The State of The Nation, By Prof. Mufutau Adebowale

The present economic situation of the country is unbearable to the generality of Nigerians. We are faced with serious hardship.

The architect of our problem are the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Road Transporters and Food stuff are serious contributors to the hardship. They have been making households, students and unemployed people to grapple with inflated cost of living. Additionally, crime rate is now on the increase.

To deal with the transporter and Food Stuff Sellers, the government is helpless. The government cannot clamp down on them.

The solution to the fuel crisis and outrageous food commodities prices and transport fare is very simple. For twenty four years now, I have been confronting the irregularities in the Petroleum supplies activities in the country and have been recommending effective solutions to the government of successive Nigerian Presidents.

In the year 2000 and 2001, I recommended Petroleum Supply Distribution Commission that will formulate the modality for the Independent marketers to be having their depots. This was in order to create buffer stock of fuel and eliminate scarcity while expecting new consignment of fuel. With the Independent Marketers of Fuel when they have depot like the major marketers, there will be no fuel scarcity any more. Before I made this recommendation, it was only the major marketers like Mobil, Texaco, Elf, Total and others that had depots. As the population of Nigerians was on the increase there was the need for the Independent Marketers of Fuel to also have Depot. President Obasanjo put in place the Commission. The Late Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi was made the chairman of the Commission. The PSDC worked accordingly and the independent marketers was allowed to be having deport for storage of fuel. They now call the deport TANK FARMS. Many Nigerian see this as laudable on my part but the government do not give me any award for my positive contributions. The commission PSDC was later turned to Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) which is now the defunct.

During the tenure of President Jonathan my advice helped. I sent letters and made press release several times. See “Fuel Subsidy CIPSAN urges FG to establish Refineries Activation Commission” in Daily Sun Newspaper October 21, 2011 page 58. The commission was establish and within 4 weeks our refineries boosted 70% production capacity. See the Newspapers of march 12, 2012.

The Second Time still, during the tenure of President Jonathan after my letter of advice to the President, all our refineries achieved 60% Production capacity. See “Nigeria Refineries Capacity Utilization hits 60 percent” Guardian July 15, 2014 page 21 Nigeria Engineers were used, no billion or millions of dollars spent to engage foreign experts. Everything was through my advice to the president. As a result of my activities, many persons gave me kudus and were expecting the government to give me national award.

Coming to the administration of President Buhari, I advised him ahead of the inauguration of his government. I send details to him through the Emir of Daura on April 21, 2015. The outcome made his administration hit the ground running as the trap NNPC usually set for every administration did not work. Just within 5 working days in office as the President, the was fuel everywhere in the country. That only, made the top authority in NNPC to be in panic. They were afraid of the no-nonsense General Buhari and there was serious anxiety. See the newspaper The Nation, June 18, 2015, front Page under the caption “Anxiety at NNPC ahead of Buhari massive shake-up ”

President Buhari started well but those powerful cabal who want to take possession of our refineries eventually prevented the shake – up in NNPC. They over powered his administration. The refineries were actually kept moribund by the NNPC. That fuel importation to continue and also payment of subsidy continued. Importation of fuel goes along with subsidy payment.

I have been confronting the oddness in fuel supplies for 24 years now. During the Tenure of Presidents Obasango and Jonathan our refineries were not close down at all. Now that they are closed down the Cabal manipulating the NNPC are strongly at work. They operate dynamic network which include pressure group of advisers giving mis-guided advices to the government. During the Tenure of President Jonathan and Obasanjo the exchange rate was not up to 180 Naira to a Dollar but now that our refineries are closed down and NNPC spent 840 Bilion Naira every month to buy dollars to import fuel, the exchange rate for one dollars to Naira is over One Thousand Five Hundred Naira. This is too bad. The danger Millions of Nigerians now face is that those powerful people with millions of dollars will not want Naira to appreciate at all so that they can be able to buy up peoples properties massively and begin to enslave the poor Nigerians enmass.

The Solution is very simple. In just Two month after the NNPC is thoroughly over hauled and our refineries are working, a dollar can exchange for 400 Naira or below. Brain Drain will stop automatically. Nigerians being enslaved abroad will rush back home. Fake products and disused secondhand cloths will be no more for sale.

I have been sending information to President Tinubu since almost two years now. I have send important information 17 times to President Tinubu through eminent Nigerians but no any acknowledgement received till today.

I sent through one notable traditional ruler in Osun state, one in Lagos State and one in Ogun State yet no acknowledgment.

In one of my letters of advise, I advised the Government to be conducting periodic performance appraisals for the ministers every three month and every year to evaluate their effectiveness or lack of it. As at now no acknowledgement no commendation letter from the government. I think some top civil servants are now claiming the credit for my works.

SOLUTION
The minister of finance and the coordinating minister of economics declared in August that federal government spent 600 million dollars on fuel importation monthly. See Tribune August 8, 2024 page 6. The actual point is that the minister, the Presidential economic council (PECC) and the economic management team emergence task force (EET) get it wrong they all get it round the PEEC and PET where created in march with a deadline of six month to turn around the economics. Now we are in October and we cannot see any progress made at all. The Six month period has expired.

The Actual point is that the critical problems Nigerians are facing now are the unbearable cost of transport and cost of feeding are not addressed. The powerful enemies of Nigerians are the motor transport operators all over the country. They increase transport fare out of proportion to the actual fuel price increase. They are very rash all over the country.

For an example, a long bus caring about 60 passengers that normally charge 400 Naira per passenger from Oshodi Lagos to Sango in Ogun State are now charging 1,400 naira per passenger. From Ibadan to Lagos the fare used to be 1,200 Naira but now it is 4,500. The most annoying part of it is the drivers and conductors are wild and rude. They shift the blame on the government. The food stuff suppliers also are exploitative everywhere they also shift the blame on the president and the transporters (Bus owners). At every major bus stop the anger is tense. If care in not taken the youths and transporters may begging to clash everywhere now.

The Government is trying by distributing palliatives to the people. During the last Christmas period the government paid part of transport fare for some Nigerians travelling to their respective home towns. The pertinent question now are: for how long will the government be paying transport fare for Nigerians?. How many Nigerians will benefit from this?
Seventeen times for almost two years now I have been sending solutions ho to tail the

In the Punch newspaper from October 16 page 34. It is reported that “FG plans cash transfer for 20 millions poor Nigerians” for how long can the government be doing this.

Seventeen times for almost two years I have been sending solutions on how to tame the transporters and food stuff suppliers to the president through eminent Nigerians but no response. It requires a tailor made approach from place to place and within six days transporters will be subdued.

The government as set up Federal Competition and Consumers Protection Commission. They approach the matter wrongly no authority can use iron hand to deal with market women selling garri, yam, rice. Motor transporters Keke Napep and Okada Operators cannot be handled with iron hand by the government. They will instantly device a painful system in response and the masses will suffer the more.

Palliative, cash distributions are not helpful at all. President Bola Tinubu is working very hard. The Government is running fast but Facing a wrong direction the poor masses are suffering from the effect of huge transport fares and high cost of feeding. The transporters will not reduce transport fare even when petrol and diesel are sold for 10 naira per liter. They are inherently exploitative and inconsiderate. The solution for bringing transport fare to what they used to be one year ago is available. Even now