₦airaland Forum

Reading the various replies, I realised that quite a number of comments are way off point. Ben Bruce's donation is a good one, but it leaves room for serious questions. A law maker should enact or support laws that will lead to cost savings. The moral thing to do is not collect the allowance at all but to publicly call for a reduction in the allowance to at least half, so that the country can save N4.3b. This way it would ensure that this problem does not crop up again in 4 years time. Public officers should seek for cost reduction.

Subsidy is not the problem with Nigeria, our problem is corruption. In a country that produces Oil, why should the citizens not enjoy the proceeds? We keep mentioning N200 per litre, how can the masses afford to pay this ridiculous amount? UK pays £1.24 per litre of petrol an the minimum wage is £6.19/hour can Nigerians afford this wit a minimum wage of£66/month? We should compare prices with our sister countries producing crude oil. The price of PMS in Venezuela is 8p (N24) so why should Nigeria pay N200? Until Nigeria can meet its local needs, subsidy has to stay, but it needs proper implementation.

The subsidy corruption goes thus: A marketer imports 1M Litres of petrol, because of corruption in our petroleum ministries, he is able to falsify records with the officials that he imported 3M litres. Hence he gets subsidy on 3M instead of 1M. Once corruption is tackled Nigeria will survive. As long as the common man needs petrol for his 'I pass my neighbour generator' then fuel subsidy can't be removed.

It's usually sad when people say 'Nigerian youths are lazy, we want the government to do everything for us.' it is this saying that turned Nigeria into what it has become. We make excuses for the government, we celebrate mediocrity and we don't stand up for our right. Last I heard, democracy is the government of the people by the people for the people. So if we have the faintest inclination that the people we have elected into government are not performing up to expectation, I don't think it is wrong to question or rebuke them. After all they are paid to serve and if they do not justify their pay, they should be brought to book.

An important orientation that affects many of us is that all our efforts are channelled to surviving. We are all driven by the sheer will to get out of poverty but at the end of it all, we still end in poverty. Many youths start business just to 'survive'. This is the wrong reason to start a business because you are actually not thinking of meeting peoples' needs but to enrich yourself hence, double standards, inferior products, cheating and incompetence is the other of the day. Can we all become entrepreneurs? Can everyone create an app? I once asked a friend of mine why are you enrolled in a PhD program, he replied 'I want to avoid searching for a job.' This is a very wrong motive. I can say that after he becomes a doctor of philosophy, he might never add anything worthwhile to the body of knowledge in his field because he is only interested in making money, not improving lives with his knowledge. This is a very wrong way to live life.

In Nigeria where electricity, good roads, pipe borne water, health facilities and basic amenities of life are lacking, what is the hope for the future? I stand to be corrected, I categorically declare that Nigeria is the most expensive country to live in. I came to this conclusion because this country is the only place where you actually pay for services and you do not get value for your money and if you complain, no one cares. You pay taxes but the government can't provide social amenities, telecommunication companies reap you off and NCC does nothing, You pay for dstv and no power to watch what you paid for, you have to generate power your self. Government has failed to enforce rules and regulations put in to safeguard the interest of the citizenry, meanwhile these laws were enacted by the so called government. So as citizens of this country, what do we have to enjoy? Hardship? Struggles? Lack?

We have to stand up and fight for what is ours. We have to keep tackling people in government so that we can secure the future of our children and great grand children. We are suffering now because our parents and grand parents refused to fight and tackle previous governments. As youths we owe it to the future to work hard, fight for ourselves, tackle the government with everything we have got, if not, the problems we are facing today will continue to plague us.

We need each other to survive. The government need the people and people need the government. God will not do what we can do for ourselves. God will not come down and manage the wealth of this nation for us. We have to do it ourselves. Therefore let us come together and make Nigeria great.

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justwise:
Was the transfer cash payment or straight from your salary account to your savings?

Thanks for the reply they are mostly cash lodgements because officially I'm not permitted to have another account.

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