Professor Andrew Efemini
I am still shocked that there was no public outcry over government announcement that Dangote refinery will sell at International fuel price. This statement is enough to trigger a #endfuelexploitation in Nigeria.
At the time we were selling fuel at N97 per litter Venezuela was using its refining power to sell fuel at N4 per little. Remember the former Ambassador of Venezuela to Nigeria who exposed our criminal pricing of fuel? Hugo Chavez the leftist leader of Venezuela who was alleged to have been inflicted with cancer used the low fuel pricing to cause class conflict in the United States.
Now, I reject 500% international pricing for Dangote refinery. International pricing means that price instability will still be our portion. Pure stealing and evil of primitive accumulation of unpatriotic capitalist exploiters. The reason refineries have been deliberately put out of service and refineries not enough in Nigeria is the import cartel has become so powerful that critics like us are playing with our lives.
Do you know that two reasons are chiefly responsible for the shameful value of the naira; fuel imports and government deliberate plan to spend in naira what meagre resources it earns from foreign deals?
Do you know that Nigeria’s non functional refineries have workers earning wages for over 20years while the fuel cabal hold us hostage. This is where PENGASON and NUPENG are as guilty as boko haram bandits. They are even implicated in the undercurrent deals in the distribution of hyper inflated fuel prices.
What these unions fail to do in the oil industry is what ASUU is doing in the university. Protect the system from ruin by IMF and World Bank anti people prescriptions.
THOSE BENEFITTING FROM FUEL IMPORTATION
- Foreign refineries who create jobs outside Nigeria and unemployment in Nigeria.
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Banks who do round tripping foreign exchange deals.
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Shipping companies who rip the poor with near unchallenged monopoly pricing.
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The distribution chain from the jetties to end users.
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Supervising government agencies who are bribed to kill local refining.
- The oil subsidy czars in NNPC and government.
MOVING FORWARD
- There must be deadline for ending fuel imports in Nigeria. Something like 3years is more than enough.
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Knowledge should be used to deal with the issues.
When I say don’t blame Buhari, do you see the reasons? The issues are complex.
Andrew Efemini is Professor of Philosophy of Development at the University of Port Harcourt.
