctor from doing the needful.

Let's take the pains to correct this now and save future generations from unnecessary headache.

Nice one from GEJ the giant killer!

^GEJ the giant killer!

@ BEAF

Firstly, like the expert dodger that you are, you've avoided the part which says, removal of oil-subsidy will not stop the CABAL from feeding fat off the country; that so far is the strongest consistent arguement being weilded by the goverment and their supporters like yourself. And it is a big lie. The "feeding fat" will merely be tranfered from the goverment directly to the masses.

Secondly, all your arguements (e.g smuggling) are not a new one. The PDP goverment has been dishing out this rhetorics for 12 years now. Let's assume smuggling is the main problem like u say; look here, smuggling of petroleum products in large quantities across our borders is not like rice or contraband clothes. It is highly visible. It cannot be successfully consistently done over years unless it has the blessing of the goverment in power.

It is lauhgable and indeed rediculous when goverment officials and people like u try to imply that Nigerian goverment is incapable of stopping our fuel supply being smuggled across our borders into neigbhouring countries.

Then are you also saying it's an impossible task to monitor the amount of Petrol that is imported into this country, and the actual consumption of Nigerians every month. At the ongoing Senate seatings, the goverment has been tasked to get the figurs for the amount of petrol the country needs in a month, in order to arrive at the actaul subsidy necessary.

Then there are several other pertinent quetions the goverment are not intersted in answering; they just want the go-ahead to remove subsidy and increase price of petrol.

For instance, no goverment official has been able to give any satisfactory answer to how the 250 billion allocated to subsidy from January to October jumped from that figur to the 1.3 trillion that has being spent.

Many people have alledged that the actual subsidy should not be more than 200 billion naira which is an amount very much affordable. Jonathan has shown absolutely no interest in exploring this angle.

So people are saying, sanitise the whole subsidy scheme; weed out the corruption-subsidy-part from the actual subsidy, and affodability of the subsidy will not be a problem.

They have shown no intererst to answer, addresss, ivestigate or take up this recommendtaion; rather Jonathan is always begging us that subsidy has to go; that the economy will collaspe in two years. It's a small wonder that Senate and especially the House of Reps. keep saying that Jonathan's arguements are unconvincing.

Then you say three of the refineries are WORKING at high percentage capacity is simply not true. Very untrue.

Then you say if the four refineries are working at 100%, that cannot stop fuel importation. What nonsense are you talking about. I dont have the figurd off-hand, but according to all the experts that have spoken on the issue, the joint daily total capacity of the four refiniries is well above what the country needs daily. Do you more than all those guys?

Let me just stop here. It suffuce to say I know what Im talking about. I'm not one of those you can confuse.

Stop trying to pull a wool over the eyes of the people.

Beaf:

You are right that you are not an Iweala and do not understand economics, the bolded portions have given you out and made destroyed the rest of your argument.
Firstly, getting the refineries working at 100% will not stop fuel importation; in fact the refineries are all working at a high percentage of their installed capacities right now, except for Kaduna (a mistake that should never have been built). GEJ has also ordered that they all must be in full working order within 2 years, so your argument is simplistic, mute and of no use.

The elephant in the room is smuggling, and it is the one your argument has neatly left out. The fuel importers, knowing that they are guaranteed to be paid by the FG; import fuel, get it recorded at our ports, then move it all to our neighbouring countries where they get paid at close at market price. Most of these importers have fuel stations and refineries in those neighbouring countries. After nearly all of the fuel has been distributed in neighbouring countries and the importers paid there, the Nigerian govt is presented with the bill. It is an exponential swindle that see's Nigeria effectively subsidising the energy needs of Benin Republic, Niger, Cameroon, Burkina Faso etc. Basically, we are subsidising W. Africa.

Why should Nigeria feed other countries when the money can be used on Nigerians? It must end.

Also, in the past, the amount of fraud was hidden by the fact that there was always fuel scarcity, but GEJ's drive to end that disgraceful phenomenon has seen the importers awash with even more fuel to juggle the life of the common man and defraud the nation with.

To fix that loop, govt will have to fix the following in one swoop without bloodshed; port authorities, NNPC, customs, police, large swathes of elite. we already have boko haram and intense fires of ethnic bigotry. The only option is to toss the the entire fuel import ecosystem into the trash can and sanitise it without govt payments; then we can split the task of taking on those groups one by one.

The scandal must end today, there is no sane reason to call for govt to wait, while the whole country has been sold into the slavery of a few hundred with the poison fruit of N65.00 per litre. The man on the street has enough pride and self-worth to stand for that.

