Together
we can petition General Buhari, The National Assembly and The APC Government to
kindly destroy this stronghold before it destroy our today and tomorrow.
What
is subsidy?
I
will use online definitions, as those are readily available to you.
1. A subsidy is a form of financial aid or support
extended to an economic sector (or institution,
business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and
social policy.[1] Although commonly extended from
Government, the term subsidy can relate to any type of support - for example
from NGOs or implicit subsidies. Subsidies come in various forms
including: direct (cash grants, interest-free loans) and indirect (tax breaks,
insurance, low-interest loans, depreciation write-offs, rent rebates)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2. A benefit given by the government to groups or
individuals usually in the form of a cash payment or tax reduction. The subsidy
is usually given to remove some type of burden and is often considered to be in
the interest of the public.
Whether subsidies are positive or negative is
typically a normative judgment (says wikipedia).
In this case and from experience, it is obvious
that FUEL SUBSIDY in Nigeria is more negative in effect than it is positive.
While subsidy is neither bad nor good, it can
be badly applied as in the case of FUEL SUBSIDY in Nigeria due to the following
reasons.
What has Fuel Subsidy does
to us?
·
It is taking our work abroad
·
It is preventing our refineries from working
·
It is enriching the rich
·
It is eating up our tomorrow
·
It is preventing Nigeria from growing
·
It is promoting corruption
·
It is causing Nigerians pain
·
It is wrongly applied
·
It is holding Nigerians and Nigerian
Government to ransom
It is taking our jobs abroad
One
of the evils of subsidy is that it is promoting unemployment in Nigeria. Fuel
subsidy encourages our crude oil to be exported abroad, refined abroad and be
transported back (most of the time not by Nigerian owned vessels) to Nigerian;
as if all the above is not enough, the guy who brought the oil (who is possibly
the exporter and refiner) is paid subsidy (to say thank you for making so much
money from our oil?), and thereby encouraged to ensure this trade continues for
life!
With
subsidy regime, the oil marketers have more than interest in ensuring that the
trade continues. In other words, they have reasons to ensure that our
refineries never work; and by implication, all the jobs that our refineries can
bring to Nigerians are exported abroad only to pay subsidy for bringing the oil back without our jobs! Our jobs are
exported abroad to develop other nations while we are dying of unemployment.
As a Nigerian if you need
your job back, you need to sign this petition now and call for removal of this
FUEL SUBSIDY.
It is preventing our
refineries from working
A
marketer can pay as much millions as needed to sabotage (blow off, vandalize,
shutdown) a working refinery to ensure that payment of subsidy to his bank
account continues.
How
much does it take to bribe security officers to leave (excuse themselves) from
a strategic pipeline so it can be vandalized and ensure that crude oil is
stolen or does not reach the refineries? N100 million? N200 million? Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo spent so much to ensure refineries are working, but the more
he pays, the more the refineries are sabotaged, until he was tire of repairing,
he then lamented that the amount used annually in repairing refineries is almost
enough to build new ones, so what is the need for repairing? You will agree
there is no need as long as someone still has the need (subsidy) to sabotage.
So if you need you need your
refineries to work, you need to sign this petition now and call for removal of
this FUEL SUBSIDY.
It is enriching the rich
Who
is actually benefitting the most from subsidy? How many cars do you have to
fuel? How many houses do you have to power with generators? How much of fuel do
you actually use per day compare to the “big guys”?
From
the subsidy, many in position of power are highly enriched while you and I are
highly impoverished. The longer this goes on the wider the gap between the rich
few and the poor masses.
It is eating up our tomorrow
The
money that should be circulated by way of job creation, industrial development,
infrastructural development etc is being used to subsidize consumption instead
of production. Thousands of graduates turning out of our Universities year in
year out have nothing waiting for them in term of jobs and we have millions
more coming from primary and secondary schools, amongst which my children and
yours.
If
subsidy regime continues, we will soon have all the money in few pockets and
nothing left to continue the NIGERIA PROJECT. If care is not taking, we will
all become the slaves of the few highly enriched in the society because there
will be nothing on ground for us. Our tomorrow is being mortgaged and ravished
by the so called FUEL SUBSIDY, N200 billion more to go. But you and I can say
enough is enough now by signing this petition.
It is preventing Nigeria
from growing
Imagine
how much jobs five refineries or more can create for Nigeria. Imagine how many
by-products of Crude oil can be produced in Nigeria.
