By Jude Atupulazi
The mood in Nigeria today is not a happy one. Everybody who is not a thief, a fraudster, a pastor of a big church, or a politician, is crying and very, very angry. Their anger is anchored on the daily escalating cost of living in the country. People go to sleep not knowing how much they will buy any item they need when the day breaks.
You can today leave in the morning, buy fuel at a filling station at a particular amount, only to return in the night to discover the price has gone up. That is how bad things have become.
Sometimes, it is not just the government that causes it. We are also responsible. Was it not because fuel dealers threatened the other day to go on strike that ALL the filling stations shot up their prices? Even when they realized the strike did not happen again, the prices refused to come down. They are just toying with our emotions while they laugh all the way to their various banks. They know what they are doing and I had an experience that proved it.
On the night of Saturday February 24, I bought fuel at Jezco, Amawbia, at N700 a litre. It was the same price at nearby MRS Filling Station at the Amawbia Express Junction. But the next day, Sunday, Jezco did not open as they usually do on Sundays. I then drove over to the nearby MRS to buy fuel and, lo and behold, they were selling it for N750!
It wasn’t difficult to know what happened. Knowing that Jezco would not open that day, they increased their price because they knew the buyers would have no choice. I teased the person selling fuel to me as to why they should do that just because the other station was not open. He laughed and said it was business.
When Jezco resumed business on Monday, they were still selling a litre for N700 and I’m sure their neighbours at MRS would have reverted to same price. See what we are doing to ourselves? I’m sure the owners of such filling stations who do this go to church on Sundays but I wonder the type of prayer they can be saying when they are wolves to their fellow men. This type of punishment to others is self-inflicted. (Let me at this juncture commend the management of Jezco for at least having a little human face. They are among the filling stations that sell their fuel cheaper than others).
The other type of punishment is the one being unleashed on us by the government. Since the present regime of Bola Ahmed Tinubu came aboard, it has been a ride from one harsh policy to another, without considering the impact of such on us. When they try to cushion the effect they give out money to states or give them rice to give to the people.
But when you consider the amount being wasted on doing this short-lived palliative, you see how empty they are. Indeed, the amount being budgeted for these ineffective palliatives is enough to refurbish our refineries and get them working again. Functional refineries will automatically bring down the price of fuel and that will have its ripple effect on other areas and the common man will smile and heave a sigh of relief.
But they are not doing that. Rather, they give out rice that will not get to everybody. They splash money that will be hijacked by a few. And you will be bound to wonder who did this to us.
Is it any wonder then that hunger is pushing the ordinary Nigerians to breaking point? Is it any wonder that people are pouring into the streets to express their anger, via protests? Within the week the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, held a protest rally against the hunger in the land. The government tried to dissuade them from going ahead but it held, at least on the first day, Tuesday.
But one amazing thing was that a federal government spokesman, Mr Ajuri Ngelale, said the protests against hunger were needless. Hear him:
‘Any labour union that is speaking to the concerns of Nigerian families, the pains that are being felt by our people, is absolutely free to do so. It is right that Nigerians speak up in difficult situations.
‘And the government has been doing everything possible to alleviate those concerns. But we also want to separate the legitimate concerns being expressed by some of the labour unions from people trying to leverage some of the situations in the country to achieve a political agenda.
We have seen the Trade Union Congress (TUC) pull out of the purported nationwide protest. We have seen the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) pull out of the protest. There is no unanimity behind what NLC is trying to do. I believe all of the legitimate concerns being raised by the unions are being tackled by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.’
Now, what have you gleaned from his statement? I gleaned two things: one is that those who sleep in air-conditioned rooms are oblivious of the heat killing the rest of us. It is normal for those in government to pontificate and rationalize against people protesting to have things go right. Ngelale, as a government agent, is trying to down play the impact of the hunger on us, as well give reasons why we should not be taken seriously.
In doing so, he resorted to the age-old talk that we are protesting because some people in the opposition are goading us. This is always the line of argument that those in government at all levels take when confronted by home truths.
The second thing I gleaned is the usual practice of government recruiting some elements to divide unions and weaken them. Here, they have bought over some hungry students and unionists to repudiate the protest by the organized labour in order to make it seem as though Labour is fighting for some interest groups who want to cripple the government. But as in all things, those the government have bought today will soon finish what they were given and the same hunger they are pretending not to feel today will confront them with deadly consequences tomorrow.
They should ask the agberos in Lagos who intimidated voters during last year’s elections how they feel now. Are they not among those crying the loudest today? The sweet thing about all this is that what goes around, comes around. Na Naija we dey; everybody go hear am. It’s just a matter of time because our wahala no dey finish, I swear!
____________________The Soludo Bombshell: Anambra Vigilantes Take Oath with Criminals
In what appeared like a damning indictment on our village security arrangement, the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, was reported to have accused some vigilante operatives in the state of going into covenant with criminals, thereby sabotaging government’s efforts in the fight against insecurity.
According to a statement from the Governor’s Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Aburime, Soludo made the accusation during a meeting with the traditional rulers in the state on Tuesday in Awka, where he also alleged that many vigilante operatives in the state were infiltrated by criminals.
‘Part of the problem we experience is that many of the vigilante operatives took oaths with criminals; they were infiltrated,’ the Press Secretary quoted the governor as saying.
Mr. Aburime said the governor, while addressing the traditional rulers, also expressed concern about the issue of command and control in the leadership of many vigilante operatives in different communities in the state.
‘How many of those in charge of community vigilantes reside in their communities? This is a very critical question I throw to you all. How can the Commander of Achalla Vigilante, for example, be living in Awka or Onitsha? It’s not possible, which is why I raise this fundamental issue of command and control,’ the governor was quoted as saying.
This is indeed, a serious indictment on some of our vigilante operatives and this is why I’ve often suggested that those who are vested with providing security in the various communities should be hired from outside to avoid favoritism or familiarity. This way, they will only bear allegiance to those that hired them.
A situation where everyone knows those doing security work in the village is not germane to progress, security wise. It is difficult for an uncle who is a member of the vigilante to arrest a nephew who is involved in a crime. But when the vigilante members are not from that community, they fear and pity no one.
This may be the solution to the issue raised by the governor.
