THE OPIUM OF LACK OF TACT The cacophony of response that greeted Nigeria s latest attempt at a painful economic adjustment

and the unfortunate lack of tact on the part of the authorities are not only shocking, but also a painful reminder that the Nigerian bureaucracy is to a large extent a classical crop of crass opportunists. From the management of the information of such a burning issue as the removal of fuel subsidy coupled with the fact that enacting the policy no matter how noble was grossly ill-timed. It is no gainsaying that the prevailing saving grace above all else when taking a coreassessment of the fore-going is the President s goodwill among Nigerians (which goodwill is fast waning), reason being that the President has been rolling with the nines and his image has been irredeemably sullied; in the aftermath of the hullaballoo that occasioned the latest misadventure, one interesting precedence is that about every minion, every hanger-on within or without the defined precincts of power has suddenly turned an economic pundit (trust Nigerians to engage matters that touch their raw nerves with palpable passion), so much so that we have as many economic advisers in the country on the subsidy removal matter as we have ordinary Nigerians for whose good in the long run, this painful decision is being considered ...haaaaaaa , how much more interesting can an issue be, this one is as hot as red stove (apologies to James Hardly Chase). QUESTION: What is fuel subsidy? Why did we have it in the first place, if we now angle to a policy that basically underscores the beauty free market? By my estimation the issues are myriad and only tasks our determination to do things differently which to all intent and purpose is clearly lacking on the part of the crop of politicians currently at the helm of affairs in the country. Macro-economic policies are never adopted in absolute terms in real life situations, truth is, take it or leave it, the cost of on-going imbroglio resulting from the lack of tact on the part of political office holders far outweighs whatever measure that would have been taken to stem the mass action in the first place, it would clearly seem that the president s lieutenants are in a hurry to mould him into the person he is not, the president is clearly a people person and managing him in his official capacity must be in line with tenets that pamper the people even when hard decisions are being considered,...information management and placing nation above any self interest, essentially the functionality of a proper institutional framework. Unfortunately the PDP men in power have corrupted themselves to stupor and are bereft of anymore creative thinking. Labaran Maku, erstwhile PDP propagandist and now Information minister attempted a most timid effort at convincing Nigerians on the wisdom of Government s decision to deregulate, privatise the down-stream sector of Nigeria s petroleum Industry, drawing an analogy on the nation s telecom sector, which by my estimation was Obasanjo s audacious statesmanship and forthrightness, traits that came to the fore in an effort that has continued to serve as a reference point, the fact that even his party men has taken a huge dislike for his guts notwithstanding. Labaran should know that the internet revolution more

than the number GSM service providers actually did the magic, especially when it comes to wooing the nations largely young population the demand elasticity experienced in the industry therefore triggered a value added operation on the part of operators, given that there are other competitive means of communication as it were. The Nigerian energy sector will never benefit from such a fit of competitiveness, the way round it for us, is government s express commitment to stem the tide of corruption in the sector, to wit in all other sectors of the economy, not the shadow boxing that is going on in the name of anticorruption efforts, circumvent the harsh realities of the international oil market by bringing our refineries to work and stabilize the supply-side of the nation s economy, thus making it shock-immune to a large extent; it is a global economic reality that strict Keynesian demandmanagement principles is no longer the one-stop panacea to take emerging economies out of the woods, domesticating production and subsidizing investors in an era of pervasive protectionism is one sure way of encouraging the establishment of business, bring about increased employment, increased consumer spending and eschew income inequality. A billion Naira spent on hollow advertorials, shameful and unprofessional news reporting on NTA will not make any difference. It comes to suggesting that our country reputed to be a regional power has her sense of national pride at its lowest ebb which by every measure is a sad commentary; drawing on names like Ghana or other nations of the world to hammer a justifiable position for a decision we have to take for the wellbeing of our nation and her people is the height irresponsibility. This accounts for the reason we, more often than not receive a treatment of disdain and disrespect from countries aping our modest achievement; Ghana s selective protectionism against Nigerian businesses by my educated assessment is a huge indictment on the character of public servants saddled with the responsibility of tinkering our trade relations as it affects the external sector of our economy, with Humphrey Abba Ruma as the nations Commerce Minister, Nigeria experienced about the worst form of capitulation and embarrassment in the hands of Ghanaian bureaucrats. The removal of oil subsidy will not end corruption in itself as it is largely peddled, rather the corrupt operators will explore new ways to pervade their inglorious business tenets on the emergent scene, entrenched as they and their chums are. The list released by Senator Magnus Abe as companies sharing from the till is practically a roll call of PDP financiers, take it or live it, these men are the men with the financial muscle, clout and the backing of the establishment to attract DFIs into the country in the sector under review. The importation of petroleum products into the country is grand conspiratorial disservice that the Party in control of Government at the centre has systematically perpetuated for the last thirteen years and counting, it is a systemic way of feathering the nests of the party s financiers, it is the way they benefit from the slush fund resulting from petroleum import profiteering, but the fund dried up and Government has to look for ways to get funding if there will be any semblance of administrative responsibility . The importation of petroleum products into Nigeria means that Nigerians have to pay what obtains on the international market; two factors will work against our economic wellbeing in

this regard: the world oil price continues to appreciate in the face of current global economic woes and heightened tensions in the Asian Pacific (this will be aggravated if the situation in the HORMUZ strait is not decisively stemmed), and the continued sagging fortune of our domestic currency,(where the sum of the price elasticity for exports and imports in absolute term is less that unity: ex+em<1: see the Marshall-Lerner condition for the effect of exchange rate adjustment on a country s balance of payments). Overall the nation s economic output continues to take a dip, unbridled endemic corruption in the country fritters away billions of Naira that is spent on ostentatious goods and services largely imported into the country to serve no economic end, the petroleum products that we import is a consumer item that faces no competition as it were. Again at a cross-roads Government is talking about palliatives, PDP governments have offered one palliative too many, (than to just deliver the dividends of governance here and now), and in a manner as to give vent to opinions across the land that pooh-pooh the administrative know-how of the current leadership, Government had had to set up a committee of reputable and well-meaning Nigerians so-called to monitor and oversee the expend of proceeds realised from the increased consumer spending on petrol, which by every measure is a futile grandstanding. In premonition on the lack of sensitivity on the part of public office holders Rev. Chris Oyakhilome PhD in his closing remarks during the December 31st night service did emphatically remind public office holders that leadership is by consent and if so must put the people first before self (no doubt the prophet of God, by the Spirit of God was foretelling the imminence of wanton disregard for the people whose only crime was to vote in a party that has since distanced herself from the nation s foregoing realities and has become elitist in all ramifications), as we journey the path to nationhood my fervent prayer is that Nigerian leadership will be pro-people in taking a cue from the words of this able minister of the engrafted word.