So in summary, what you're saying is that Goodluck Ebele jonathan is too weak to secure our borders? Or he is too weak to curtail or severely reduce smuggling across our borders?

Gotcha.

texazzpete:

So in summary, what you're saying is that Goodluck Ebele jonathan is too weak to secure our borders? Or he is too weak to curtail or severely reduce smuggling across our borders?

Gotcha.

If thats what you got, then your mind is too weak to comprehend.

How can one blame all the age long problems of the nation on GEJ alone and at the same time castigate him for taking an action that will solve a huge chunk of the problem? Only hypocrites do that!

lanre_front:

@ BEAF

Firstly, like the expert dodger that you are, you've avoided the part which says, removal of oil-subsidy will not stop the CABAL from feeding fat off the country; that so far is the strongest consistent arguement being weilded by the goverment and their supporters like yourself. And it is a big lie. The "feeding fat" will merely be tranfered from the goverment directly to the masses.

Secondly, all your arguements (e.g smuggling) are not a new one. The PDP goverment has been dishing out this rhetorics for 12 years now. Let's assume smuggling is the main problem like u say; look here, smuggling of petroleum products in large quantities across our borders is not like rice or contraband clothes. It is highly visible. It cannot be successfully consistently done over years unless it has the blessing of the goverment in power.

It is lauhgable and indeed rediculous when goverment officials and people like u try to imply that Nigerian goverment is incapable of stopping our fuel supply being smuggled across our borders into neigbhouring countries.

Then are you also saying it's an impossible task to monitor the amount of Petrol that is imported into this country, and the actual consumption of Nigerians every month. At the ongoing Senate seatings, the goverment has been tasked to get the figurs for the amount of petrol the country needs in a month, in order to arrive at the actaul subsidy necessary.

Then there are several other pertinent quetions the goverment are not intersted in answering; they just want the go-ahead to remove subsidy and increase price of petrol.

For instance, no goverment official has been able to give any satisfactory answer to how the 250 billion allocated to subsidy from January to October jumped from that figur to the 1.3 trillion that has being spent.

Many people have alledged that the actual subsidy should not be more than 200 billion naira which is an amount very much affordable. Jonathan has shown absolutely no interest in exploring this angle.

So people are saying, sanitise the whole subsidy scheme; weed out the corruption-subsidy-part from the actual subsidy, and affodability of the subsidy will not be a problem.

They have shown no intererst to answer, addresss, ivestigate or take up this recommendtaion; rather Jonathan is always begging us that subsidy has to go; that the economy will collaspe in two years. It's a small wonder that Senate and especially the House of Reps. keep saying that Jonathan's arguements are unconvincing.

Then you say three of the refineries are WORKING at high percentage capacity is simply not true. Very untrue.

Then you say if the four refineries are working at 100%, that cannot stop fuel importation. What nonsense are you talking about. I dont have the figurd off-hand, but according to all the experts that have spoken on the issue, the joint daily total capacity of the four refiniries is well above what the country needs daily. Do you more than all those guys?

Let me just stop here. It suffuce to say I know what Im talking about. I'm not one of those you can confuse.

Stop trying to pull a wool over the eyes of the people.

Your arguments are contrived, wooden and very illogical. Firstly, I see no reason why you talk about PDP being in power for 12 years, as if the fuel subsidy racket started in 2009. It is hard to argue with people who are intent on twisting facts for partisan purposes; don't sell your kids because of todays temprary illicit gain.
Secondly, we are not interested in what people are "alleging" or what "people are saying," only cold hard fact will do, thank you.

Until you stop dancing with fancy steps around what the issue of smuggling really is, we will get nowhere. Sentiments are no replacement for logic. When you feel brave enough to discuss smuggling, then lets have a debate; I find what you've written above to be little more than rambling hysterics.

Let us deal with the smuggling which is the crux of the matter. Why should we subsidize a few hundred Nigerian pockets and the economies of Niger, Cameroon, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso etc just because you wish to buy fuel at N65.00? Does it make sense that the money for schools, roads, industries and hospitals is in effect, exported to neighbouring countries? Deal with that and stop running around.

I can bet that half of the folks kicking against GEJs action will support it if Fashola or Buhari were to be the proponent. I am very sure a man like Fash will definitely take the same action if he were president. It only goes to show that many Nigerians are too blinded by tribalism. Someone said in one thread that we should be called "Triberia". I think he / she has a point.

efisher:

I can bet that half of the folks kicking against GEJs action will support it if Fashola or Buhari were to be the proponent. I am very sure a man like Fash will definitely take the same action if he were president. It only goes to show that many Nigerians are too blinded by tribalism. Someone said in one thread that we should be called "Triberia". I think he / she has a point.

