Is deregulation post-amnesty reward?
The Federal Government's insistence that the downstream sector of the oil industry must be deregulated before the end of this year makes one to chuckle while with burning anger in the heart. The Federal Government's insistence on the policy, literarily, is asking Nigerians, what can they do?
This is the government that was recently begging the militants of the Niger Delta to hands-off arms and embrace the amnesty programme; it is today talking about deregulation. Nigerians don't blame these politicians because they sit in Abuja, not knowing what the common Nigerian is facing in a bid to make ends meet.
An insensitive government, like ours, is one that implores autocracy in a democracy, by imposing whatever it feels would benefit those within the corridors and parlours and sitting rooms of power without minding whose ox is gored in the towns and villages of our country.
It behoves one with a contrite heart to mourn for Nigerians who have been captured by the self-acclaimed leaders, whose only manifest is 'impoverish them to be humble, because if you empower them, you will not have respect'.
While many Nigerians are optimistic that the government is going to commence the development of the Niger Delta, as it promised, than it came with deregulation policy of the downstream of the oil sector, without any attempt to listen to the many Nigerians 'amnesty' to the FG to drop such a policy that would be detrimental to the common Nigerian.
But the Federal Government has nothing to be proud of in Nigeria because it has failed in all the expectations of Nigerians except on the oil industry. The oil industry is even as corrupt as Babylon without the government telling Nigerians how much oil it sells a day and places receipt as evidence.
The Federal Government may succeed in imposing this heinous policy on Nigerians, but it will never win the peace it had long expected because shrills of the impoverished Nigerians must be heard. If places like South Africa that has no oil sells fuel at N22, Singapore that has no oil could have up to 33 working refineries then the governance and economic policies in Nigeria are all sham, without any working refinery.
How can a government be proud that the deregulation must come to be when it can't boast of any working refinery in the country. It's high time this government stopped this policy nuisance and governance mishaps that have led Nigerians to perilous time in the name of democracy.
Odimegwu Onwumere, Rivers State. 08032552855. [email protected]
Development / Ghana / Africa / Modernghana.com