₦airaland Forum

B4 dat Sambo/Mark ticket, GEJ hasn't told any1 he's not recontesting
And Buhari has not said he is contesting

@Moderator
Pls revert d thread title to what it is
The bla bla nonsense is nonsensical
Abi una dey collect egunje too?

Beaf
I noticed U were abscent on that thread were charity's being raised 4 a homeless man
Despite all U get from AsoVila

Buhari strenght is followership
The only thing that can defeat d monstrous PDP
Afta dis elections wil be on level ground

Knowall, on this subject, U know it all
What else can be said to blim
This' not blind followership; its finding "a man"

4. This new breed shall make room 4 uncompromised youths take offices in Nigerian to bring about profound transformation

3. Buhari has d following and personality to totally overhaul d Nigerian democratic space, allowin 4 a new breed.

2. Buhari action to come out of retirement is a selfless act borne out of love for this country.

Because the constitution states every Nigerian above 18yrs has a right to vote and be voted for.
That's why.

A "hero" unappreciated by his people.
How do others then appreciate him.
The Biafran war was unneccasary.

May God grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss.
It is a loss indeed.

I just heard on radio that Tuface was attacked by robbers in Lagos.
Was he hurt?
Pls can someone shed some light on this

Thread has made very sad
How did we sink so low as a nation

Pls help those U can and don't judge any1
e bad for naija O

Now that CPC has been listed, is this enough proof to Beaf & his cohorts that Buhari has no links with Boko Haram?

The debate is on wether Farida should still be given d Doc degree.
What do U think? Is it dependent on being in Office?

El-Rufai.
Although he says he is done with Civil service for now.

Glo should offer an explanation here
Its incompetence for dem to allow a thread like this run & not say anything!

Obilo, a presenter on SPLASH FM, is speaking today @ Civic Centre Idi-Ape Ibadan. As part of activites markin Ibadan wk.

This fraternity had all d potential 2 becom cultic, and it did in latter yrs
I respect Soyinka but in this one he failed

In d 60's Soyinka stuck up a radio station with a gun
That's similar 2 cultist action today
He formed a fraternity

1. Owner(s) of saharareporters
2. Seun - Nairaland

Beutiful.
It goes on FB wall ASAP!

OTHER OPTIONS TO REMOVING FUEL SUBSIDY

It is obvious to keen observers of the Nigerian government theatrics that the subsidy that our government claims it pays on petrol will be removed in the New Year. If this government is sincere it will realize that there are many other options that can be prosecuted aside removing the so called fuel subsidy.

Before enunciating these options let me explain what this subsidy is, probably in plain English. Since Nigeria’s refineries do not function at their optimum, crude oil is taken away from the shores of this country by independent marketers, refined into different petroleum products and returned to Nigeria to be sold. The cost of all of these processes by the marketers is N149 for a litre of fuel. The Nigerian government pays these amount and sell it to the public for N65, thereby subsidizing the cost of fuel for the people. In the year 2011 about N250 billion was earmarked for subsidy in the country’s budget. By September this year, over N1.3 trillion naira had been spent on subsidy. Next year, government says it will be spending N1.5 trillion on subsidy alone out of the N4.5 trillion of its total budget. This amount is what government says it cannot afford to pay and would no longer subsidize fuel in the new year but will rather use the extra amount to build infrastructure. The argument in this write up is that fuel subsidy can still be sustained but there are many other options that can shore up funds for the federal government.

The leading option that government should consider is cutting down on its own excessive spending. The David Cameron government in Britain introduced its austerity measure by first cutting down on its own spending. It is called leading by example. The National Assembly said they have slashed salaries for their members, but as laudable as this may be the bulk of our government spending at all levels do not go into salaries but allowances, estacodes, travel expenses, extra-staffing and jamborees. So when they cut down on their salaries it sounds impressive but it’s never felt in the economic life of the nation. Cutting down on government spending will require painstakingly looking into the above expenses and trimming down on excesses. The recent common wealth meeting at Australia had 170 Nigerian delegates attending, while Britain had only 15. Our delegates travelled there in three private jets; it said that the Queen of England went by British Airways, like many other heads of government from common wealth nations. A report from a Nigerian living in Australia said that Nigeria turned the Perth city, where the conference held, into a mini-mall. Naira was seen spent everywhere!(1) This is a perfect example of the excessive spending in government circles in this country that must be nipped in the bud.

