The contradictions of Nigeria under this administration are quite
pathetic. You have a state government that cannot trace the killers of
the wife of an evangelist beheaded in broad day light in Kano even
though the event was caught on camera, then you have another state
government that is able to trace killers of hundreds of its own citizens
to Cameroon and Niger and when they traced them-wait for it-they did
not apprehend them. Instead they offered them money not to kill again.
No. this is not an excerpt from Steven King's latest horror book. This
is an excerpt of life in the new and improved Nigeria!
And the contradictions continue to pour in.
On Monday the 5th of November, 2916, President Buhari complained about
the demands that Nigerians were making on him and ended his lamentations
by asking Nigerians not to make expensive demands of him.
A president who built an expensive helipad for his personal use in Daura
with taxpayers money now asks taxpayers not to make expensive demands!
Indeed, #ChangeBeginsWithMe!
If President Muhammadu Buhari knew the demands of the office were too
much for him then why did he contest for the office four times?
If I were to advice the President, I would tell him to choose his words
carefully because his defensive words today may be offensive words
tomorrow.
And yet another contradiction is the ugly news from the NCC. When the
madness from the Nigerian Communications Commission reared its ugly head
in the form of the attempt by the Buhari administration to hike the
tariffs for GSM and Internet services, I immediately saw it as a
desperate attempt by the federal government to source for funds to pay
the 200,000 N-Power graduate employees it had promised to employ.
After repeated promises to employ them and even more repeated delays in
the date they were to resume, the Vice President eventually set a
resumption date for the scheme as 1st December, 2016, the same date that
the federal government through the NCC had set as the start date for
the new tariffs.
Coincidence? As a life long student of mathematics, I am convinced that
there are no coincidences and this latest 'coincidence' only
crystallizes my belief.
Like someone said on Twitter, other than Nigeria, I can not imagine
another nation that will devalue its currency, increase fuel and
electric cost yet leave wages the same!
Little did I know at the time I was reading that tweet that the government was toying with another tariff increase.
And when it suspended the data tariff hike, after public outcry, the NCC
said it did so to enable it do consultations? My response to them is
that they should not waste their money. I, Reno Omokri, have consulted
on their behalf and free of charge at that and here is the
verdict-Nigerians reject it!
It is wrong really for officials whose electricity tariff, fuel and GSM
plans are paid for by taxpayers to increase fuel, power and GSM plans of
the people!
In truly progressive nations, it is the regulator that forces
telecommunications firms to lower prices. I am dumbfounded that in our
case, the regulator is the one seeking an increase. I thought the
federal government said they were going to spend their way out of the
recession? From the look of things, their plan seems to be to tax their
way out of it!
In my opinion, rather than direct GSM firms to hike rates, the NCC
should invest in free public Wi-Fi for the advancement of knowledge in
Nigeria. Free wifi would boost the type of thrift and industry that
Nigeria needs to come out of her present recession.
It will enable unemployed youths gain access to a treasure trove of
publicly available information that they can then apply to creative
ventures that will lead to jobs, businesses and vocations. The human
mind must be engaged and if it is not positively engaged then it is a
must that it will be negatively engaged.
And of course I sympathize with the Buhari administration on its need to
source for funds to pay for N-Power and other poverty alleviation
initiatives. However, they should not tax the poor to provide for the
poor. You tax the rich to provide for the poor.
On the second of December 2016, Forbes magazine reported that China has
begun implementing a 10% additional tax (additional to regular sales
tax) on luxury cars.
In justifying the tax, the Chinese ministry of finance released a statement in which it said
“In order to guide rational consumption and promote energy saving and
emission reduction, the State Council [cabinet] has approved a
consumption tax on luxury cars.”
Nigeria's leaders expose their hypocrisy when they turn up for public
events in their long convoys of very expensive and foreign cars!
This is a country that manufactures cars. Nigerian automobile
manufactures now make bulletproof cars (partially made in Nigeria) so
there is no reason for anyone, including the President, to drive in long
convoys of obscenely expensive Mercedes Benz and BMWs. The government's
Naira hardly circulates within Nigeria. Rather, our government
officials make the dollar, euro or Japanese Yen stronger by their
purchase of all things foreign!
Rather than increase the tariff on GSM and Internet rates, the federal
government should direct the Federal Inland Revenue Service to take a
cue from China and tax the super rich who import luxurious cars "in
order to guide rational consumption" in Nigeria. If China, which is in a
much better financial position than Nigeria, is doing it, what are we
waiting for?
But instead of taxing the rich, the FIRS announced that it is about to
implement a policy where Nigerians would have to show a tax clearance
certificate before being able to apply for an international passport.
I mean what type of authoritarianism is this? An international passport
is a right not a privilege. A government cannot deny it to its people.
Even Nigerian citizens who become naturalized citizens of The UK, the
USA, Canada and other such nations apply for passports without having to
produce anything other than their identification and either a marriage
or birth certificate yet in their own nation by birth their government
is coming up with a hare brained idea of requiring tax certificate
before a passport can be applied for!
Rather than target the long suffering masses of Nigeria, wealthy
Nigerians can and should pay their fare share! We are all witnesses to
the larger than life lifestyles of the rich. First Class cabins on
British Airways are still regularly filled up by those for whom
recession is 'just a word'.
Additionally, we all read how President Buhari, a president who has only
brought austerity where he met prosperity, recently had his daughter
betrothed to the son of a billionaire who splurged ₦44 million on gifts
for the President's daughter! The funniest thing is that a few miles
from the house of the President's would be in-laws are refugees from
Borno who don't have enough to eat.
That these acts are occurring at a time when the government is toying
with taxing the poor out of existence only shows that some are mourning
while others are celebrating!
