RANDOM MUSINGS:
SUGARCANE ECONOMICS, BORNO FLOODING AND ONE OTHER THING.
with
Ben C. Abraham.
SUGARCANE ECONOMICS
When legal icon and founder of Afe Babalola University in Ekiti State Chief Afe Babalola SAN, stated that Nigeria’s economy was becoming a palliative economy, only very few people might have understood him or related to it. It is not as if Nigerians have not experienced the Government intervene in times of social crisis or extremities but ex President Buhari turned that intervention into a culture of handouts and palliatives, not in times of crisis, but as a replacement for genuine hard work and industry especially in the North. It also created a massive conduit pipe through which billions of Naira were funneled into the accounts of Buhari apologists. That intervention, previously a ‘culture’ of Northerners, has assumed a national practice, nay trade mark. And so having weaponized poverty pursuant to the 2023 elections and in order to extract and reward loyalty, we see Nigerians queueing to buy rice at Government price (the market price of 80k per 50kg bag is beyond the minimum wage, which is not yet being paid), we see Nigerians trampled to death in their quest to get cheap commodities, we hear of basic food items being ‘dashed’ to citizens in a most condescending manner. Pictures showing Nigerians being degraded dot our media space as elected and appointed officials struggle to impress us with just how much they grind on daily basis to give us good governance; pictures showing the ‘commissioning’ of wooden bridges, toilets et al, ‘projects’ definitely executed at outrageous amounts. We are also served the distasteful dish of watching videos and pictures of unbelievable empowerment projects for constituents by their representatives at the State and Federal level. Recently we read about a Senator somewhere in Kano State who gave out yards of white clothing materials and clay pots to his constituents. These were items used for burial of the dead in line with Islamic belief. How much the ‘distinguished’ Senator did for the living is unknown. Who then will criticize Hajiya Fatima, the wife of member representing Bauchi Federal constituency in the National Assembly, Hon Aliyu Aminu Garu for celebrating the empowerment of youths with stalks of sugarcane? Hajiya just took the orchestra a notch higher. Whether the sugar cane was a seed capital for farming or for instant consumption only time will tell. After all, economics as a subject is the study of allocation of resources towards a pre-determined end. Welcome to sugar cane economics.
BORNO FLOOD DISASTER AND MATTERS THEREOF….;
Tuesday 10th September will always be remembered by residents of Maiduguri with sadness and pain. It was a day that nature and nuture conspired to unleash devastating consequences on them following heavy rainfalls that triggered the rupture of the Alau dam on the Ngadda River about 20km south of Maiduguri. At the end of the day, about 37 people lay dead with more than a million residents dislocated by the flooding which also affected the palace of the Shehu of Borno, the State Secretariat, post office and the UMTH. The volatile waters did not even let the dead rest in peace as it washed up dead bodies and desecrated cemeteries. As the week progressed and the situation became clearer, it was reported that about 80% of animals housed in the Sanda Kyarimi park zoo had been washed away letting loose dangerous amphibians and reptiles into the communities. The Federal Government announced that it had released N3bn for rehabilitation and given 10,000 naira to each household. Well, how the displaced persons were so quickly traced and given the money is something of a wonder in Nigeria noted for clumsiness in humanitarian affairs. Meanwhile the Prof Governor, Zulum cried that the flooding had added another dimension to the security issues ravaging the region as many convicted Boko Haram Commanders and operatives escaped when the floods pulled down the walls of the prisons where they were held. He only confirmed the statement issued by the Correctional Service about the escape. The disaster brought another focus on the IDP camps when many flooding victims turned down the offer of being resettled at the camps pending the receding of the waters. They confirmed earlier stories of the camps being unsafe, stories which the Government has serially denied. Reports had how the camps had been infiltrated by all manner of persons giving rise to stealing, rape and molestation, not discounting the grand mismanagement of funds allocated to cater to the needs of the residents. The Government should go beyond the ‘release’ of monies to the ‘victims’ and ensure that the real victims of the flooding receive the funds. We can only wish that the nuture dimension or human causative factors that gave rise or aggravated the flooding and damage can be realized by the Government and used to avert future occurrences. It’s also an umpteenth time call for the state of the IDP camps in Borno and other States to be subject to audit. As for the escaped Boko Haram Commanders and foot soldiers, what can we say? May God help Borno State.
……AND ONE OTHER THING:
AS DANGOTE REFINERY FINALLY LOADS;
We hear that finally, just finally NNPC trucks have started loading petrol at the Dangote Refinery after weeks of ding dong between Dangote and the NNPCL. Remember that NNPCL had upped the pump price of petrol early September from N568 to N855 per litre for its retailers in Lagos State. Of course, fuel is sold for N1000 and above outside Lagos State. What has been baffling though is that as soon as the prices were jerked up, NNPCL announced after an initial period of non-agreement that they would be the sole distributor or off taker of the refined product from the refinery. That deal may not be a problem ordinarily, but when one is reminded of the habitual opaqueness of NNPCL when it comes to spending, income, profits and costs then that deal becomes a huge thing. How much does 1 litre of petrol cost ex depot at Dangote? What are the details of the deal between Dangote and NNPCL? It’s important to bear in mind that any arrangement or deal that does not positively reflect on the lives of ordinary Nigerians is only self-serving. Nigerians are going through the hardest time in decades and the least NNPCL can do is to ameliorate this hardship. If they cannot ameliorate it, they should not add to it. Many industry analysts have adjudged that Dangote fuel should be cheaper than NNPCL’s imported petrol. It is time for Alhaji Aliko Dangote to wear the toga of a statesman and come through for Nigerians in line with his avowed advocacy that his sole desire in investing in Nigeria and Africa is to touch lives. Where NNPCL is playing politics with fuel, let Dangote rise to the occasion. At least let Nigerians know how much their fuel is sold for.