By Yomi Ogunsanu
I have read the back and forth arguments on the inevitability of fuel subsidy removal.
While the proponents of subsidy removal have continued to drum support for it, they have failed to give or suggest alternative solution that will replace the subsidy removal.
Is it that they are not aware that we are talking about subsidy because of importation of refined petrol which could be done here in Nigeria?
Are they supporting perpetual importation of refined petrol?
Why are they not encouraging government to build new refineries which will eliminate fuel subsidy?
Another untenable reason being advanced by the government to justify removal of subsidy is that petrol marketers ferry the subsidized petrol across the borders to neighbouring countries where they sell at exorbitant prices.
To me, this is a total failure on the part of government with all the agencies of government that are policing our various borders.
If very few criminally minded Nigerians are committing the offence of ferrying petrol across the borders illegally without the relevant government agencies arresting them for prosecution, must the entire Nigerians be punished for the offence of a few?
Even if the government successfully removed fuel subsidy, what other areas will the money be diverted to that will have positive impact on the lives of the masses?
Oil sector is one of the critical sectors of the economy which any responsible government must be interested in.
As it is today, we need functional refineries that can guarantee constant supply of petrol at affordable prices.
The existing refineries in Nigeria today can no longer serve our interest because of lack of maintenance occasioned by corrupt practices, which have made the refineries to be comatose and almost moribund.
There is nothing wrong if government builds modern refineries that can serve Nigerians.
In Saudi Arabia, government owns and operates oil refinery known as SAUDI ARAMCO, which was founded in 1933, with headquarters in Dhahran and has 96000 employees.
In Qatar, the QATAR PETROLEUM is an oil refinery company founded in 1974 with its headquarters in Doha, and owned by the government of Qatar.
Therefore, the cliche that government has no business in business is not applicable in all cases.
Every situation must be treated in accordance with its own peculiarity.
Where the interest of the citizens are concerned and needs to be protected, definitely, a responsible government has to come in and probably be a player or regulator.
Government can establish refinery by owning majority shares and allowing members of the public to have shares too.
But to leave everything entirely in the hands of private investors in a volatile economy like ours, will amount to leaving Nigerians to the whims and caprices of the exploitative private investors.
For now, transparent subsidy which is devoid of the usual corruption is still very much desirable in the petroleum sector because Nigerians should be made to enjoy what nature has deposited in our environment, and should not be made to look like a curse.
Dangote refinery, which is strictly a profit oriented business venture, may not necessarily fulfill the hope of Nigerians in terms of price affordability whenever it becomes operational.
If Aliko Dangote can build a modern refinery within a period of six years or thereabout, nothing stops a serious government from building four refineries within a shorter period because government has the resources to do that. It is just a matter of setting its priority right.
In some advanced countries, agriculture enjoys huge subsidy from governments.
Therefore, Nigerians deserve to enjoy subsidy on petrol, pending the time that government will put in place functional refineries which will automatically eliminate fuel subsidy.
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