Dear President Muhammadu Buhari,
Sorry I will be skipping the necessary greetings
conventionally attached to a letter like this due to the severity of the
matters arising. I write this letter to you with indescribable pains and sense
of disappointment in my heart concerning the shocking removal of fuel subsidy
which you claimed was non-existent while you were vying for presidency.
According to you, you said you never heard of it given during your time as the
Petroleum Minister in 1976 after being appointed by the then Head of State,
Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo. We the masses believed you and crucified former
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan whom we hurriedly sent back to his hometown
in Otuoke, Bayelsa state. During your Chatham House speech in London last year,
2015 prior to your victory, you emphasized that your continued contest for
presidency 4 good times over the years, namely 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 was
borne out of your strong will to salvage this nation from the selfish hands of
unscrupulous leaders before we finally reach a blind alley and we queued behind
you with our little strengths after being economically dehydrated by the
PDP-led former administration.
We the masses also believed and trusted in you to help set
Nigeria on the right course after our 16-year old ordeal in the hands of
leaders of the People's Democratic Party who heartlessly defiled our treasury
thereby leaving us at the mercy of the ruthless tongues of world leaders like
the British Prime Minister David Cameron who has described us as a
'fantastically' corrupt nation. The elites in Nigeria who were enriched by the
bazaar of the previous administrations such as the $2.1 billion arms deal scam
stood against you. The PDP wetted all grounds with mind-boggling amounts of money;
bribing our traditional rulers in the South-west with dollars in a bid to
influence our voting decisions but we stood for you sir. We all saw hope in
Nigeria through you. No matter how far we believe we could stay away from
Nigeria, history still has it that it is our home. We picked up our Permanent Voters’
Cards, PVCs wielded them in the air like weapons and stormed the various
polling units; our war-fronts where we fought for the destiny of Nigeria which
was clouded with the onslaught of treasury looters.
Dear Buhari, you were our last hope of bringing succor to
this nation which has almost been turned into a curse on the populace. But
today, you have not only gone back on virtually all your campaign promises, you
have also compounded our woes. If you can't take us out of the Wilderness to
the land of Canaan as promised, why don't you leave us there rather than ruin
our lives in the deep Red Sea. The increment in fuel price negates the view of
a former Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Professor Tamunoemi David-West's
expectation of you to reduce the pump price to N40 due your benevolent nature.
You intelligently took a safe position by not responding to the viral promise
which played out well for you politically. I am pushed to assume Nigerians were
not your immediate target but the exit of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who is
busy picking up empty international awards for the good works of being 'fantastically
corrupt'.
Dear Buhari, the blood of the 7 brave people of Birin
Bolawa and Birin Fulani in the Nafada district of Gombe state who gallantly defied the fear
of Boko Haram fighters to vote for you during the presidential elections before
they were attacked will be flowing endlessly at the announcement of the removal
of the subsidy which I believe was concluded before your attendance of the
anti-corruption summit in the United Kingdom.
Sir, I remember the resistance you displayed each time the
Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu brought up the necessity
of the discontinuation of the payment of fuel subsidy by the government which
was only satisfying the selfish interests of the fuel marketers. You expressed
deep concerns about the untold hardship on the Nigerian masses that stood gallantly
and shamelessly behind you during the ultimate search for your Senior Secondary
School Certificate. We all affirmed our faiths in you and promised to still
vote you even if you tender a 'NEPA bill' for such a position of high esteem
like the presidential seat. For the first time in the history of Nigerian
people who attach so much importance to academic qualifications rather than
skills and intelligence, we looked down on the highly coveted doctorate degree.
Your decision also confronts me with the fear that may soon
be cowed into the devaluation of the naira which you have stood against for
reasons of hyper-inflation and excruciating economic discomfort on the people
considering the languid nature of our economy as well as our taste for foreign
products.
Mr Oga, the removal of the fuel subsidy is a betrayal of the
trust we have in you. It is really disheartening. I hurt so bad as I pen down
my words at the wee hours of the day considering how massive I supported you
during the heated presidential elections. Nigerians have been so patient with
the near-negative change since May, 2015 when you took over. Every governmental
process from your team led to different dramas with thrilling episodes. It took
you 5 months to appoint your 'angelic ministers' and also 5 months to sign a
mercilessly padded budget whose culprits are still in government with re-assigned
offices despite assertive threats from you. You have a record of the longest
fuel scarcity in the history of Nigeria running into invariably three months
while you exhausted your locally refined 'excuses' that filled the petrol tanks
of our vehicles and other power-generating sets. The first class certificate
and Exxonmobil experience of Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu failed and is still failing
woefully in ameliorating the brouhaha. I am forced to think our problem isn't
in the textbooks but a carefully designed indigenous initiative to satisfy the
interests of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, related agencies and
the ‘indispensable’ independent oil
marketers who have shown their level of superiority over governance clearly in
the last three months.