Lol! Fashola led the committee that first demanded that the subsidy be removed. So there you go!

The smuggling one is laughable, do they smuggle these things in jerry cans? The total capacity of our refineries will stop importation and there will be left over for export, it is not only about doing something, it is about doing the right thing at the right time. As per Fashola, of course he will want the subsidy removed so that he can have more money to spend on the state, if you are not aware, the Federal government is spending the states' money and they do not like it.

@ Beaf

Beaf, Beaf, Beaf,

Since you are more knowledgable in Ecnomics more than all of us combined, please do tell, how subsidy removal will stop the "few individuals" from milking the country ?

When we say people have alledged the true subsidy needed should not be more than 200 billion naira, we are talking about guys in the National Assembly. Father Kukkah has implied recently at a public function that President should fight the corruption in oil sector instead of blackmailing Nigerans with his "the economy will collaspe in two years" rhetorics. Are you saying we should disregard all these people and only listen to what comes out of the mouth of the President and goverment officials?

Are you more knowlegable about Nigerai more than Father Kukah? Do you have his inergrity? So why should we not consider what people lkie him are telling us?

Then we say, neither the President or any of his goverment official has been able to offer any meaningful satiisfactory answer to the Senate committee's question as to how 250 billion naira jumped to 1.3 trillion, but you say all those are just sentiments and hysterics. Is it not a cold fact that the figure jumped to 1.3 trillion naira? How cold must that fact be for u to acknwledge it?

If this question are inconsequential to the whole subsidy debate, I wonder what the is important. I guess it must be the fanthom collaspe of the economy that is being forced down our throat.

When will Nigerian leaders stop refering to ''our country'' as ''this country'' No wonder they don't care about it

“We are witnessing a nation, at least those who are my age, 50 years and above, as the years are going, the challenges are becoming more. Most societies are becoming more enlightened. The demand for power has increased; the demand for water, the demand for everything. Probably at independence, how many cars did we have in this country? Even after the Civil War, how many vehicles did we have? How many roads? How many streets had light?

“I remember the day I was chatting with a group of elders and they said after the war there was electricity everywhere, they travelled out and so on. I came to live in Port Harcourt in 1955. Even then, it was only Port Harcourt that had electricity, even the big cities, Bonny. But now, government must make sure even the smallest village and settlements have electricity light.

“Without light, you cannot preserve farm produce. See how the demands for everything has expanded over the period, there are more challenges. And we believe with the present for the past several years, government has been borrowing money to run its affairs and the amount we borrow continues to increase. Who are we borrowing this money for? Who will come and offset the debts?

“I normally asked. And of course the professionals in the oil industry are making predictions that the oil reserve that we have, that in 35 to 40 years, it will dry up.

“By God’s grace we will discover more oil reserves but based on what we have now and assuming we are unable to discover more in 35 to 40 years it will dry up. I pray not to live up to that time anyway, but some of the people here will witness that situation.

“So, even now that we have oil we are borrowing and we are not expanding the economy. In the next in 35 to 40 years, assuming we don’t discover more oil reserves, what will happen to our children and grandchildren? Do we begin to plan a country where our children and grandchildren will become slaves? Even now, Nigerians are running out of this country. There was a time we were talking about check out, but now that slogan has died down.

“It will come to that point government must look for ways to expand the economy. We must look for other ways of earning money. We must go back to farming. And not just subsistent farming that we know, but really taking farming as a business. We must create wealth through farming; we must industralise; we must begin to produce things in this country and we need resources to do that.

“And, especially with the number of people graduating from the universities every year, how do we create jobs for them? And I believe we cannot continue with the number of people graduating from the universities every year. How do we create jobs for them? And I believe we cannot continue to borrow. In fact, last year, our capital budget was N1.146 trillion and we borrowed the whole capital budget and even a little more.

“This year, with the present budget, we are paying back the part of the money we borrowed, but what is in the budget is only N560 billion, just about half of the money we borrowed. Who will pay the balance and when, with interest? There is no way we can continue to run the economy this way.

“We find it difficult to do things that appear not to be popular and I know that one of the things that worry us is the fear of the unknown. If there is subsidy, what will life be? Yes we know there will be a little pain because we know ourselves; Nigerians sometimes exploit opportunities.

