He described the recent removal of fuel subsidy as cheap government propaganda to divert Nigerians’ attention from the misgovernance and “irresponsibility within the political class".
The President of the Nigerian Law Society (NLS), Kunle Ogunba (SAN), has said that fuel subsidy is not Nigeria’s problem.
He described the recent removal of fuel subsidy as cheap government propaganda to divert Nigerians’ attention from the misgovernance and “irresponsibility within the political class".
Ogunba said he agrees with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that it is the innocent Nigerians who bear the brunt of the real problem of Nigeria, which according to him, are misgovernance and palpable impunity within government circles.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Ogunga said, "We ignore the obvious and the persistent impunity starring all of us in the eyes and fall for cheap government propaganda of subsidies to divert attention from the misgovernance and irresponsibility within the political class.
"We all know what the problem is, which is impunity, profligacy within government circles, ‘corruption’ simply put but we allow our cleavages (ethnic, socio-political connections, personal gains et al) to becloud our sense of judgment.
"Why should the masses be offered the wrong end of the stick all of the time? This government has clearly marked itself out as anti-masses from the onset. From the way it has set out with the phantom subsidy issue, it is clearly premeditated and unfortunate.
“It [the new government administration] didn’t conduct independent investigations of its own, no statistics of its own, no consultation whatever, no pretense to address the take home of those to be affected, it was just whimsically done on the first day, at the swearing-in, where is that condoned in any part of the world?"
Ogunba, therefore, suggested that there are low-hanging steps the government could take to send a clear message of seriousness and that it is no longer business as usual.
According to him, with all the brouhaha caused by the recent currency exchange, the first port of call for the new administration would have been to beam a searchlight on some of the perpetrators involved in oil theft in the country.
He said, "There are cases of corruption in high places, for instance, where one government official who was recently found with over N80bn in his accounts and that of cronies,” adding that "The inaugural address is drab and uninspiring and in the midst of it threw avoidable confusion in the polity by subsidy tantrums."
He asked, "Why the haste, if one may ask, why not properly settle down in the office first?”
Ogunba said, “The politicians are our major problem at our various levels of government and God will help us all out of their firm grip otherwise, we are all doomed and no reasonable progress can be expected in the immediate and even in the foreseeable future!"
He, however, called for peace and patience, encouraging Nigerians to limit their movement and to avoid panic buying of fuel.