Some
or more portions of our crude oil (or its by-product which is available only
from the refinery) is used in production of the following:
Bearing Grease
|
Motor
Oil
|
Solvents
|
Diesel fuel
|
Football Cleats
|
Ballpoint
Pens
|
Ink
|
Floor
Wax
|
Insecticides
|
Boats
|
Upholstery
|
Sweaters
|
Fishing lures
|
Nail
Polish
|
Bicycle
Tires
|
Sports
Car Bodies
|
Perfumes
|
Golf
Bags
|
Dresses
|
Tires
|
Shoe Polish
|
Tool
Boxes
|
Cassettes
|
Dishwasher parts
|
Transparent Tape
|
Petroleum
Jelly
|
Motorcycle
Helmet
|
Caulking
|
Clothesline
|
Antiseptics
|
CD
Player
|
Faucet
Washers
|
Soap
|
Basketballs
|
Curtains
|
Food
Preservatives
|
Shoes
|
Purses
|
Vitamin
Capsules
|
Antihistamines
|
Footballs
|
Deodorant
|
Dashboards
|
Cortisone
|
Refrigerant
|
Panty
Hose
|
Putty
|
Dyes
|
Linings
|
Rubbing
Alcohol
|
Percolators
|
Life
Jackets
|
Electrician's Tape
|
Shag
Rugs
|
Skis
|
TV
Cabinets
|
Paint
|
Epoxy
|
Tool
Racks
|
Car
Battery Cases
|
Oil Filters
|
Insect
Repellent
|
Mops
|
Slacks
|
Hair Coloring
|
Fertilizers
|
Umbrellas
|
Yarn
|
Lipstick
|
Fishing
Rods
|
Roofing
|
Toilet
Seats
|
Synthetic Rubber
|
Ice
Cube Trays
|
Denture
Adhesive
|
Linoleum
|
Glycerin
|
Electric
Blankets
|
Speakers
|
Plastic
Wood
|
Dice
|
Fishing
Boots
|
Tennis
Rackets
|
Rubber
Cement
|
House Paint
|
Trash
Bags
|
Nylon
Rope
|
Candles
|
Surf Boards
|
Roller
Skates
|
Water
Pipes
|
Hand
Lotion
|
Shower Curtains
|
Paint
Rollers
|
Shampoo
|
Wheels
|
Safety Glasses
|
Aspirin
|
Guitar
Strings
|
Luggage
|
Eyeglasses
|
Awnings
|
Antifreeze
|
Football
Helmets
|
Footballs
|
Ice
Chests
|
Clothes
|
Toothbrushes
|
Detergents
|
Paint
Brushes
|
Combs
|
CD's &
DVD's
|
Tents
|
Sun
Glasses
|
Vaporizers
|
Balloons
|
Telephones
|
Parachutes
|
Heart
Valves
|
Crayons
|
Cameras
|
Dishes
|
Enamel
|
Pillows
|
Bandages
|
Artificial
limbs
|
Anesthetics
|
Artificial
Turf
|
Hair Curlers
|
Folding
Doors
|
Dentures
|
Model
Cars
|
Drinking Cups
|
Soft
Contact lenses
|
Cold
cream
|
Movie
film
|
Ammonia
|
Shaving
Cream
|
Fan
Belts
|
Car
Enamel
|
Gasoline
|
Toothpaste
|
Refrigerators
|
Golf
Balls
|
Imagine
we are refining in Nigeria and the industries producing halve the above in our
country.
As
of today more than 70% of the following (which can be produced in Nigerian
refineries and make readily available) are being imported
Petrochemicals
Many products derived from refining crude oil – such as
ethylene, propylene, butylenes, and isobutylene – are primarily intended for
use as petrochemical feedstocks in the production of plastics, synthetic
fibers, synthetic rubber, and other products. Some are also used as solvents,
including benzene, toluene, and xylene.
LPG
Liquefied petroleum gas, consisting primarily of propane and
butane, is used as a fuel and as an intermediate in manufacturing
petrochemicals.
Gasoline
Different gasoline blends are produced as regular or premium
grades in both summer and winter formulations. Additives are often used to
enhance performance and provide protection against oxidation and corrosion.
Naphtha
A low-octane gasoline product used as a feedstock by the
chemicals industry, as a feedstock for catalytic reforming, and in the
production of hydrogen.
Middle distillates
Middle distillates are diesel fuel, heating oil, and kerosene.
Fuel oil
Many ships, power plants, commercial buildings, and industrial
facilities use fuel oil or combinations of fuel oil and distillate fuel.
Bitumen
This low-value residual product of crude oil vacuum distillation
is used primarily for road surfaces and in roofing materials.
Niche products
Niche products are produced in relatively small quantities and
include base oils, biofuels, MTBE, ETBE, and TAME. These are commonly used as
blending components for traffic fuels or in lubricants.
