STRATEGIES OF TAKING THE BENEFITS OF OIL SUBSIDY TO THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF NIGERIANS.

INTRODUCTION

 A brief History of  The Fuel Subsidy Palaver In Nigeria

      Fuel subsidy ;  to  be  or  not  to  be?  This  question  has  long  been  on the arena of debates among the Nigerian populace; whether it be on the floor of the National assembly or on the table of a local beer parlour, these debates often pitch the populace to exactly two tenths: the tenth of  the Government and the tenth of  the Organised labour, with each side throwing all there is to drive home their points. While the Government resorts to embarking on sensitization and educational campaign in a bid to garner understanding, those on the other side of the divide  -  the organised labour, have often employed the tactics of protests and industrial actions to voice their disapproval.

     The fuel subsidy quagmire first surfaced in the late 80’s during the Ibrahim Babangida regime, when the then military head of state increased the fuel pump price by more than 200%(from 23 kobo per litre to 70 kobo per litre), amid protests. The reason was tied to the devaluation of the naira, which made the domestic price of fuel unrealistic and a huge burden to the federal government. And since then, we have had seven additional increases( from Ernest Shonekon’s administration  to  Olusegun Obasanjo’s era), with intermittent plunging of  the price in between, leading to the present price of 65 Naira/Litre.

  With   the government’s  present position, it appears we are about to tour a familiar route. The government’s position is that the country cannot afford to live like this ;   using its monies to carter for fuel  price differences, that eventually goes to the pockets of selected few, while developmental projects are allowed to suffer. But this seemingly logical explanation appears not good enough to a large number of  Nigerians; partly because most see it as another governmental tool to increase poverty level and partly because most citizen do not trust the government.

These are two critical aspects that the writer identifies to be the major hurdle the government faces in its quest to  garner support for its intention. And these the writer has put into consideration  in the outlined strategies that would follow next.

   STRATEGIES AND THE ROAD MAP

 Since the intention of  this strategy  is to reach out to the highest number of  Nigerians, the writer has deliberately  design a blueprint that carters for  every single Nigerian irrespective of their age, educational qualification, or their skills. A schematic representation of the strategy (ICAN!),is presented below. Please see FIGURE 1

I=INDUSTRY   DEV.          

C=CITIZEN DEV.

A=AGRICULTURAL DEV.

N=NATIONAL DEV.

Firstly, the government should set up modalities for the creation of the Subsidy Recovery Fund, SRF, where all monies that would have been used to subsidise the fuel pump price would be kept. The Fund would be managed by seven trust-worthy Nigerians; one each from the country’s six Geo-political zones; The seventh person who would served as the Chairman would be appointed by the presidency; he/she could be from any part of the country.

 The terms of reference of the SRF, as representation in figure1 above, would be to deliver the three key objectives below:

Ø Industry Development

Ø Citizens Development

Ø Agricultural Development

    INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

Industry here refers to the oil and gas industry. Since  this is the industry  that would provide the initial set-up fund and subsequently provide a large percentage of the Fund’s operational costs, it is important that it has a strong footing. The development would take the following shape, place in order of priority:

ü Build full capacity operational Refineries:  The writer deliberately recommend that refineries be built and not upgrading or embarking on a turn- around maintenance of the existing ones, because the latter has never done the nation any good.

This of course is not expected to be achieved in the first 3 or 5 years of  SRF, but the Fund should see it as a top priority project.

ü Holistic upgrade and maintenance of Transport & Storage facilities, such as pipelines and Depots.

These two, would be serving the dual purpose of  positioning the sector to return the country back to its oil refining statues, and most importantly create jobs and hence increase the citizen’s ability to pay for the  new price  of  fuel.

CITIZEN DEVELOPMENT

What better way to ensure that new and existing infrastructures don’t decay, other than to train and develop the users. Development here would mean:

ü Educational Scholarship Grant offer to Nigerians from the primary to the tertiary level.

ü Build Capacity development Centres(one for each Geo-political zone) that would become Centres of Excellence, and that would serve:

i)                   As a library and information centre regarding activities of the Fund, major developments in the sector, and general information about the country. This would bridge the information gap that usually exists between the government and its citizens, and between players and non-players in the sector. And thus reduce the lack of trust most citizens have for the government.

ii)                As a medium to make known the opportunities available in the sector, particularly for SME’s run by Nigerians; from the craftsmen to artisans.

iii)             As a skill training centre for Nigerians gifted in craftsmanship that are relevant for the development of the sector. These would ultimately increase the Entrepreneurial ability and Employability of Nigerians.

   AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Majority of Nigerians living the rural areas are farmers. This significant number of citizens can be empowered to bring about National development by:

ü Providing them with adequate Farm machineries & techniques of modern farming.

ü Providing them with adequate processing & storage facilities.

  CONCLUSION

Political will of the government is imperative here to deliver these. Whilst the present government is preaching the gospel of transformation, I dare to believe that if the government is willing, subsidy removal would transform into one of the best decisions ever taking by any Nigerian government.

 

 

                    Figure 1: Strategy For Subsidy –Powered Development