Over the years, ”Fuel subsidy” has been one of the most challenging and disturbing phrases many Nigerians don’t want to hear because it seems like an introduction to hardship amidst hardship by the government. Yet, the common man has little or no knowledge of what the whole gamut of fuel subsidy entails.
Subsidy in Nigeria was first introduced in 1988. The federal government introduced subsidy on petroleum products to stabilise fuel prices and make them affordable. This was in response to protests against price increases. In 1999, then President Olusegun Obasanjo attempted to deregulate the downstream sector of the oil industry, which included removing fuel subsidy. However, due to public resistance and protests, the plan was abandoned.
However, the subsidy regime has faced several challenges. One of the main issues is that it has become a huge burden on the nation’s economy. The cost of subsidising petroleum products has been a major drain on government finances, leading to significant fiscal deficits and a strain on the country’s budget. The subsidy regime has been plagued by corruption and inefficiency, with a substantial portion of the funds intended for subsidy payments being diverted or mismanaged by successive administrations.
Consequently, the level of hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy is unprecedented as the poor are going through the worst of times. Indeed, those who initiated the idea of subsidising petroleum products have a reason for doing that, and surely that idea is a result of the nature of the country and government’s commitments toward making things easy for the people.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan had bought the idea of removing fuel subsidy which, according to him, will help in strengthening the nation’s economy. But, due to the staggering hardship that the action had caused Nigerians, he decided to continue paying the subsidy for peace to reign. Also, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration made several attempts to remove fuel subsidy which made the pump price fluctuate but ended up paying the subsidy for fear of public protest as experienced during the Jonathan administration. The fluctuations in fuel price occasioned by border closure by Buhari made life unbearable for many Nigerians.
Besides, economic experts have made it categorically clear that fuel subsidy is economic mismanagement, therefore, its removal would strengthen and stabilise our economy. As a result, most politicians including the opposition have preached the idea of subsidy removal which consumed a large chunk of Nigeria’s money and affected the nation’s economy. But the same politicians are only interested in the money and less apprehensive about its effects and impact on the lives of Nigerians.
Most importantly, the judicious utilisation and use of those funds especially in the area of education, workers’ welfare, security, agriculture, youth and women empowerment, and other poverty alleviation programmes will go a long way in stabilising the nation’s economy. Thus, the government should in no distant time devise a means of mitigating the impact of this decision that leads to fuel shortage in the country. Another issue of concern is the proper distribution of the humongous amount of money that is used for subsidy which could be embezzled by a few without having any significant impact on the common man and the nation’s economy.
Government should have considered removing the subsidies in phases and simultaneously channeling those funds to the necessary sectors and programmes that will alleviate poverty and make life easier for the common man. This could perhaps reach a stage where citizens will anonymously support the idea of the complete removal of fuel subsidy looking at its impact on the nation’s economy and improvement in the standard of living for the citizens.
The removal of fuel subsidy has put average Nigerians into great turmoil, making life difficult and unbearable as prices of foodstuffs and transportation have skyrocketed. Therefore, the government should consider the plight of the people and do the needful in addressing the situation.
Fatima Abba Sanda,
Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri,
Borno state
