Subsidy removal: What Jonathan sat down to see Buhari can't see flying
This government has continued to be 'fantastically' inspired by its predecessor, the government of Goodluck Jonathan. The removal of the fuel subsidy which has once again initiated another guaranteed upheaval in the system, given its unsavory reception by the Labour and most Nigerians, was a policy Jonathan earlier had all the political will and determination to implement, having diligently studied all its pros and cons and reached the well-informed conclusion it was no longer feasible and sustainable in the interest of the country.
Then some elements stepped in. They criminally misguided Nigerian to reject it. Or, were they just ignorant? Whichever, it is a shame that men like el-Rufai, Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Wole Soyinka, Dino Meleye, Tunde Bakare and indeed many others in the current government who had conspired to bring down Jonathan's government then are today doing nothing as Buhari, in knee jerk and confused response to the quandary the government has perpetually found itself, removed the subsidy.
When did they realize it was no good? How many years did it take Jonathan's once-discredited argument to penetrate their thick skulls with a semblance of common sense? Jonathan, when the price of oil was still high proposed N141, Buhari now oil is slightly above 30 Dollars per barrel has fixed the price of petrol at N145! It logically should have been less, following the low oil price.
Buhari keeps copying from Jonathan. And rather than give him credit, he keeps discrediting him. Anyway, it's a psychological phenomenon that occurs when dealing with a better predecessor. Nigerians have a term for it: The Blame Game. But let him and his government maul the former as they wish, Nigerians know as a matter of fact that most of the things he had so far done, that have actually moved this country an inch beyond the ruts where their monumental ineptitude had kept us, had something to do with Jonathan.
Yes, the weapons used to fight and contain Boko Haram were bought by Jonathan; just as Buhari applied his sub-regional diplomatic template too. The TSA that has fished out thousands of ghost workers was Jonathan's idea. The light we had and was attributed to 'body language' was Jonathan. Ditto the functional refineries that gave us fuel until the new government came and we now have this level of product unavailability, mind you not just scarcity, but total dry up the type never witnessed in Nigeria since its existing. It was also as they came that we heard for the first time the term 'Zero Generation'. That is, no atom of power was generated anywhere in Nigeria's power system! That was an unequal fit equal to infinite darkness only this government was capable! And the list goes on.
True, apart from lies, hardship, hunger, moneyless living, perennial fuel scarcity, collapse of businesses, job losses, Buhari's sky jamming tourism, propaganda, partisan and lopsided anti-corruption fight that has graduated us to a 'fantastically corrupt' nation worthy of a royal exampling, worthless Naira, skyrocketed prices of commodities, Fulani headsmen terrorism, etc, what good have we really had within this period? Tell me anything original from them that is not putting Nigerians through the grind? Where are our human rights and freedom? Where are the true and constitutional jobs of the DSS and EFCC they were conceived to do? They now go after government critics forgetting so soon how with their unfettered scurrilous propaganda they had sullied the government of Jonathan out of reckoning.
And with that they took our stable life, including everything we had they told us were all bad they would change. What they brought now made us dream of the past, like Jonathan was of the distant good old past, and not just a few months he had only gone. Where are the jobs Jonathan created for Nigerians? Lost! All have been lost, exchanged with what have turned Nigeria to a real hell on earth. It is a shame that after promising Nigerian youths millions of jobs and N5000 monthly all Lai Mohammed could come up with was to advice them to wear masquerade and go begging on the roads. Any more proof as to how indeed worthless Nigerian youths are to these people!
As people like el-Rufai, Tinubu, Fashola, etc have come back to their fuel subsidy vomit, it once again shows that as they continue to copy Jonathan without credit; what President Goodluck Jonathan sat down to see, Buhari and all his men cannot stand on top of the Zuma rock and see. Otherwise, they would not condemn and later shamelessly come back to do exactly all that they had so caustically disparaged. Meanwhile, when and where are the labour unions ‘occupying Nigeria’?