Nigeria is a country with a population of about 223.8 million people, according to the 2023 report by the United Nation. 84 million Nigerians wrangle in extreme poverty, surviving below $1.9 per day, while 133 million (63 percent of the country’s population) are multidimensionally poor, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The analysis signified that highest percentage among the Nigerian population are suffering from extreme poverty, with this situation, the government has instantly removed fuel subsidy, which has led to further immersion in extreme poverty from any part of this country.
Six weeks after President Bola Ahmad Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, in response to claims that the subsidy regime favoured the rich more than the average Nigerians, among other reasons.
To mitigate the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians, Tinubu has directed the National Economic Council (NEC) led by Vice President Kashim Shettima to begin the process of providing palliatives.
When Nigerians are paitiently waiting for something good, suddenly, the federal government has begun to come up with ways to reduce the pain of this policy that citizens are suffering from.
Yesterday, The Spectacles reported that the President wrote to the House of Representatives seeking approval for ₦500bn to cushion the effects of petrol subsidy removal.
Tinubu’s request was contained in a letter sent to the National Assembly and read during plenary by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
The annoying thing is that the money that the government is trying to release as palliatives has made Nigerians think that federal government is not ready to assuage the sufferings caused by removing fuel subsidy.
In a simple calculation, a country with a total population of 223 million people, so if ₦500 billion palliatives distributed to the only 125 million Nigerians, the amount is translated to ₦4,000 per person, and if on the other hand, shared to all 223 million Nigerians, the amount is reduced to ₦2,242 per person.
In my own opinion, instead of this tiny amount of money that the government is planning to disburse as palliative is better not to start and look for other something tangible that will immensely benefit the general public, because sharing it will not reduce anything rather escalate more anger and suffering which may lead to instigate people against the government.
An opinion by Khalifa Ja’afar
