Fuel subsidy: Nigerians groan over socio-economic hardship

Nigerians have further been impoverished following the socio-economic hardship occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal by the federal government.

Newspot recalls that after the removal of the fuel subsidy, the Federal government claimed it had saved over N1 trillion, although Organised Labour had queried that claim.

However, despite the revenue purportedly saved by the government, the astronomical increase in the prices of goods and services has continued unabated.

In Ilorin, Kwara State while fares have been hiked by over a hundred percent by transporters, charges on goods and services have also been affected with sales dropping drastically at fuel filling stations.

Speaking with Newspot in Ilorin, on Monday, Professor Abdulrasheed Abiodun Adeoye, of the Performing Arts Department, University of Ilorin, said, removing fuel subsidy is not the issue but what the government will do with the funds saved.

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”Before the removal, what strategies do we have to mitigate the removal and the fear that the money that will be realised from the removal will not be judiciously spent?

“Suffering is on the Nigerian streets, walking in the homes of the poor and destroying the economy. Government should negotiate with NLC and a living wage should be arrived at.

“The private sector should be rejigged through palliatives. In fact, our moribund Refineries must work while the poor must breathe. The present hardship is a flagship for human destruction and some of us still believe that this government will not fail in spite of the challenges,” he added.

Professor Hassan Salihu, a lecturer at the University of Ilorin, admitted that “it is really true that Nigerians are facing hardship from all fronts in terms of socio-economic conditions.

“The way forward for me, is for the government to review its plan and tick the boxes on those that can be fast-tracked in making the citizens happy.

“For instance, the idea of giving N10,000 to every vulnerable Nigerian to cushion the effects of subsidy removal on transport, is not realistic, because, it has not factored in the high cost of food items in the market and the cost of training the children in schools,” Professor Hassan stated.

He declared that “my position is that the programmes that have been rolled out by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, are good though in the long term.

“But Nigerians are saying that they had seen similar things in the past that never worked.”

Professor Hassan, described the president’s palliative programmes as “futuristic” whereas the citizens want an immediate soothing balm to the threats they face from the effects of the fuel subsidy removal.

Another resident, Adegboyega Lukman, said the current situation in the country is not fair as the hardship continues unabated affecting all socio-strata of the society.