Loans for local food production, free education will ease hardship of fuel subsidy removal – Legal practitioner
Story from Vivian DANIEL, Abuja
As the discussion on fuel subsidy removal and its impact on the Nigerian people continue to dominate the polity, a legal practitioner, Amobi Ferdinand Nwigwe has dolled out different unconventional palliatives he believes would be ideal and enduring if the Federal Government considers adopting them.
Amobi said considering the rising costs of foodstuffs in the market, there is an urgent need for the government to give to the ‘real’ farmers loan to boost food production in Nigeria; free education; houses for the less-privileged and physically challenged; inter-city train stations along with subsidised aviation fuel and the establishment of a one-square free meal at major locations across the cities.
He said these during a radio programme called TownHallwithVD which holds every Saturday, at 3 pm WAT on Silverbirds’ Rhythm94.7fm, Abuja, while expatiating on the subject matter of “Fuel subsidy removal: Views from concerned citizens and the DSS operations.”
On the kind of palliatives he recommends, Amobi says, “I am looking at something that is enduring not something that is like a one-off payment. Because the country has been through a lot and the income of the people is not rising, something that would really touch millions of Nigerians.
“For instance, if the president had come out to say I am going to give free education to Nigerians – from primary to secondary school level, this will free funds for the families for their children to go to school instead of the loan being proposed for students by the president. And we have about 15 million out-of-school children, so if you have this kind of palliative, Nigerians will embrace it. Remember we have a major problem in the education sector and education is everything.
“Another palliative the government should look at is subsidising certain products for farmers, giving farmers (real farmers) loans to produce food as the prices of garri, chicken and rice are very high in the market. You have to give to the real farmers, not the type of farmers we saw when they did the FADAMA loan. They were giving loans to the bourgeoisie. We heard that some people allegedly collected 10 million or billion naira and did nothing with it. But there are some farmers who need just about 500 thousand naira to increase production.
“If you give them this money, it will bring down the costs of items in Nigeria for the betterment of the people. These are the kinds of palliatives I am looking at. As for myself, I used to think that I am in the middle-class category, but I don’t know anymore as I cannot afford a lot of things nowadays.
Similarly, “If for example I want to go to the airport in Abuja, and I have access to the train (the municipal rail system) that can take me to the airport for N1,000, I will see that as a palliative as against paying N9,000 or N10,000 to go with Uber/Bolt. Because that is what they are charging now to go to the airport. Or, if I get to the airport and I see a cheap flight ticket because the Government is subsidising aviation fuel, I will see that as a palliative as well. And these kinds of palliatives will touch the lives of millions of Nigerians, because people travel a lot from all over the world.
“Yet again, as a palliative, there is something they do all over the world, the Federal Government could partner with NGOs to introduce something that is called ‘food kitchen’, where Nigerians can go and have a meal. It is not out of place. If you set this up in Abuja, you will be surprised that so many people would come to have these meals. Free meal, even if it is just once a day. These are the kinds of palliatives that I expect the Federal Government to consider.
“For example, in Nigeria almost everywhere you go to, you will see blind people, beggars all over the place. I recently saw a woman that was being wheeled by a wheelbarrow. We have to think about those categories of people. Can the Government get them out of the streets? Can you pay them some amount every month? Can you build affordable houses for them? These are the ideal palliatives I am looking out for the Government to give.
“Not palliatives of giving us N5,000. Like I heard (although I am not sure about the news) that the Government is trying to give solar panels. What is it going to do for me? Those are not palliatives. Let us have real palliatives where we can have access to the train when we are travelling and/or within the cities we live in to save money.
On his advice or agenda for the present administration, Amobi advises the Federal Government to cut down on the cost of governance in general, so that the amount realised could be used for palliatives for the Nigerian people alongside implementing the Oronsaye’s Report. While commending President Tinubu on all he is doing, he equally urged the FG to utilise technology in the fight against insecurity and to look inward instead of tasking Nigerians who can barely survive amidst all that is going on to sacrifice or pay certain prizes.
He said, “When you talk about saving costs, removal of fuel subsidy, what about the cost of governance? We have to bring down the cost of governance in Nigeria. It is so much. Our budget is sometimes 20 trillion a year and they spend about 75 per cent of the budget on recurrent expenditure – running the government. Why can’t you save that money so you can use it on capital expenditure and palliatives for the people? How much do we even pay for the fuel subsidy? It is not up 20 per cent of the money they use to run the Government. How about the Oronsaye Panel that was done? Why can’t it be implemented? Why do we have so much waste in Government? We cannot do this.
“Part of the reports we hear making the rounds is that our fuel is being siphoned outside the country. Are you now telling me that we don’t have security that can stop those involved? We are tired of excuses. If the security personnel cannot protect our borders, you can deploy technology. We can as well deploy foreign security organisations to come to our aid. While I commend the president on all he is doing, I urge him to look inward, as we cannot pay this prize he wants us to pay.
“It is very difficult for Nigerians. I am from the streets so I can tell you what is happening. Some of these policies are impacting negatively on Nigerians. Low-income people are not doing anything and it is very heart-broken. I can survive but some people around me cannot.
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