We have all bought fuel for unspeakable prices in the last few
months sir excluding the presidency. You created million of jobs for Nigerian
youths in the petroleum sector through the growth of the black market that saw
supposedly visionary Nigerian youths display their Shylock tendencies. We lost
a promising youth in Festac Town, Lagos in the fuel scarcity crisis after being
allegedly shot by an official of the Nigerian Security and Civil
Defence Corps and the crime has
gone unanswered till date simply because the victim was the child of a common
man just like the kidnapped Chibok girls and the victims of Fulani mayhem in
Agatu, Benue.
Mr President sir, you have released several diplomatic press
statements I strongly feel were produced without your knowledge because this
administration is very similar to the previous one in terms of talking the talk
and not walking the walk. You keep telling us you know we are suffering and you
feel our pains while you constantly hang in the air en route 24 countries since
you emerged as president in the last 11 months but sir pardon me to call that a
'presidential lie' orchestrated by the journalistic skills of your media aides,
Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu who have waited all their lives to enjoy the ambience of the Aso Rock villa.
Baba Buhari, you are in Nigeria but you are far from
Nigerians. You feel our pains no more. You are so disconnected from the people
that entrusted their votes in you. The field of Political science where I
secured my masters degree teaches me that this is the first indication of a
failed government because a true leader is the full representation of the image
of his people. You are the president of Nigeria because of us. You are our
special SERVANT but the irony is that there is no service here.
My father at the age of 65 went to the polling station in
Ibadan, Oyo state as early as 8am during the presidential election. As he was
leaving, he was motivated by your plans for 'CHANGE'. After voting, he stayed
back to monitor and 'defend' his vote till it was counted with his weak
strength.
He danced to the advent of a new Nigeria at your victory. I
was sad to call him that you removed one of the only viable government
subsidies the poor have been enjoying in Nigeria since independence in 1960. He
screamed in shock and disappointment when he heard the new price of fuel is
N145. Buhari, this is where we are now. I know you are very good at ignoring
criticisms and views of Nigerians in the media which is paramount among leaders
with military backgrounds. I know my opinions don't count but posterity for
have it on record that I spoke out to a man I supported with all my heart in
the face of fears of islamization of Nigeria, membership of Boko Haram, tribal
domination issues, widespread institutionalization of Sharia law, political dictatorship,
old age factors amongst others which Governor Ayodele Fayose and his opposing
PDP reiterated on with highly sponsored articles in all aspects of the media.
We were defiant in our course; we stayed focused to the end. Even when they
induced us with money, we 'chopped' it like Ponmo and followed our hearts.
Jonathan's election loss despite expending a whooping sum of
N2.2 trillion according to the Punch confirms our unflinching support for you
sir.
In fairness to you sir, your intentions are good but this
particular move of oil subsidy removal is a hard decision that will end up
being fatal and detrimental in the long run. It will increase the level of
inflation we have on ground already. I am sure Madam Aisha Buhari hasn't told
you the price of tomatoes in the market sir. Even a popular Nigerian singer,
Waje Iruobe humbly wailed on social media at the high price of the local
commodity.
This government is currently struggling to provide jobs
thereby forcing the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed to
desperately set out to provide at least masquerade 1,000 jobs in the practice
of our culture. That's a brilliant idea anyway if his family members and the
children of the elites could lead the race like the Central Bank of Nigeria's
backdoor recruitment.
Furthermore, this current administration is also toiling hard
to increase the minimum wage of federal civil servants from a minute amount of
N18, 000 which is long overdue. This administration is struggling to also
diversify the economy in the face of economic downturn and heal our sick naira.
This administration has recorded several almost-insolvent states that can't pay
the salaries of workers despite being oil-rich. This administration also
produced the 'top achiever', Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde
Raji Fashola who has increased electricity tariff by 45% despite producing more
darkness than ever. In fact the power bills represent our usage of SUN light rather
than electricity.
Several private companies are folding up due to high running
costs in the face of economic hardships. Some surviving small and medium-sized
enterprises, SMEs are struggling to pay salaries with their workers surviving
on anti-corruption news which realistically can't sustain the human body according
to science.
What will be the fate of the masses if at the end of the day,
there is no equitable distribution of petroleum product across Nigeria with the
fuel subsidy removal? We will surely be at the mercies of selfish black
marketers selling products at cut-throat prices that could even skyrocket to
N400 or N500 if it persists. Where are the necessary palliatives needed to
cushion the adverse economic effects of the price hike?
We are in danger!
Nigeria has been stolen from us overnight.
In simple terms, people are not getting enough money but they
are conditioned to spend more money. That's pure hardship that doesn't
represent a government that promised us a change of the status quo.
Baba, I swear make I nor lie for you ehn, this 'CHANGE' nor be
am at all, it also needs a 'change' abeg.
Yours Sincerely,
Osayimwen
Osahon George
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