A situation where the cost of everything skyrockets except salary and
wages should not continue into 2017 except it is a deliberate attempt by
the Buhari administration to rapidly reduce Nigeria's population by
ensuring mass starvation!
Before President Jonathan increased fuel prices, he first increase
salaries and wages for civil servants, the military, the paramilitary
and for members of the National Youth Service Corp. That is a government
and a President that is connected to its people!
And just before I conclude this piece, let me touch on the fourth
contradiction and just say that the presidency's response to the Emir of
Kano, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II is most pedestrian. How can anyone in
his right mind call Sanusi Lamido 'ignorant'! Really? Ignorant!!
Even if Garba Shehu was directed to issue that statement he should also
direct his mind to know that there is life after directives!
Even before President Muhammadu Buhari indicated an interest in running
for the office of President of Nigeria in 2002, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (as
he then was) was one of his first advocate who, as early as 2002, had
publicly promoted the idea of a Buhari presidency as the panacea to
Nigeria's many leadership woes.
Was he 'ignorant' then?
The same Sanusi was the poster boy of the All Progress Congress when he
made allegations against the Jonathan administration to the effect that
it was unable to account for $49 billion. At that time, the APC took out
center page advertorials promoting Sanusi and castigating the Jonathan
administration. Was he not 'ignorant' then?
I doubt if amongst the ministers and appointees of the Buhari
administration there can be found any individual who is as knowledgeable
as Emir Sanusi.
Is it Buhari's minister of finance who graduated from a polytechnic
(University of East London was a polytechnic when Kemi Adeosun attended
it and that is her highest academic qualification, BSc economics and a
post graduate diploma) or the minister of budget that does not know how
much Nigeria owes, or the sports minister that thinks Nigerian athletes
are too hungry to go for the World Cup. Tell me who amongst Buhari's
ministers is as enlightened as the erudite and intellectual Emir Sanusi?
The Buhari administration would do well to listen more than it insults
or the economy may collapse even further than it has. Then we will know
who is truly 'ignorant'!
Had this government hit the ground running rather than hitting it
blaming, Nigeria will not have experienced the present recession.
They have blamed former President Jonathan, blamed ex President
Obasanjo, blamed the Peoples Democratic Party, they have blamed
Nigerians, they have blamed their perceived enemies and now after
running out of people to blame, they are now blaming their friends.
Popular News
-
Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer affecting the membrane lining of the lungs and abdomen. Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious o...
-
A witness has said neither Atiku Abubakar nor President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should be declared as presiden...
-
A broadcast journalist with DAAR Communications Plc, Ms Ijeoma Osamor, testified on Friday at the Presidential Election Petition Court (P...
-
The United States has announced that starting March 1, 2023, it will increase visitor visa validity from 24 months to 60 months for Niger...
-
Drivers of ride-hailing apps in the country, Uber, Bolt, LagRide and Indriver, have embarked on a nationwide strike on Wednesday, June 7. ...
-
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new announcement to Nigerians. The NCDC said that the COVID-19 Omicron...
-
The Monkeypox disease has been declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation, on Saturday. The global health bod...
-
Veteran actress, Kate Henshaw has taken to Instagram to share adorable photos with her daughter. The thespian shared photos of them rock...
-
The daughter of Pele, Kely Nascimento, who is apparently distraught at his passing, has confirmed her father's death at the age of 82...
-
Breaking news about iceland country incredible but true if you are interested read the full story iceland team was able to achieve an ...
-
Italy have been crowned champions of the 2020 European Championship after defeating England 3-2 in penalties on Sunday night, July 11. ...
-
“Every improvement contributing to your outstanding experience is our daily motivation.” - Remitano Every product and feature on the Rem...
-
For the quarter, added 537,000 residential and small enterprise business internet customers versus 380,000 within the prior year quarter....
-
SMS marketing is a marketing channel which allows businesses to message customers with marketing messages through SMS, or more commonly kn...
-
Breaking news about iceland country incredible but true if you are interested read the full story iceland team was able to achieve an ...
-
Happy New Month Nigeria! Welcome to the month of June. As the world searches for a respite from all its troubles since 2020 began, one can ...
-
An Israeli professor has claimed that coronavirus will disappear after 70 days with or without intervention. The unproven claims were ma...
-
The Remitano founding team has always maintained the belief and vision that blockchain and cryptocurrencies are a big step forward for s...
-
Would you believe it if someone tells you that cayenne pepper has the power to stop a heart attack within a minute? Believe it or not, thi...
-
Apparently, ginger, a well-known spice we frequently add to different dishes to enhance the flavor, has the power to prevent cancer. But, i...
- bitcoin
- bitcoin mining
- Coronavirus
- dr anu nigeria
- coronavirus china
- Benefit Of Ginger Water
- Bobrisky
- Buhari
- coronavirus cure
- benefits of drinking milk
- Biafran War
- coronavirus death rate
- coronavirus outbreak
- dede one day mansion
- coronavirus update
- History of Biafra
- How To Make Ginger Water
- eri
- How to save your phone battery
- is 5g dangerous
- Kobe Bryant
- Jennifer Aniston
- kobe bryant family
- latest nigeria news paper
- kobe bryant wife
- latest on nigeria news
- naija news
- Malignant mesothelioma
- nigeria news
- Mesothelioma survival rates
- newspaper online in nigeria
- nigeria news breaking
- nigeria news headline today
- nigeria news of the day
- nigeria news paper online
- nigeria newspaper
- nigeria news paper today
- nigeria news today & breaking
- nigeria newspaper online
- nigerianewspaper
- nigeria newspapers
- Regina Daniels
- online dating scams
- Side Effects Of Eating Corn
- t mobile data usage
- online nigeria news
- what is tiger nut
- tiger nuts
- Tyson Fury
0 comments:
Post a Comment