Counting the cost of subsidy upheaval KAYODE KETEFE As the dust of upheavals generated by the labour strike and Occupy Nigeria mass protests gradually settles down, it is perhaps the best time to engage in a postmortem reflection on wherefores of the unfortunate saga with a view to extricate useful lessons. The affair is yet another worrisome episode in the gory drama that has kept unfolding in endless ramifications since democratic era began in 1999. While Obasanjo and Yar'Adua's eras brimmed with a paradoxical mix of tragedies and comedies in chiaroscuro stretches bitter/sweet undulation, the same cannot be said of the present era where songs of sorrow continually erupt all over the landscape. Our wailings have become louder and our grins, whenever we could manage any, have become mirthless. No thanks to insecurity and terror personified in Boko Haram sect amidst diverse other horrors and difficulties in the shapes of inter-ethnic cleansing, escalating armed robbery, pervasive unemployment, non-existent basis amenities of life and troubled Judiciary. President Jonathan's era, at least till now, in spite of his good intentions, has been one unmitigated continuum of sad tales reeled out at dizzying pace, with hardly any moment for comic relief. Set against this terrifying background is the deliberate and avoidable volatile decisions made by the government itself as evinced in the oil subsidy removal policy. The January 1st announcement of the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector ignited the Mother of all protests as the polity became so intensely heated up almost to the point of flaring into unquenchable conflagration. Every patriotic soul was in despair that an implosion was imminent. After five days of the mass action, the sheer popularity of the strike/ protest, the efficient ways it was organised and its success in literally shutting down the nation shocked the Federal Government into a hasty retreat of giving N44 up on every litre of petrol by pegging the price at N97. Now as the scorching heat seems to have begun its slow dissipation, it is high time we beamed a searchlight on the issue for proper analysis with the mindset of ensuring we never again unduly raise the temperature of the country. Firstly, to count the costs, the six days of total paralysis during which hundreds of millions of working hours were squandered in idleness or economically unproductive ventures like demonstrations by workers and the masses at large cost Nigeria no less than N9000 billion naira. When this staggering cost is added to the actual costs of the multibillion naira properties that went up in flames across the nation under the onslaught of the rambunctious arsonists masquerading as protesters, then the impolicy of taking a decision thorough a bureaucratic fiat which reeks of unfathomable arrogance by the government would be egregiously apparent. But the greatest loss was the human lives that cut short in the primes as fellow citizens fell under the hails of bullets by the police. As of the last count, about 19 people were reported killed. This writer opines that the tragedy is one that ought not to have happened as everything boiled down to a failure of effective social engineering on the part of government. Red Cross volunteers claimed they have treated more than 600 people injured in protests since the strike began till last Monday (Day six) when soldiers were, strange to say, deployed in Lagos and Kano-the two most populous cities in Nigeria. The deployment of soldiers is yet another decision that has attracted severe criticisms especially in the light of many innocent citizens that had already been felled by the police bullets, it was just as if the government was saying the casualties were not enough and number should be improved upon through further carnage by wild soldiery! If the intention of the government is to forcefully repress all further acts of protests, then it would appear a mistake and political miscalculation because the decision further alienated the people; not a few saw it as a declaration of war against the citizens. After all, during the London riots in July last year, there were massive looting and momentary break down of law and order, More than 300 police officers were injured, the police themselves made 297 arrests; 187 people were charged with various offences and most of these were jailed, David Cameron left the entire matter in the hands of the police, he never invited the military to quell the riots, but here is President Jonathan inviting the military to quell a popular protest even at a time when consensus was just being reached by the parties. We all know that soldiers are trained to kill, if the police who are suppose to be steeped in civility could kill 19 people within five days, what do you expect of soldiers? Thank God this impasse has come to an end, at least for now! But who says it could not have been better managed? |
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