with

Ben C. Abraham.

STILL ON THE 2025 BUDGET

The 2025 Federal budget that was presented on Wednesday 18th December 2024 by President Tinubu has been receiving attention from lawmakers as agencies and ministries take turns to defend what they have proposed. We know that budget efficiency in Nigeria has been low at 60% or less and even more so the civic space for oversight is shrinking leaving MDAs to do what they like. Some of those recent budget defence sessions not only revealed the details of allocations to specific needs but also provided both awe and theatre to viewers. One thing is certain which is that with a National Assembly of the current hue, the entire budgeting process is a little bit more than a circus. Nigeria ranks among the Nations without real civic engagement by citizens and groups on governance and related issues like how money is allocated and spent, and what happens when there is failure of implementation. The gap between the Government and citizens is alarmingly wide and further widening thereby truncating accountability, responsibility and effectiveness. Of course political players feed off such lethargy to perpetuate ignominy and haughtiness. And so it was that the numero uno university admission qualification agency JAMB attended the National Assembly joint committee on education hearing and presented some figures. With an allocation of N6bn from the FG and remittance of N4bn to the Federal purse, JAMB asked for N1.1bn for feeding 2,300 staff as they later clarified after loud objections from citizens. They also asked for N850m for security, cleaning and fumigation. They stuck to their guns even after been upbraided by Senator Adams Oshiomhole during the session for exploiting widows and the poor by their fees. I have always advocated for an end to JAMB and a decentralization of admissions into the university, my reason being that JAMB has not enhanced the quality of education in Nigeria. Today university cut off mark is as low as 150 out of a possible 400. Well, that is a story for another day. Then the IG of police came by and along came uproar and hullaballoo. The summary is that the document the IGP read to the NASS joint committee members was different from what was earlier circulated to the members. Members objected even as some viewed it as an attempt to smuggle ‘unwanted’ items for passage while others said that the leadership of the committee did not ‘water’ the ground enough for the IGP. Then there were shouting and later walk outs. There were more eye catching items in the proposals of many other MDAs. Don’t be fooled; at the end of the day, the budget will be passed; of course, after lobbying, rub-me-I-rub-you and behind the scene over-a-bottle meetings. But who is the loser? The Nigerian people, many of who unfortunately do not care a hoot about what goes on in Government; a case of shocking and fatal resignation to fate quite unseen in a Nation as endowed as Nigeria. The elite seem just fine with the goings on even when other countries’ program of civic change is driven by them. And for the less endowed and poor, it is unutterable.

FUEL FOR DEATH;

Barely 3 months after a petrol-laden truck overturned in Majiya town in Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa State on Tuesday 15th October 2024 spewing petrol and fire and incinerating nearly 200 residents, another fuel-scooping mass death occurred on Saturday 18th January 2025 at Dikko junction in Suleja town of Niger State. A truck carrying about 60,000 litres of petrol lost balance and fell. The situation presented a two sided option – an opportunity for awoof fuel for poor residents on the one hand and an instant visa and transport to hades in a manner of the monopoly game card which reads, ‘go to jail, go straight to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect £200’ on the other hand. Unfortunately, and tragically even if unwittingly, the hapless Suleja residents chose a fiery transport to hades. As many residents rushed out to scoop the petrol gushing out from the fallen tanker, without notification and without cover, an explosion occurred and the rest can only be imagined. As at Monday 20th January about 98 persons had died with many more hanging on the borderline. The FG has directed for the surviving victims to be moved to tertiary health centres to ameliorate the impact. You and I know that managing burn victims is one of the most difficult branches of medicine for which unfortunately Nigeria is not well equipped. Well, beyond the announcement of FG’s palliative intervention every now and again, it is time to declare a state of emergency in this area. How many more deaths will occur before the Government activates its renewed hope agenda to Nigerians in this context. What is the situation with about 5,000 kilometers of pipelines managed by the defunct PPMC even as NNPCL gloats over the reactivation of Port-Harcourt and Warri refineries? Why should subsidy be removed from petroleum products and no plan be immediately put in place for our pipelines to come back functionally? This periodic sad event has further questioned our policy making and exposed our unpreparedness for major National calamities. It has exposed our healthcare, emergency management and humaneness as a people. Well, as usual the dead, unidentifiably burnt, have been mass-buried. Soon the surviving victims will be discharged with disabilities and sent into the streets; the media will latch onto the next breaking news and everyone moves on as if nothing happened. Life has become so cheap in Nigeria as we have become benumbed, totally bereft of consideration, empathy and love. It is so bad that even such heart-wrenching situations as this mass death provides opportunities for many officials to cash out. It is that bad. Biko, who did this to Nigerians?

