Sir: When the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan (GEAJ), decided to remove fuel subsidy in 2011, he threw up a debate over it. Nigerians became divided. Many said he should not remove subsidy. Many other persons said the whole idea of subsidy was meaningless in respect of petroleum produced in Nigeria. Still many other persons said if removing subsidy would bring the desired development GEAJ should go ahead.

Labour forces and human rights activists mostly objected to subsidy removal, saying it should not be an excuse to increase fuel price and suffering of ordinary Nigerians. But on January 1, 2012, GEAJ increased the price from N65 to N97. We were told that subsidy had been removed 85 percent. Instead of the development promised by GEAJ, however, we saw unbridled corruption.

How can the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), say he can no longer pay any subsidy, and then fix fuel price? It means fuel scarcity is here to stay, or we wait to see how his arbitrary approach will work.

I told GEAJ in 2011 that instead of removing fuel subsidy, he should block leakages, and pursue the whopping sums of money stolen from the fuel sector. History is repeating itself. If GMB meant well, he needs not be told to assume that he has nowhere to borrow money, and so, should pursue the looted funds squarely; remove budgetary duplications; bloated figures, huge sums on sports, presidency and National Assembly, etc. in favour of essential recurrent expenditure and infrastructure.

In our circumstance, we should drop “Women Affairs” and face Human Affairs. If such pruning is done holistically, and looted funds are pursued, there will be no need to borrow, and the country will develop within a sustainable extent. How much did China borrow to develop? Why should we, instead of fiscal discipline, emulate America and other Western nations whose debt culture has not favored us? A state once borrowed billions of Naira. The loan brought a new stadium, a football academy, two football teams and aviation school, against water and roads. The successor established Arabic Board, recently.

Whatever PMB borrows will go into fighting Boko Haram, and will also be looted.

• Pius Abioje,
University of Ilorin.