By
Stanley Omoniyi-Ajileye
I
love former House of Representative member from Kogi State, Dino Melaiye not
because he is an Ijumu man like me neither is it because we are both alumni of
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State. I love him for his boldness and
for self-confidence. However I think I have alternative reasoning on his
position on federal government’s decision on the petroleum sector.
I
need to say from onset that I belong to the school that believes that
government is not subsidising our oil by a kobo. I think the problem is that, our
leaders are either ignorant of the right word to use instead of subsidy or they
are deliberately deceptive based on feelings that all Nigerians are fools. If a
father calls his children fools, he remains their father.
Government
is getting it wrong; we should get it right and correct those in government. I
was a scholar of political economy and as such I often take a dialectical view
at issues. The issue at stake is that, we have an oil sector that is not working
and may never work for so many reasons among which is the fact that it belongs
to us.
Anything
owned by government belongs to all. Anything for all is in the real sense of it
for nobody. So, whether you vandalize, destroy or steal anything that belongs
to nobody, nobody will talk. Everybody will feel unaffected.
That
was why the Nigerian Telecommunication company, NITEL died; that was why
Nigeria Airways lost its wings and that was why our refineries may never refine
a drop of oil.
There
is a need to do for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC what former
President Olusegun Obasanjo did to NITEL monopoly. There is need to do in our
oil sector what was done to our aviation sector. Today Nigeria Airways is no
more but we fly more conveniently. Today NITEL is no more but we make cheap
calls. Cheaper than is obtained several places abroad. The last time I visited
the United Kingdom, Connect card of five pounds could hardly sustain my call to
Nigeria for five minutes.
Today
on some of the network in Nigeria, one can call the United Kingdom for N12/min.
That is what is achievable through liberalisation or privatisation.
The
truth is that there is urgent need for government to remove its hands from
business. I told a friend last week that government has no business in
business.
We
need private individuals to invest in the oil sector but the prospective
investors are asking for the operation of market force as a determinant of
price of the products. Like I said elsewhere, you and I will ask for the same
if we have enough money to throw in.
These
people want government kick start the system to see if we would go to the
street or not. Truly, no one will want to test run such huge investment. They
will need assurance of a violent-free operation.
Once
upon a time, you needed about N50, 000 to get a SIM card. At that time I got UK
mobile line for free in a gift shop at Piccadilly London. Today, we are getting
there. My baby of the house is a little boy of eight; he recently took one of
my abandoned phones and bought a N100 SIM card into it from his pocket. It is
getting cheaper. It may soon be free.
So
also, I foresee a day when oil will be so cheap here that gas stations or
filling stations as the case may be, will give out gallons of their brands of
engine oil as incentive to make us buy their petrol. This can only come true if
we privatize the sector.
I
need to explain this in simple economic rule. If government gives license to as
many investors as possible and allows them to sell at the price of their choice,
it is a question of time, the price will fall in two ways – it will force down Competition
and he desire for profit maximization will compel each of them to establish refinery
here to bring down cost of production.
So
when I read that my beloved friend Dino is calling on people to protest again
and that he is ready to die to stop the government, I said I should quickly
tell him not to die yet. We still need him and many patriots like him in our
state and our country.
The
life of one man may be worth than the economy of a nation. Imagine the number
of souls we have lost to our incessant street protests. I am not saying
protesting obnoxious policy of government is wrong. But, viewing each case on
its merit, this one is unnecessary. We only need to counsel government on a
better approach to the whole issue. But the truth must be told, it is either we
pay more today and pay less forever or we continue to protect the interest of
few who are eating up our national economy. Don't let us be the rodent in our
own groundnut field.
Stanley
Ominiyi-Ajileye is a media consultant and business owner, based in Kogi State