……AND ONE OTHER THING:

GETTING READY FOR FUEL PRICE FLUCTUATIONS;

Just when Nigerians began to make some sense of petroleum pricing in Nigeria, Dangote Refineries Friday 17th January announced a new price gantry that will significantly alter the existing regime and affect citizens’ calculations in a new year. Prior to the Friday announcement, Dangote sold petrol at N899.5 per litre ex depot. Now it’s N955/950 per litre ex depot depending on the volume purchased. At its retail outlets, MRS Oil which is a member of the Dangote Group sold for N935 a litre before this increase. The upward value in the price of crude oil globally was adduced as the reason for the increase. In simple terms, what we should expect is that as long as crude oil sustains its bullish run in the global market, Nigerians will shell out more money to fill their tanks. It’s that simple. And how about when the oil drops in value globally? There should be a concomitant decrease in the pump price, we hope. Nigerians should get ready for a price fluctuation dance this year; up today, down tomorrow. And for the Government that is the way to go. They believe that prices should be allowed to meet demand and supply variables without its interference. We are told that it is the best brand of economics. This is even while domestic small and big industries suffer and inflation is tearing away uncontrollably. No wahala, the result of our choices will gradually surface and then there would be no hiding place. I watched the freshly minted US President Donald Trump sign Executive Orders to hasten his campaign promises. One of those orders had to do with mustering all executive powers to wrestle inflation and prices to the ground. In other words, Trump took the intervention of Government in inflation management and prices seriously; talk about Government allowing the economy to slide. So many real and arm-chair economists would deride the order and tell us how impossible it would be. Yet, the fact that the ‘almighty’ US can tread these lines is food for thought and action. But here, we produce crude oil but will not fix its price for the domestic market and help our economy. It’s taboo to ask for that because paid analysts and commentators would shout you down and show you just how much Nigeria has saved since the day ‘subsidy is gone’ statement was made. They will show you how many fuel tankers have been smuggled to neighbouring countries. They will show you how much we have made from taxes and increase in tariffs – electricity and now, telecommunications. They will not however show you how many people have been employed gainfully and how many companies are making a profit except banks. Make una dey play

Nigeria is waging battles on multiple fronts. Some years ago a former Defence Chief stated that the military were stretched thin because of their involvement in several internal campaigns ranging from the intractable boko haram in the North-East to the murderous herdsmen pillaging the North-central, the unknown gun men in the south-east and the unspecified gangs in the south-south. When the former Defence chief stated this, no one had envisaged or factored into the equation the ‘new kid on the block’, the lakurawa, currently operating and gaining grounds in the North-west. Of course they add to the Bello Turjis of this world in their vicegrip on thousands of locals in numerous communities in the North-west. The present situation must be seen from the twin perspectives of past failings, insincerity and deliberate sabotage in the campaign on the one hand and the need to tackle insecurity with other weapons beyond guns and bullets on the other hand. Recently when the UK Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch in replying VP Kashim Shettima referred to boko haram stating that she didn’t share any bond with such people, the story of the genesis of boko haram was again broached after almost 20 years. The genesis and sustenance of this dreaded group have often been swept under the carpet as if they were noisome distractions in the war. Alas nothing can be farther from the truth. And when you add Ms Badenoch’s holler to Bello Turji’s unrelenting assertion that Bello Matawalle, former Governor of Zamfara State and current Junior Minister for Defence was a major factor in the metastatic insecurity in the State and the region you will understand why insecurity in Nigeria is hugely unorthodox and therefore requires something drastic. Trillions of Naira have been proposed for the military in the current budget proposal. It is an item that is neither accounted for nor retired. No questions and no answers. Someone said that Defence spending had become one huge industry in Nigeria with many people endlessly smiling to the banks. Yet the war is not abating. Some days ago, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence granted a peek view of the war against the lakurawa to a foreign media, the Aljazeera Network. He also took questions in the interview. Many Nigerians had questioned why a local media wasn’t given such access. 2025 presents another window for this Government to objectively look at these battle fronts, ask the right questions before insisting on a one-size-fits-all solution that we see today. Questions like, who are the current sponsors of these groups (if any), what do we do with the list of terrorism sponsors sent before by the UAE? How much of sympathy do these groups enjoy from the current Government officials? How do they source their arms? And in the South-east and South-south where there are different kinds of battles, other kinds of questions should be asked. While we wish our patriotic, selfless and innocent troops success in their mission, we call on the Government to review this whole operation and cut off supplies for those who have taken defence spending as a conduit pipe. Once again welcome to a new year!