Our Subsidy, Their Subsidy 

The Advocate By Onikepo Braithwaite Onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com

Subsidy Removal and Palliatives

The incessantly rising cost of fuel, due to the removal of the fuel subsidy, amongst other factors like the rising cost of the U.S. Dollar in relation to the Naira, the Dollar being the currency also used to import fuel and so many other products, has made life become increasingly unbearable for Nigerians, and Government, both Federal and State, need to implement cushioning initiatives as a matter of urgency, to assist the people through these difficult times. The primary purpose of Government, is the security and welfare of the people – see Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended in 2023)(the Constitution), and it therefore, behooves Government to alleviate the suffering of the people, and make sure we are comfortable. And, it is the masses that are in much need of these softeners more. We hope that this new administration will not continue in the ways of the old, where preferential treatment has always been given to the privileged, over and above the majority of Nigerians. This is outright discrimination, contrary to Section 42(1)(a) of the Constitution.

As far as I’m concerned, the most important and immediate step for Government to take as far as palliatives for the people are concerned, apart from immediately addressing the issue of the inadequate minimum wage of N30,000 per month, with the intention of doing an upward review forthwith, seeing as N30,000 is no longer feasible or realistic in Nigeria of today, is to also do something fast in the area of transportation. Kudos to Governor Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, who blazed the trail by providing free transportation for students and public officials in his State, to cushion the effects of the increase in fuel prices. Additionally, Public Officials are now only expected to go to work, three times a week. The Federal Government and other State Governments, should take a leaf from the book of Governor Abdulrazaq, and emulate his initiatives by providing free or extremely affordable mass transportation for the people. The moment transportation costs rise, so does the cost of food stuff and subsequently, there’s a multiplier effect. Nevertheless, palliatives are only a stop gap to assist the people, and not a permanent solution to the real problem – Government needs to settle down to address the problems in Nigeria’s fuel regime and perfect its vertical integration process, as soon as possible.

Government can also negotiate with our local car manufacturer, Innoson, to request that Innoson manufacture only buses for now. Would that not create additional jobs for our people, while easing the burden of the high cost of transportation with the increase in the availability of buses for public transportation? There must be an efficient and affordable transportation system to cater for the people, for society to run smoothly. The money that has been allocated to waste funds on vehicles and furniture for Legislators and other nonsensical expenses, can be channelled into public transportation. The interest of 469 Legislators, cannot supersede the interest of over 200 million Nigerians. The truth of the matter is that, Government cannot be telling Nigerians to tighten their belts, while feeding fat on our very scarce and limited resources. Public officials have either been elected or appointed to serve Nigerians, and not to live lavish lifestyles at our expense. Government must introduce serious cost-cutting measures, within its own ranks. How can you tell anyone that the only way we can progress is for us to fast, while you eat caviar and fillet mignon all day! Tightening of belts, must be all-encompassing. 

Blow Up or Cover Up?

Did Nigerians hear right, that MT Tura II was blown up allegedly with the 150,000 metric tonnes of stolen crude oil still on it? That sounds rather fishy and unbelievable, I mean, the part of the story that the vessel was destroyed along with the stolen oil. Apparently, 150,000 metric tonnes translates to over one million barrels of crude oil, which is worth millions of Dollars and billions of Naira, more or less Nigeria’s OPEC daily quota. That crude could have been made available to Dangote Refinery to commence petroleum refining activities immediately, or sold on the international market to our buyers. Who in their right mind, would throw away such a valuable product by blowing it up like that?

It was also not a good idea to make the vessel explode right there in our waters, as the environmental impact from blowing up a ship (even if the crude oil had been discharged from it, there would still be traces of it in the vessel) in already semi-contaminated waters, would further destroy the aquatic life in those waters, pollute the environment, poison and negatively affect those that live in the immediate area, even resulting in health issues like eye, skin and gastrointestinal problems, amongst other health implications; it makes more sense for MT Tura II to have been added to the Navy’s fleet or auctioned, while the proceeds of sale used for better ventures like cleaning up or developing the environmentally devastated oil producing area that the oil was stolen from. 

To be honest, I would rather align myself with the theory that the stolen crude oil may have been re-stolen since it didn’t seem to find its way back into the proper channels, as opposed to believing that it was destroyed, because it would be the highest level of absurdity and ‘Apa’ as we say in Yoruba, (wastrel, wastage), for officials of a country that cannot meet its OPEC quota, are aware of the precarious economic situation that the country is in, and even if they are unpatriotic and corrupt, know the value of the product, to destroy even one barrel of crude oil just to make an example which serves as a deterrent to other crude oil thieves. That goes way beyond cutting off your nose, to spite your face! With the history of Nigerian public officials and their penchant for bribery and corruption, it is more believable that some people somewhere have re-stolen the oil to resell, and put the profit in their private pockets. They should tell the story of the destruction of the oil along with the vessel to the marines, “because the sailors won’t believe you!” 