Now, nobody will be talking about refining crude oil abroad if our refineries are working. Recently we were told that the NNPC does not have a budget(2). Despite its unregulated access to state’s treasury, the NNPC has not been able to revamp our refineries to produce at their maximum capacity, nor have they been able to build new ones. Government must develop the political will to make the NNPC work. The allegation of corruption emanating from the NNPC is choking3. The cartel that has held the nation by the jugular cannot be said to be unknown to the NNPC. If our refineries will work at their optimum, we would be importing very little fuel to augment what we have and then there will be little or nothing to subsidize. The twenty-five private refineries licensed by the Federal Government some five years ago can also be encouraged through government policies to resume work. This will not only boost fuel availability in the country, it will also create the much needed jobs for the nation’s army of unemployed youths.

At a recent debate in the University of Ibadan on the subject of Fuel Subsidy, Prof Tam David West alleged that government is not subsidizing fuel but subsidizing corruption in its circle. Nowhere is this more exemplified than at the Nigerian borders. The solution to weak border patrols is not removing fuel subsidy like the government claims but instilling some discipline in the Nigerian Custom Service. The same inefficiency in the NNPC and some other government establishments is what is seen at the borders. Government must sanitize the customs and then introduce stringent measures at its borders to curb corruption. Only then will smuggling of petrol to neighboring countries stop. But alas, where is the political will to do this?

Also a weak border opens up the country to becoming a dump site for all kinds of “tokunbo” vehicles. This has increased the number of automobiles on our roads and therefore increasing fuel consumption. The Jonathan government did not help matters when it lifted ban on car import for cars as old as those made in the year 2000. Government needs to introduce measures to discourage ownership of many vehicles through taxation. One cannot believe how many cars Nigerian possesses individually; high taxation on car ownership will discourage people owning so many of these cars, and those rich enough to own them will pay dearly for it.

Finally, the FG must beef up its anti-corruption campaign. The EFCC and ICPC must be given greater leverage to do their jobs and government should not interfere. General Buhari said a corrupt government cannot fight corruption. He meant that the greatest moral strength to combat corruption comes from a leaders who himself is not corrupt. The allegation of corruption linked to President Jonathan, his wife(4), and the petroleum minister(3) do not help citizen’s perception of this government as one serious about combating corruption. Corruption did not start in Nigeria today, but it will help a great deal if we can start a crusade today that will abolish it.

Outside the options outlined so far there are many other option like revamping the power situation in Nigeria so that people do not have to use generators which is a leading consumer of fuel in the country. Removing this subsidy is largely unpopular and is set to pitch this government against labor, civil society groups and the masses. It has already heated up the polity and has caused for pump price of petrol to increase in some quarters, while artificial scarcity is showing up in some petrol station and Nigerian are scurrying to store petrol against the evil day. Historical records show that increase in pump prices of fuel has always resulted in inflation and Nigeria is a nation where, unlike gravity, when prices go up they never come down. We implore government to heed the voice of reason and shelve its proposed plan to remove fuel subsidy, while considering a plethora of other option than the very easy path of fuel subsidy removal.

Deji Yesufu,

17/11/2011.



REFERENCES:

1. http://saharareporters.com/article/australian-blues-week-president-goodluck-jonathan-came-town-written-seyi-osiyemi

2. https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-796973.0.html

3. http://saharareporters.com/news-page/nigeria%E2%80%99s-next-reporters-editor-are-africa%E2%80%99s-best-investigative-journalists

4. http://saharareporters.com/news-page/money-laundering-group-sues-efcc-over-first-lady-patience-jonathans-13-million-fraud

Beaf:
I wonder how come all those arrested and charged for the suleija and Niger state bomb blasts are CPC members?
The mysteries of id!ocy are intriguing indeed!

There will be no protection for anybody with boko haram ties. Buhari or not.

Here comes Machavelli!
Some times ago, Beaf, it was all Buhari, Bakare and CPC. Now the first political sponsors of Boko Haram are named and all we are seeing is PDP, PDP and PDP. In response to that, Machavelli Beaf, can only remind us of some faceless CPC members.
Own up my guy; the game is lost. Boko Haram is sponsored by the nest of killers you work for: the PDP. And what a revelation that is.

So far its been PDP, PDP and sometimes ANPP
I hope all Buhari haters are reading btw d lines
BH is PDP battle axe!

lol
And we were told she's a UNIPORT graduate
I rest my case

A GEJ who can't conduct free poles in his own home is said to have won free & fair elections
Who is fooling who?!

Nigeria should be awarded an award for the highest awarding nation in the whole world!

matoto:
becos they are childhood friends.

Is Childhood friends is a bit far fetched? I understand that they went to Unilag together. And Daniels stayed in his BQ at a time and Daniels was one of the founding members of Latter Rain. I will appreciate it if matoto you could shed greater light on your claims.
Thanks.

Timehin:
I wonder why such a thread is allowed by moderators. Absolutely Rubbish

Absolutely Rubbishitty!