Nigeria is one country where you never want to ask the question, “Can things get any worse?” Because they always can. And from the looks of things, they always will too. Nigerians woke up to 2012 to find that their fuel subsidy was gone and gas prices had doubled. This, in turn, has affected everything we can possibly think of. Even those of us that are outside Nigeria are affected, too.
The government is doing a mighty fine job at taking away more of people’ money and lives, but nothing has been done to relieve people of their pain. Good thing we have a government. Even in this terrible crisis, Nigerians have found humor – as always. I sometimes wonder if our it-is-well and let-us-laugh-it-off attitude is what grants our incompetent leaders the boldness to try us in the way they do.
Pictures like the ones above have been circulating the internet, and believe me, I laughed. The second one is my favorite one. I couldn’t find the rest. I laughed my head off when I saw it because I tried to imagine driving into a parking lot and finding a camel sitting in one of the spots. But I digress.
As if the removal of the subsidy wasn’t bad enough, Jonathan decided yesterday to shut down Blackberry services today. I hear the order has been reversed. I don’t know who his advisers are. I don’t know what propels him to do the things he does: ignorance or refusal to acknowledge that this is 2012 or lack of regards for the Nigerian people? How can a mobile network service be shut down in a country that prides itself to be democratic? And what happens to the iPhone and Android users?
Besides, the suspense of Blackberry in Nigeria will not stop Nigerians from getting their information across, even if that is the only phone Nigerians use. Jonathan may have forgotten that Nigerians have been skyping and sending messages via calabashes long before the Oyibo people invented the internet or the Blackberry. (Don’t tell anyone, but if we had patented and trademarked our communication via calabash technology, Skype and the likes would never have been born). So all we have to do is go back to our good ol’ days of visiting Dibia Azu Ndu.
Speaking of the Dibia, why has no one visited or pinged their Dibia/Babalawo to prepare something for these government men and women? Now these are the people that should receive supernatural visitations from the land beyond the living (not your ex boyfriend and his new wife). Unless, of course, these men have ode eshi’d (fortified) themselves again visitations. But juju pass juju nah!
On the plus side, there are a number of Nigerians who are right now protesting against the fuel subsidy in Nigeria. I can’t be there physically, but I can spread the word. If you’re in Nigeria, however, and in the State/City where one of these protests are being held, you should go and speak up for your country – unless, of course, you have no problem with the new gas prices. There are also talks about protesting in front of the Nigerian Embassy here in Washington, D.C. Details are still being worked out, but come back for details. Also, you can follow me on twitter for faster updates.
You can call the number in the picture above for information about protesting in Nigeria.
We should not have to live like illegal residents in our own land. We own Nigeria and all that is in it – including but limited to Goodluck
God blessed Nigeria with everything and also plague this country with poor leaders. I wonderful why clueless goodlock thinks best remedy for headache is cutting off that head.
Whoever knows this boy goodlock should tell him that he is beating his drum too hard and the drum will soon burst any moment!!!
Vera, This is one area where I disagree very strongly with you… The removal of the fuel ssubsidy is, perhaps the most economically sensible action to come out of this Gpvernment!Take a step back and think… For as long as the subsidy existed, we were bprrowing heavily from the future to fund our excesses today… The removal of the fuel subsidy frees up funds which govt can invest in infrastructure and more important areas… Trust me he problems of Nigeria are more those of the followerahip than they are the leaders’! How else did the leaders form their bad habits? problem is that the Nigerian does not want to pay tax, would not pay school fees, hates paying for water, would not obey simple rules, would encourage his children to cheat during exams… and yet would be the first to always accuse govt of malfeasance…
Lewis, all this you’re saying is story. Before Jonathan became president, Obasanjo paid off the 30 billion dollar foreign debt, today we are in 41 billion dollar dept again. When Obasanjo left government in 2007, our foreign reserve were 80 billion dollars, today it has dropped from that amount to 33 billion dollars. Where did all the money went.
Let me educate you in case you don’t know. david Mark earns 600 millions annually, Jonathan and his friends will eat 1 billion worth of food in 2012, while fuelling their cars with 1.7 billion. 200 million to water Mr President’s garden. The first lady spent 5 billion naira furnishing her office. And you seat there Lewis and say those jargon that the fuel subsidy is the best thing that has ever happened to Nigeria. I am convinced you’re not in Nigeria, and if you are, you are just a thief like them.
Lewis, without it looking like I’m attacking u, I would like to address some of the wrong statements you have made in your comment. First of all, we are NOT borrowing from our future to fund d present. That is plain old BS neoclassical economic theory that almost all our Nigerian economists seem to be following and using to kill our economy. Have u not heard of the statement, “public debt is private wealth?”, is this so called money used 2 finance d subsidy not our own state money, d naira? Let me start by telling u to read The Credit Theory of Money by Mitchell Inness http://www.ces.org.za/docs/The%20Credit%20Theoriy%20of%20Money.htm The earlier Nigerians educate themselves and stop following BS economics dt hv crippled the world’s economy, the better for us. I would believe that you have been supporting the crappy americans who say that social security is a debt to their future children. These so called subsidy debts have always existed, why haven’t these countries been wiped out. If the government subsidizes something internally, or gives a person a job, they do not need to borrow from you or any1 2 finance things in their own state money. It’s all pluses and minuses in the banking system,
Also, Countries like Saudi Arabia and Botswana where people pay next to nothing taxes and their citizens are on govt scholarships abroad based on their natural resource money, do they have 10 heads. When American pay for their taxes in cash, do u know what happens to the cash? They are shredded. Do not give taxes more power than they should have. For more on taxes, go and buy L.R. Wray’s Understanding Modern Money. It would help you understand money and taxes better.
Vera so sorry for the epistle jare. First time commenting on this blog and it had to be long story. It’s just annoying when people base their stories on ignorant economics that have not taken us anywhere in the many years we have been blinding following it.
Dear Sir Lewis, it saddens my heart to read a comment like this from people like you who pretend not to know the current situation of my country Nigeria. In a country where nothing works, where there are no roads, jobs, economy, security, power, people barely survive and this is next big thing, really sir lewis, really? How can you combat waste & corruption in subsidizing fuel by not first build a working refineries? What happens to bringing the corrupts to book? Consequentally now, every thing has doubled. Transportation, food, name it everything double. Dear sir lewis, are you really really sure the proposed savings from subsidy would be used for the proposed purposes? Really sir lewis, really?
However, one thing is clear now though, people like you (pro-subsidy) are no better in handling the affair of my country and we would make sure you don’t get there. And one wonders who advises JONA? What a bad manager!
Yinka O, thanks for understanding the plights of the people jare and leave the oyinbo speaking people alone.
#OccupyNigeria #OccupyCorruption #Occcupy bad thinking people like Jonathan & co #Occupysirlewis
Vera, good job! God bless you for us!
av been thinking wild and looking for a reason for this inhumane actions from the powers that be. Is GEJ the antichrist or we should wait for another?