When a crook is confronted with the reality of his ways, he naturally retreats into the denial mode. Is it then a wonder why, with almost no exception, those who have helped themselves to our common riches have pled not guilty when hauled before the courts. The basic tenet of law which stipulates that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty has been stretched to incredulous limits, even in the face of the most undeniable of evidences and money trails. They are also aided and abetted by those unscrupulous semi-humans called SANs who utilize all manner of delay tactics to frustrate the efforts of the State at clawing back that which was stolen. Then you have senators (who might as well be called detonators of national wealth) who troop along to the courts in 'solidarity' with their accused own. All of these have portrayed the EFCC, and other agencies saddled with the recovery of our stolen assets, in an unflattering light. The EFCC, in particular, has been accused of incompetence and heavy-handedness, and even contempt of court in some cases. Intimidation of the courts and spurious counter-allegations against sitting judges are the order of the day. What could be more insane than the shameless show of inanity by these rogues in politics? Isn't Nigeria then deserving of the tag of a 'fantastically corrupt' country? However strong the whiff of hypocrisy in David Cameron's pronouncement on Nigeria, he was essentially right. It is incumbent upon us to shed the shameful tag of being fantastically corrupt and the only way to do this is to behead the dragon of corruption that is destroying the very fabric of our national identity. A spade is a spade, no matter what one calls it.
The deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry has attracted mixed reactions, and accusations and insults have been flying all over the place. This was to be expected, so it isn't a novelty that a change in government policy would evoke such mixed emotions, and it is a healthy development. Whether one is for or against deregulation, the courage of the government in bringing about this policy cannot be denied. I was one of those who kicked against the previous government's attempt to adopt this policy and I had my reasons then. The tsunami of corruption at the time would have prevented ordinary Nigerians the benefits accruable from such a policy. In this era of intolerance to corruption, individuals and corporate entities alike will be able to enter the downstream market that has hitherto been the premise of the very few privileged. This will lead to more and better competition which can only be good for the consumer in the longer term. The hundreds of billions of Naira that will be saved from axing the fuel subsidy will be readily available to be expended on capital projects which will be of tangible benefit to all of us. I'm pretty certain that, over time, Nigerians will realize the absolute necessity of this course of action. The days of unencumbered economic sabotage by the thieving cabal are definitely coming to an end.
Now that the budget has been signed into law, can Nigerians now heave a sigh of relief? Well, much depends on the implementation. What we're crying out for is timely and diligent implementation. There can be no more excuses, no rigmaroles, no ifs, no buts. Nigerians expect that the only way should be up now. The APC government is now on trial, the honeymoon period is well and truly over.
Oh, by the way, it is pertinent to implore David Cameron to now put his money where his mouth is and expedite the return of our pilfered assets, both in the UK and in its Crown Dependencies, so that Nigeria could become a fantastically robust economy. Ah, almost forgot, David, why don't you confront the allegations of electoral malpractices leveled against your Tory Party before you go round insulting Nigeria again. That would be most helpful, bro.
The deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry has attracted mixed reactions, and accusations and insults have been flying all over the place. This was to be expected, so it isn't a novelty that a change in government policy would evoke such mixed emotions, and it is a healthy development. Whether one is for or against deregulation, the courage of the government in bringing about this policy cannot be denied. I was one of those who kicked against the previous government's attempt to adopt this policy and I had my reasons then. The tsunami of corruption at the time would have prevented ordinary Nigerians the benefits accruable from such a policy. In this era of intolerance to corruption, individuals and corporate entities alike will be able to enter the downstream market that has hitherto been the premise of the very few privileged. This will lead to more and better competition which can only be good for the consumer in the longer term. The hundreds of billions of Naira that will be saved from axing the fuel subsidy will be readily available to be expended on capital projects which will be of tangible benefit to all of us. I'm pretty certain that, over time, Nigerians will realize the absolute necessity of this course of action. The days of unencumbered economic sabotage by the thieving cabal are definitely coming to an end.
Now that the budget has been signed into law, can Nigerians now heave a sigh of relief? Well, much depends on the implementation. What we're crying out for is timely and diligent implementation. There can be no more excuses, no rigmaroles, no ifs, no buts. Nigerians expect that the only way should be up now. The APC government is now on trial, the honeymoon period is well and truly over.
Oh, by the way, it is pertinent to implore David Cameron to now put his money where his mouth is and expedite the return of our pilfered assets, both in the UK and in its Crown Dependencies, so that Nigeria could become a fantastically robust economy. Ah, almost forgot, David, why don't you confront the allegations of electoral malpractices leveled against your Tory Party before you go round insulting Nigeria again. That would be most helpful, bro.
