₦airaland Forum

He is only a hypocrite if you boil down his arguments to that sentence.

If he is asking for a slowed increase of the subsidy (say over a 3-4 year period), is he then a hypocrite?

If he wants the subsidy removal matched by reduction of the costs of government (74% recurrent expenditure), he is still a hypocrite?

If he wants some accountability for where the money was spend over the past several years before the subsidy is removed (literally billions of dollars gone), is he still a hypocrite?

I do not think the three above requests are unreasonable or hypocritical.

You and jmaine have either missed his points entirely, or are purposefully distorting what he is saying.

I also question this premise that the arguments for the removal of fuel subsidy are exactly the same as that of the removal of electricity tariff.

Whether you subsidize oil or not, people will be able to get oil at market prices, right? Worst case I buy it from some black market dealers somewhere at slightly more than market rates. Or if not PMS, there are affordable substitutes like diesel. And the damage to the Nigerian economy is basically capped at whatever the Nigerian government spends per year on subsidy. $7-8 billion.

However, for the electricity market? Well, the end result of the current tarriff regime is no affordable electricity in Nigeria, period. You get light for 4 hours a day, and for the other 20 hours a day you are generating electricity from a generator. So the end result is that you pay more for electricity overall in Nigeria than in places where it is deregulated (you probably pay 2X or 3X of what some guy in the western world pays.)

There is no black market dealer I can get electricity from at a reasonable price.

So my business that depends on PMS will survive whether there is a subsidy or not. But if my business depends on electricity, I am absolutely screwed. . . my factory in Nigeria can never compete against one based in Brazil, the US, China, etc.

The overall impact of lack of electricity on the economy is larger than the impact of the fuel subsidy.

I do agree that if one supports the removal of the electricity tariff regime, you should also logically support the removal of the fuel subsidy. But the impact of the two is not the same, and the way they damage the economy isn't the same.

Well, let me quote the man himself:

The removal of fuel subsidy was greeted with mixed feelings. How do you see the action of President Goodluck Jonathan?

Well, I have already written about this fuel subsidy conundrum and I think that the timing and the deceit that went around the removal of the fuel subsidy is the main reason people are angry. I[b] think the government has missed the point[/b] of peoples’ anger about the fuel subsidy. It is not an economic argument; it is not a political argument because some of the people in government are accusing some of us in the opposition of being opposed to it for political reasons. It is more than that. It is a trust issue. Nigerians do not trust this government to use the resources well and there is nothing the government can do to earn that trust unless they get the work of the people done. This government has earned $200 billion from the sale of crude oil and taxes in the last four years and it has done nothing with it. Why would another $7 billion make the difference?

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2012/jan/08/national-08-01-2012-005.html


Now, is it crystal clear why he is not a hypocrite? No doubt he agrees 100% with the economic argument. But the other aspects, he doesn't.

Just because you think it makes economic sense to remove the fuel subsidy doesn't mean you'll support its removal if you don't have any faith in the FG to do anything better with the money.

Hell, when we first discussed this issue 9 or 10 months ago, I think everyone agreed with the economic part. But they didn't necessarily think it a good idea to remove the subsidy, due to lack of trust in the government.

Well, let us see.

Demonstrate that El Rufai is a hypocrite. Show me where he has said he thinks that oil subsidy is GOOD economic policy in the long term.

That he takes issue with the way GEJ is removing it doesn't mean he is against the concept.

El Rufai to my knowledge is not against the concept of fuel subsidy removal, but the specific implementation and the way GEJ is going about it.

True or false?

Or has he outright condemned any attempt to remove it, period?

If he has, show me where he has said this.

As much as people blame politicians for the reason why Nigeria has failed, the wrong-headed, foolish and senseless thinking of Nigerians is equally if not more to blame.

How can a man say what is obvious to anyone who has thought about it for more than 5 minutes and be condemned?

And you try to spin it as some anti-people thing?

Is it better to have 4k MW of electricity at subsidized prices or 40k MW at market rates?

Use your brain! There are no jobs in this God-forsaken country primarily because the country doesn't make anything. And you cannot make sh1t without electricity.


I don't believe in democracy any more. 99% of human beings in Nigeria are fvcking morons.

Jesus Christ

If electricity tarriff does NOT increase to the point so that people can make profit, then there will be no electricity in Nigeria!

Some of these dumb posts you guys write make me want to reach through the internet and slap you.

He is 100% correct in what he said regarding electricity tarriff.

Anyway, at a minimum, let each state regulate the price of electricity itself, so that those of us who want to have it can get it.

Interesting.

As an aside, I don't think you've used the term "political rent seeker" correctly. I could be wrong, but I thought it refers to something very different.

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Written by Olayinka Olayinka, Abeokuta
Friday, 13 January 2012
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The National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) has warned the Federal Government not to ban cotton exportation from Nigeria, saying such step will hinder the growth of the industry.

Stating this during the association’s stakeholders’ Capacity Building seminar in Abeokuta, Ogun State, recently the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the association, Alhaji Hamman Kwajafa, said that the ban on cotton exportation would deprive the Nigeria cotton producers from getting better prices elsewhere.