“Ordinarily, the pains would have been minimal in the sense that as we are talking now diesel is deregulated since Obasanjo’s time and nobody is going to touch diesel and most of the vehicles we use in carrying load use diesel.

Ordinarily, transport cost for any vehicle that uses diesel is not supposed to change, but Nigerians, being who they are, at the beginning will try to be funny and we must encourage use of gas and all that and use of vehicles that have fuel efficiency.

Most countries, even the bulbs they use now are the ones that consume very little power. Nigerians must adjust and I believe that apart from the fact that some people will want to exploit us at the beginning, just like when GSM just came in, when MTN started, they were even hoarding the sim cards.

To buy a sim card at a time, you had to do funny things because people were desperate, but now the companies give you sim card with credit on it just to hook up to their line. I tell Nigerians that we are very hopeful and so nobody should fear.

“There is no government, maybe in very few cases in history. Well, it is also recorded somewhere in the Bible where somebody wanted to take over from the father and promised to flog the people more, but of course we also know what happened, the whole empire scattered. There is nobody who will want to deliberately inflict suffering on his people. Goodluck Jonathan can never be one.”

The President went on as the audience listened attentively:

“I know the pains Nigerians are passing through, yes, I am here in the State House and being fed by government, but that does not keep me so far from the people. There is no day that I don’t interact with Nigerians both low and high and I appreciate the pains of the people.

We are facing challenges but we must take certain decisions to reposition our economy so that things will ease out. If we don’t have the courage to do so, then we will continue to be dying in pains, until God knows when. So, my belief is that at a particular time, people must be courageous to take the rightful decisions.”

“We may experience some minor pains for some months, but people will want to exploit. Ordinarily if people don’t want to exploit us, it is supposed not to be so when you look at the chart, even if you remove subsidy on fuel on the world average, the price of fuel in Nigeria still be among the last 30 percent, the charts are there because most countries add a lot of tax on fuel, but we are not adding any tax”.

incoherent as usual -  nothing there states why fuel subsidy must go - just alot of nebulous fluff.

u want to free up money for the economy, take on the house of reps - thats the greatest waste of money the world has ever seen.

lanre_front:

@ Beaf

Beaf, Beaf, Beaf,

Since you are more knowledgable in Ecnomics more than all of us combined, please do tell, how subsidy removal will stop the "few individuals" from milking the country ?

When we say people have alledged the true subsidy needed should not be more than 200 billion naira, we are talking about guys in the National Assembly. Father Kukkah has implied recently at a public function that President should fight the corruption in oil sector instead of blackmailing Nigerans with his "the economy will collaspe in two years" rhetorics. Are you saying we should disregard all these people and only listen to what comes out of the mouth of the President and goverment officials?

Are you more knowlegable about Nigerai more than Father Kukah? Do you have his inergrity? So why should we not consider what people lkie him are telling us?

Then we say, neither the President or any of his goverment official has been able to offer any meaningful satiisfactory answer to the Senate committee's question as to how 250 billion naira jumped to 1.3 trillion, but you say all those are just sentiments and hysterics. Is it not a cold fact that the figure jumped to 1.3 trillion naira? How cold must that fact be for u to acknwledge it?

If this question are inconsequential to the whole subsidy debate, I wonder what the is important. I guess it must be the fanthom collaspe of the economy that is being forced down our throat.

Why do you like name-dropping, sentiment and rambling?
If you cannot address the points I raised about smuggling, then sit back and watch. I don't see what bearing Hassan Kukah has got on the smuggling issue. He is neither a smuggler nor a fuel importer.

Please deal with the facts and present your logic, not what Hassan Kukah "implied" or mamma Iyabo said. Thank you.

I cannot reconcile GEJ's budget speech and the above article with his budget.

Extracts from GEJ's budget speech:

http://www.facebook.com/notes/goodluck-jonathan/2012-budget-speech/329522083742100

This budget is a stepping-stone to the transformation of our economy and country in our walk to economic freedom.

- Security, Debt and Statutory transfers received 40% of the budget (N1.8trn out of a N4.7trn budget)

We intend to pursue a programme of greater fiscal discipline complemented with appropriate monetary policy in order to help stabilize our declining foreign reserve.

- Foreign reserves in May 2010 was $41bn, foreign reserves now stand at c$32bn.  $9bn spent despite a high US$ oil price.

The non-oil sector continues to be the main driver of growth with increased crop production, growth in wholesale and retail trade and increased financial sector activities backed by the banking sector reforms.

