By Mumini Abdulkareem
A renowned Islamic group in the country, The Muslim Congress (TMC) has called on Nigerians to support the federal government’s policy on removal of fuel subsidy even as it called on the citizens to hold the government to task on the deployment of the over one trillion naira savings that would accrue to the country.
This position was advanced by the Kwara State Coordinator of TMC, Engr. Muhammad Bashir Ariyo during the virtual Annual State lecture organised by the group in commemoration of the country’s 60th independence anniversary which was themed: “Balancing between Atheism and Science in a World Ravaged by Pandemic Diseases”
While reiterating that the topic effectively captured the essence of the challenges being faced by the nation at the present time, Ariyo said the Covid-19 pandemic has brought untold trauma on the psyche of the people and continues to wipe away the livelihoods of millions all over the world including Nigeria.
He said “Nigeria has certainly experienced a mixed bag of fortunes and our economy, infrastructure and security have had setbacks that we have to continue to deal with as a people as a result of leadership inadequacies and the lack of vision by the followers.
“The coronavirus pandemic has issued us an unpalatable scorecard regarding the state of our economy, infrastructural development and security architecture. It simply means that both the leaders and the led have a lot of work to do in order to create a society that is responsive and responsible enough to protect us in normal and abnormal times”, he added.
He therefore “urged our people in elective offices to eschew corruption and focus on the development of the nation by implementing people-oriented policies and projects for the collective benefit of all” and “urged the ordinary people to be patriotic and to have the progress of the nation at heart.
“There is a huge debate going on in the nation regarding the removal of subsidy on petrol and electricity. It is a necessary debate that must be viewed dispassionately. The subsidy is supposed to benefit the poor but unfortunately it is the rich that are smiling to the banks at the expense of the poor. The fight against corruption in the oil industry has yielded little dividends. The need to build more refineries has failed over the years.
“What then can the nation do in order not to continue to waste about one trillion naira yearly in the name of petrol subsidy? The only difficult but necessary thing to do is to remove the subsidy and allow the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry. This way, it is hoped that the needed investment in the industry will be realised leading to the creation of more jobs for the people. We can then take the government to task regarding the savings from the subsidy removal which can be used to fund more infrastructural development and also expand the Social Intervention Programme (SIP) to provide succour for more poor people.
“This is the honourable way to go rather than further worsening the already poor economy by embarking on labour strikes that are of benefit to nobody other than the subsidy-collecting petrol importers”.
He also appealed to people with separatist ideas and agenda not lose hope in the country by calling for secession. According to him, what makes Nigeria great is the diversity of her human and material resources and the vast geographical expanse. Once these are diminished through secession, the greatness is as well immediately diminished.
In his remarks, the Guest Speaker and Director Public/Corporate Affairs, Voice of Nigeria, Alhaji Abdulrazaq AbdusSalam said COVID -19 is one of the ways Allah has proved the limitations of science.
