The electorates
In the past one and the years, Nigerians had ruefully come to the rude realization of the growing poor governance structures in the polity. This has manifested most unabashedly in the widening gulf between the people and the politicians they elected to public offices.
Governments all over the world exist to provide security and to create a fertile ground and clement atmosphere for the citizens to earn a living without hindrance, but in the current circumstances Nigerians are in, it would seem the obverse has admittedly been the case leading to growing anomie, suicide, hopelessness and other vices.
Ever since this administration came on board, Nigerians have been held by the jugular, so asphyxiating that to breath has been almost impossible, assailed on all sides by difficulties caused by the economic policies of the current wielders of power widely perceived as inhuman and anti-people.
The icing on the cake occured on Thursday when the price of premium motor spirit popularly known as petrol was further hiked to N1,030 from the already excruciating N897 per litre all in the name of total deregulation.
The argument of many reasonable and informed Nigerians is that given the peculiar poverty and other metrics which tilt against the poor masses, total deregulation and total withdrawal of subsidy can not and will not be in the best interest of the poor.
Besides, in advanced democracies that are steeped in neoliberal economy, there is no total subsidy withdrawal. In the United States, government still subsidies agriculture and other areas, same goes in the United Kingdom.
It’s the view of NATIONAL WAVES that many of the imported Bretton Woods institutions advisory on economy to African nations including Nigeria and the global South may have been booby trap to kill our economy, throw the people into poverty. At least, this view is supported by experience and history of our relationship with IMF and the World Bank.
And to follow to the letter, hook and sinkers there prescription will be nothing but an unpatriotic act on the party of our leaders. It’s about time we came up with home grown solutions to our economic ills.
There’s a need for the current administration to cut costs by reducing the number of political office holders. Bloated government will take away the resources to build infrastructure and services.
The allowances and salaries of office holders including our parliamentarians are not only seeping away our resources but not in tandem with needs for austerity measures that same government is preaching. Government must be seen to lead by example.
The current administration must address the growing discontent in the polity fuelled by hunger and poverty. It must address the costs of transportation which have gone to the rooftops fuelled by high cost of fuel. Asking transporters to embrace gas is halfhearted and may not be the solution.
Our elected public office holders are supposed to be our representatives and servants but they have turned out to be our overlords. This is unacceptable!