If
you are producing cream, soap, paint, plastics, antiseptics, insecticides, balloons,
combs, detergents etc, you must buy an imported crude oil by-product in which
importation fee is been factored making it more expensive. This will in turn
force you to either produce low quality or sell at high cost. You can be forced
out of business or run at loss in trying to compete with same products from
abroad. They are able to produce more and sell lower price because they have
all these raw materials exported to them and readily available. The buy raw
materials far less than you do and their economy is growing.
It is promoting corruption
Okonjo
Iweala claimed in 2011 that the amount of fuel claimed to be brought to
Nigerian daily (and demanded subsidy on) is far more than what we are
consuming. This means that some people are been settled (bribe) to manipulate
the figures along the way. Too much money in few hands is more than able to corrupt
government official to suppress Bill, Policies and other government activity
that is capable of making Nigeria better. Do
not doubt it if you heard that NLC was settled (bribed, motivated monetarily, mobilized
or whatever English is used to colour it) to fight against subsidy removal in
2011. The allegation as well that some marketer export the subsidized
products to our neighboring countries to sell for more profit after collecting subsidy from Nigerian Government.
Otedola
versus Faruoq is prominent among the corruption issues rocking around subsidy.
FUEL SUBSIDY may not be the origin of corruption in Nigeria but its
contribution to corruption cannot be overlooked.
It is causing Nigerians pain
Various
pain has FUEL SUBSIDY inflicted on good people of Nigeria; typical is the
ongoing scarcity of fuel that has seen Nigerians sleeping in various Filling
Stations in other to buy fuel. Imagine the pain of finishing your University
degree and no job for you. Consider the pain you fill when you hear how much
money is missing in NNPC, the pain you feel each time you are reminded how much
crude oil we produce and how much we are suffering as a Nation. The pains you
feel when infrastructure that are supposed to be there are not there. The pains
you feel when you hear that the marketers are causing fuel scarcity because of
fuel subsidy.
We
can put a stop to this pains by ensuring that subsidy issue become a dead issue
in Nigeria by petitioning the government to remove it.
It is wrongly applied
Fuel
is a consumable product, one that is consumed every day and by millions of
people. Even if the subsidy amount is N5 per litter and 20 million liters is
consumed per day, that will be N100 million every day that breaks in Nigeria.
One wonders how sustainable that will be.
Then,
imagine that such amount is plunge into Cocoa production and processing, Cassava
production and processing, Rubber production and processing etc.
The
point is that subsidizing production has far more reaching effects and makes
more economic development sense than subsidizing consumption. Subsidizing
production will have chain of positive effects while that of consumption ends
with 1 consumer. One you consume 10 litres of fuel, the subsidy is gone for
life, you have to be subsidized tomorrow again. Subsidy on production will be
periodical while that of consumption is every day.
Subsidize
Cocoa production by given farmer loan, access to better seedlings, fertilizer;
Subsidize Tractors and other implements that can be used for years. Establish
processing plants with such money and create employments. Enough jobs can be
created by establishing processing plants for all our agricultural products,
our mineral resources etc. Refinery is one of such plants. It is been reported
that there are illegal refineries (small scale I guess). Rather than arresting
and prosecuting them, organize register and license them, regulate them,
monitor them and empower them so they can create jobs for other. Study their
technologies with the view of improving, standardizing and multiplying them.
We
can assume that the introduction of FUEL SUBSIDY was well intentioned at the
time, but looking at it today it has become ineffective.
It is holding Nigerians and
Nigerian Government to ransom
We
have seen at various times how subsidy issues have shaken us and our
government. The beneficiaries have made efforts to make us belief it is in our
interest but they lied. It is a way to hold us down, ensure that our refineries
are not working and no job created thereby. It is a disguised way to enrich the
privileged few and impoverished Nigerians. It is a way to hide away corruption and
embezzlement of our money from the public view.
They
made us feel that we cannot survive without the subsidy; that the price will go
up that we will not be able to avoid it but they lied. The law of demand and
supply will apply just like in telecommunication – more marketers will come
with competitive price until we hit the lowest of the low in matter of 3 to 4
years. And once we start refining locally, the market will be saturated that
filling stations will be advertising and begging us to buy – like MTN, GLO and
the rest are doing today.
There
is no denying the immediate effect on our pocket today, but the gain will
eventually overtake the pains.
For
this and more reasons than can be pen down, I am calling on you to join me and
make the biggest change in our struggle for a better tomorrow.
Join
me to call on the incoming APC Government, General Buhari (President Elect), the
incoming 8th National Assembly to, as a matter of urgency, remove
FUEL SUBSIDY and embark on building of our refineries immediately. Put a life
sentence penalty on saboteurs of refineries and oil thirft.
God
bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria
God
bless the government and
God
bless you.
General
Muhammadu Buhari The Nigerian National Assembly APC - All Progressive Party