- Security budget (N921bn) is 12 times (11.67x) bigger than agriculture budget (N79bn). Agriculture is the biggest employer and contributes significantly to GDP but GEJ only budgeted N79bn, how does this increase crop production

With the support of the National Assembly, the Government is determined to pursue a programme of far-reaching fiscal consolidation so as to reduce our deficit and domestic borrowing to more manageable levels.

- Debt in March 2011 was N4.8trn, debt was N5.3trn as at Sept. That is N500bn added in six months


GEJ's reported priorities are fiscal consolidation, inclusive growth and job creation

- Can we get metrics on how many jobs he intends to create and how he intends to bring down the unemployment rate

I'm all for taking on Boko Haram but we need our president to be able to chew gum and walk.

^
When your state and local govt actually start producing money, your questions would be valid, until then they hold little meaning. If Nigeria is not producing money, where do you expect money to patch of deficits to come from, voodoo?
The way some of you go on makes it seem that your LG's and state govts are a mere decoration. Let them create wealth instead of begging monthly from Abuja and I'm sure the deficit will be gone.

So my "state of origin" is now no longer part of Nigeria.

Despite being the state that is the bedrock of cement production in Nigeria and a key producer of Agriculture.  Beaf, you do not need to comment as I am sure you will start swearing and cursing.  Your passport is not greener than mine oh!

GEJ who's salary is paid from tax payer's money is accountable to Nigerians. He has made a speech which does not reconcile to his numbers. If he does not know what to do, he should not have run in April.

VoodooDoll:

So my "state of origin" is now no longer part of Nigeria.

Despite being the state that is the bedrock of cement production in Nigeria and a key producer of Agriculture.

You do not seem to grab the import of what I am saying. If the states and LG's do not pull up their bootstraps, is that the FG's fault? They are the ones meant to be the primary generators of wealth, not the FG. Therefore, your whole argument about deficits is belly up.

It does not matter what your state produces as much as that its entire income is from the FG. That is a fundamentalstructural problem that has direct impact on budget deficits. Think about if your state and LG were not getting collosal sums from the FG, but instead remitted such funds to Abuja. How big do you think that would make the deficit?

All I'm saying is, if we must tackle a problem, it must be from the viewpoint of bettering the country and moving away from the status quo. We cannot continue promoting the wrong ways forward and expecting to develop by miracle.

Excellent point, personally I think the states are all slacking and the Niger Delta should take the majority of the oil revenue with other states or zones trading with it (should the Niger Delta choose to)

Any zone that cannot be self-sufficient can borrow from other zones or (suffer). This way people in the zones or local government area can focus on their local politicians and allow the centre to focus on foreign policy, security and such matters.

I think GEJ should push more of the responsibilities to the states (the governors are slacking) and get them to work so he tackles key priorities.

It's obvious fuel subsidy has been removed in my part of the country since the day GEJ read the 2012 budget cos Nigerians have started hoarding fuel. As expected, petrol prices have increase that is where it is available and consequently, hike in transport costs.

Yeah. Subsidy should go.

I don't know why we don't just get it. Government has given up on refining. It has acknowledged it can't do it and I appreciate the honesty. Look through the records. at the wanton mismanagement of maintenance since they were built in the seventies and eighties. They cannot do it, why force them. Why not leave the creation and running of industries in the hand of those with vested interest and proven competencies. With the exception of vandalism related stoppages SPDC churns out crude day and night like clockwork. You can imagine if NAPIMS was exploiting all our oil, we will be in a mess. GSM tarriffs are more expensive than NITEL was but who can honestly wish to return to those days. Deregulation is needed. Niger republic that buys bootleg kero is poorer than Nigeria and I can't think of any social umbrella they have. Let's reconsider and support deregulation.

We can demand anti-corruption, border control and job creation but what we should not do is to throw our money away and mortgage our lives and our valuable natural resources.

Simply put
Gej: well nigerians, since am clueless on aw to tackle the corruption in oil section n nigeria can no longer pay that huge money to d cabals, you will have to bear d burden cos i n my ppl need more money to steal, afterall am doin one term

Jonathan has taken a very drastic step directed towards the poor masses who voted him into power.  I had expected Jonathan to have directed his attention towards the fat cats in Nigeria who have looted trillions of naira and then plunge all the looted money to expand and diversify the economy.  Afterall he has been in power for about two years, which I consider to be enough time for him to take firm action against corruption in the country.  I don't think that Jonathan represents the masses in Nigeria who are going to bear the brunt of the punishment he is inflicting with more pain and anguish.  How does the president expect a family with the bread-winner earning only N18,000.00 to survive with the escalation in price of every item and commodity in the market?