Meanwhile, where is the due process and rule of law in all of this? Should there not have been a thorough investigation into the oil theft, and a proper trial process before such a drastic step of destruction of the vessel MT Tura II was undertaken? It appears as if those who arrested the vessel appointed themselves as Judge, Jury and Executioner. Where does such happen, in a civilised society? 

Abuse of Office 

The House of Representatives are said to have launched an investigation, into the alleged destruction of MT Tura II. Hopefully, it will not end up being business as usual. If the crude oil is found to have been re-stolen, that would be a case of pure stealing and abuse of office. I am not aware of any law which allows any Nigerian authority or law enforcement agency, to destroy a vessel caught with stolen crude oil in it without following some due process, and if there is, it should be invalidated for its impracticality and  repugnancy.

Abuse of Office, is a criminal offence. Section 104 of the Criminal Code Act (CC)(applicable in Southern Nigeria) provides that any public official who does or directs to be done in the abuse of his or her office, any arbitrary act prejudicial to the rights of another, is guilty of a misdemeanour punishable upon conviction with two years imprisonment. The law further provides that if the act of abuse of office is done for gain, the offence becomes a felony punishable with three years imprisonment upon conviction. In Offoboche v Ogoja LG & Anor (2001) LPELR-2265(SC), the Supreme Court held that in proving abuse of office, a Plaintiff must establish that the Defendant abused his position, or that such Defendant acted with no semblance of legal justification. In the event that MT Tura II was blown up with the stolen crude oil still on it, and the Army insists that that is the normal convention or rules of engagement in such circumstances, then it may be difficult to prove that the offence of abuse of office was committed by those involved in its destruction. Such recklessness, or overzealousness, or even what we consider to be an error in judgement, if it is the normal protocol to destroy a criminal vessel in that manner, will not amount to bad faith or abuse of office in law. See Offoboche v Ogoja LG & Anor (Supra), and those involved in the destruction could enjoy protection under Section 2(a) of the Public Officers Protection Act 2004 (POPA). 

However, if the crude oil was re-stolen, that criminal act coupled with the aspect that the perpetrators may have hurriedly destroyed the vessel so that they could steal the crude oil for their own gain, while using the excuse that it is the normal protocol for such a thieving vessel to be destroyed immediately on apprehension, to mask their own sinister plan, is criminal, and the perpetrators are offered no protection under the law. Charges of theft, abuse of office, obstruction of justice amongst others, abound; of course, the burden of proof would be on the prosecution to prove this beyond reasonable doubt.

Still on Mr Emefiele

I had so many comments after my piece last week. While some people grudgingly agreed that rule of law must prevail, others believe that the ‘Law of Karma’, Retributive Justice, or the Biblical, ‘An eye for an eye’ is applicable in Mr Emefiele’s matter; that since as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele (Mefi) didn’t have much regard for the rule of law, especially when along with the Executive, they not only copiously breached the Section 38 Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 (CBN Act), but along with President Buhari knowingly flouted the order of the Supreme Court, and continued with their disastrous currency redesign policy, why should the rule of law now be extended to him? My response to this is that, building an orderly society must start somewhere, and there’s no better time than this, than with a brand new administration to begin. Therefore, for instance, while I applaud the arrest of MT Tura II, what ensued thereafter appears to be more of ‘jungle justice’ (destroying the vessel) possibly in conjunction with some criminality (if the oil on the vessel was indeed, re-stolen). It is akin to a mob beating to death or burning with a tyre, someone who is accused of stealing in the market, instead of handing the suspect over to the Police for arrest and further action. 

Someone also telephoned me and pointed out that Mefi is not special; that his fundamental rights are not greater than that of the thousands of detainees awaiting trial, being held in all the prisons across Nigeria without charge, let alone being tried, contrary to Section 35 of the Constitution, and it is time that Government embarks on a nationwide review of the files of all those awaiting trial or unlawfully detained. I concur. 

In the case of Mefi, would he be able to seek statutory protection under the law? See the case of Kwara State Pilgrims Welfare Board v Baba (2018) LPELR-43912(SC). For those who allege massive corruption in the multiple foreign exchange rate regime which he ran, and that the disastrous currency redesign policy wasn’t orchestrated necessarily to curb vote buying (which has nothing to do with monetary policy), but was about vengeance and ensuring that the public turned against the APC Presidential candidate and not vote for him out of the bitterness of being starved of cash, such acts may qualify as bad faith, abuse of office and other corruption and money laundering offences. It would be left for the prosecution to prove its case, and the courts to decide. See the case of CIL Risk & Asset Management Ltd v Ekiti State Government & Ors (2020) LPELR-49565(SC).

Palliatives are meant for those who need it the most; but, in Nigeria, the opposite appears to obtain. E be like say, Palliative get grade. The richer you are, the more you get! Or rather, palliatives are only meant for public officials. What’s the point of removing the fuel subsidy, only to use the gains from its removal, or palliatives to cushion the effects of the hardship of its removal on the people, to subsidise NASS Members? Why should people who make use of the bus, tube and other forms of public transport to get to their offices, grant you debt forgiveness in order to purchase state-of-the-art cars and spend on lavish living? Tah!