He said that it was ill-advised for government to take actions which appeared to favour cotton merchants and processor at the expense of the growers, stressing that the resuscitation of textile industries should be a national priority.

Kwajafa noted that the government should consider the option of banning dumping of all goods believed to be unfairly competing with local manufacturers, curb smuggling across the nation’s borders and to guarantee Export Expansion Grant (EEG) to cotton exporters if it really wanted to boost production of cotton.

According to him, “banning of cotton exportation will deprive the Nigerian cotton producer from getting better prices even if they are offered to him elsewhere. The implication of banning export of cotton also means that the Nigerian farmer was being forced by government to subsidise textiles companies in Nigeria.

“This policy is bound to fail unless the farmer is guaranteed prices equivalent to those he could find elsewhere.”

He noted that the agricultural sector remained a key factor to the nation’s economic and social stability, contending that the economic diversification of the government would fail if the sector continued to witness decline.

The Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Ayo Olubori, in his address at the programme said that the present administration would continue to provide enabling environment for farmers in the state.

He noted that the state government recently gave an individual farmer in the state 150 hectares of land for cotton production.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/community-news/34260-nacotan-warns-fg-against-ban-on-cotton-exportation


Why would the government want to ban cotton exports? Shouldn't farmers be able to sell their products at the highest prices they can?

igbonla:
I doubt, especially if he spewed the same nonsense like he did few days ago. He was playing some dirty ethnic card then, pretty silly for somebody who made his money in Lagos!

Really? What did he say?

What is the argument for governors being the problem?

The fact is this guy and Tam David-West (who supposedly has a similar argument) have no clue what they are talking about.

Seems boring as heck to me personally.

DRANOEL:
let me give you a classic example. they is a tribe called etulo in benue state,they are right in the middle of tivland and number about 20,000. etulos are actually cousins of the idoma but because of their size and geographical location they have adapted to tivland and are considered tiv!
the point i'm trying to make is simple,if you consider those little ethnic groups up north with their land MB,then you should also consider the kanuris in lafia(and the land)  core north

I don't see why this is so bad. It is in fact common in Nigeria. Modakeke is populated by Oyo refugees. My own paternal ancestors were Ijesha, yet migrated to Ekitiland and today we are considered Ekiti.

At any rate, you'll never get completely clean borders. There will always be someone on one side who wishes he were on the other. However, this doesn't mean that the overall goal of a relatively harmonious region cannot be achieved.

Willinks report available here: http://www.adakaboro.org/thewillinkcomm

Heh the comment wasn't meant to be taken that seriously.

If you cannot afford LASU after the tuition increases, there is Ekiti State University which will happily accept your cash.

Anyway, let me not derail the topic further.

10 million ke

$10,000 is enough to make me join the cabal and work against the interests of Nigerians

Money sweet o

frosbel:
Some say Boko Haram’s real aim is not an Islamist state but a slice of the amnesty cake. If so, the government should at least explore such a possibility.

. . . thus encouraging every other Tom, D1ck and Harry to start a terrorist organization.

Unfortunate

Turaki A. Hassan

11 January 2012

Members of the House of Representatives yesterday rejected a prayer calling for the convocation of a sovereign national conference to discuss the future of the Nigeria.

A motion sponsored by Rep Samson Osagie (ACN Edo) on the "unjustified killings in some parts of the country" called on leaders in the country, especially elder statesmen to, irrespective of political, ethnic or religious leanings, rise up, speak against and condemn all acts of terrorism being perpetrated in the country.

Osagie described the recent spate of attacks as "reminiscent of the events leading to the country's civil war. The signs of war are ominous and the development must therefore be condemned," he said.

During a debate on the motion, Rep Abubakar Momoh (ACN Edo) called on the House to pass a resolution mandating the Federal Government to organise a sovereign national conference.

But Osagie raised a point of order countering Momoh and asked him to sponsor a separate motion, which Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal quickly upheld and ruled Momoh out of order.

Similarly, the green chamber also commiserated with the families of victims of such attacks and directed its states and zonal caucuses to visit their respective constituencies with a view to enlightening the people on the dangers of terrorism.

For his part, Rep Jerry Manwe (PDP, Taraba) alleged diversion of funds allocated to security agencies and advocated for the dismantling of so many military check points that have now become "toll gates."

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/201201110716.html

well worth watching

Haha.

I'm loving this dude.

Atedo Peterside is talking now on Channels. Very sensible fellow.

Heh, interesting.

I'm not defending him. Just saying that he has enough money that whether the subsidy goes or not, he'll be fine.

lmao

silibaba:
Yoruba go and refine your ijebu garri proper for exportation and leave our oil alone.

That is kind of the beautiful thing about a refinery. You don't need to produce lots of crude oil to refine a lot

When that 200,000 barrel Chinese refinery takes off, it won't be ijebu garri that will enter

Check your constitution. If there is anything there that gives the president the power to "summon" anyone outside of the executive branch, let alone the elected governor of any state, I'll eat my hat.

Now, Fashola may choose to help. But he is under no obligation to do so.

alj harem:
what are you talking about ?

if a president calls you, you answer .

Nope. This is not how things work in a democracy. GEJ is not anyone's boss but those who work directly under him in the executive branch.