Veteran journalist and founder of Daily Nigerian, Jaafar Jaafar, has launched a blistering attack on the handling of fuel subsidy removal, accusing President Bola Tinubu of handing over money meant for the poor to governors who have squandered it while ordinary Nigerians sink deeper into hardship.
Speaking in his latest interview on Kano-based Premier Radio 102.7 FM, Jaafar said when the subsidy was removed, the common man never knew what happened to the money, as allocations to governors were increased and shared.
“When the fuel subsidy was removed, the ordinary citizen did not know what was done with the money. Money was increased for the governors; it was distributed to them. Seeing the funds available in their coffers, they went ahead to splurge and squander it,” he said.
Jaafar said every leader, no matter how bad, has some achievements, and acknowledged that Tinubu has tried to restore macroeconomic stability, with Nigeria’s foreign reserves increasing.
But he said the President has failed woefully on the microeconomic level – where the life of the ordinary citizen is.
“So, he made an effort to restore that macroeconomic strength from the top level. But at the bottom level – what is called the microeconomy – there is a major problem. He failed on that end. Certainly, ordinary people are suffering. Goods have become expensive. Life has become difficult,” he said.
The veteran journalist said Tinubu, after removing subsidy, told governors “here is your money” and told citizens to go and meet their governors for relief — a decision he described in brutal terms.
“How can you entrust meat to a hyena for safekeeping? Do you understand? The common man is at the receiving end, and we, the ordinary people, are the ones bearing the pain,” Jaafar said.
“This is because governors will always prioritize their political survival, focusing on how to win the next election. That is their primary focus, not bringing relief or comfort to the masses.”
He noted that despite the trillions handed to governors, food prices have not come down and cost of living remains high.
Jaafar contrasted Nigeria with capitalist countries like the US and UK which, he said, still run robust welfare systems and do not leave the poor helpless about their next meal, education or healthcare.
“Even non-citizens or refugees in the UK, once legally recognized, receive monthly government support if they are unemployed. The government provides them with housing stipends and food allowances,” he said.
“So why should our government remove the little subsidy we had without putting in place any proper welfare system like those in the UK or America, which offer far more than the petrol subsidy we were receiving?”
He warned that rising insecurity – street gangs and phone snatching – is a direct consequence of hardship.
“You remove the fuel subsidy, and then you complain about rising crime rates. Naturally, they will increase because hardship drives crime. When someone feels suffocated by hardship with no means of survival, he buys a knife, goes out, and attacks someone to steal their phone,” he said.
Jaafar urged Tinubu, even if he will not restore subsidy, to devise a strategy that the poor can feel directly – making basic items like detergent and staple food affordable again.
On the government’s claim of saving N15 trillion from subsidy removal, Jaafar dismissed it as insignificant.
“15 trillion Naira is less than 9 billion pounds. To put that in perspective, the UK spent over 333 billion pounds in the past year alone on social welfare for its people,” he said.
“Meanwhile, in Nigeria, our total savings don’t even reach 9 billion pounds – 15 trillion Naira is barely 8.7 billion pounds. The UK has less than 70 million people, yet they spent that amount on their citizens to ensure social stability, prevent extreme poverty, ensure every child goes to school, and provide free healthcare.”
“Why can’t we in our country think about how to better the lives of the poor? Every time, it is the wealthy who seek power only to strip away the few subsidies that offer relief to the common man,” he added, calling on leaders to introduce initiatives that assure ordinary citizens they have a government that cares.
– Northern Nigeria Hub
