…Says part of the problem we have is that state Governors buy dollars at the end of after collecting monthly allocation to store wealth
ABUJA (SUNDIATA POST)- Grassroot politician and federal lawmaker that represented Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency of Kogi State in the 7th, 8th and 9th House of Representatives, Hon. T. J Yusuf has given his verdict on the performance of President Bola Tinubu after one year in office, saying that the subsidy removal took away whatever gain his administration and party would have gotten.
Hon Yusuf also stated that part of the challemges we have is that since the removal of subsidy, a lot of Governor who were getting N4.
.5billion now get up to N15bn and after collecting it, they use it to buy dollar to store wealth.
The former federal lawmaker who stated this while fielding questions from newsmen in his Abuja office on Thursday, said he does not belong to those category of people who had high hopes, maintaining that it might be reason why he is not disappointed by the state of the economy. Adding that, “the last administration of the same party, brought us about 40 years backward as a nation. So that this administration hasn’t taken us somewhere hasn’t done much damage than the past one. I could say okay. But of the truth, this is not where we should be.”
The Kogi-born politician who reminded that he was the one behind the motion against subsidy removal by the 8th House of Representatives in 2012, acknowledged that subsidy removal was a good thing to do, but that it was not properly articulated and managed and that there should have been processes.
According to him, “I articulated then that I’m not opposed to subsidy removal, as an Economist. But there are process to removal of subsidy. And there’s no country in the world that doesn’t subsidize. But it is wrong to subsidize fuel because you enrich and empower the rich more and impoverish the poor when you subsidize fuel. And until we put these things into perspective, we would not get out of this thing.
He said that the solution would have been that President Tinubu should have first put in place a one year plan but before the removal, buses and other palliatives in place so that after removal the effect would not affect other areas but not this removal removal, we are struggling to manage it. That’s why I said, I don’t know who counseled him.
Lamenting the policy somersault of the Tinubu administration, the economist said there’s nowhere in the world that you have economic policy from International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank being adopted in total in economy and it works. Those who are saying Tinubu’s policies need time to have positive impact are trying to encourage themselves because discouragement can bring despondency. So it’s good for the people to hear those kinds of things, but look at the dollar fluctuation, it’s only in Nigeria dollar fluctuate. Even the so-called Zimbabwe economy, when it was crashing, you still have dollar rate sustained for one month. But in Nigeria, 10 O’clock it is #1, by 3 O’clock go and check, it is something else. There’s nowhere in the world that you record those kinds of fluctuation, he said.
Furthermore, “It’s only in Nigeria that people do speculation as their business, it’s only in Nigeria that subsidy removal put more money in the hands of Governors. States who were taking N4,5 billion are now taking N15billion. An average Nigerian is not looking at the state budgets, but we are focusing on the National. Nobody is questioning that.
“This dollar fluctuation, a lot of state Governors buy dollars at the end of every month’s allocation to share wealth. That’s part of the challenges we have. It’s only in Nigeria that federating units come to Abuja every month to share money. There’s no federation anywhere in the world where such is practiced. Canada is almost like us; multilingual, large and they have oil. There’s nowhere the central government allocates oil blocs in Canada. The regions allocate, pay tax to the center. You that have oil, pay more. You’re taxed according to what you’re expected to have. But in Nigeria, we all gather at the table. So how do you promote ingenuity, people who think outside the box, when they know they are getting handout every month. NLC is talking about minimum wage and what have you, yeah, it’s good to have minimum wage. But in a good and ideal federation, you don’t have the same rate everywhere.”
On his assessment of the10th senate in terms of using the instrumentaliry of law making and checks and balances in charting the course for good governance, the real estate businessman said the 10th Senate, not just the 10th Senate, any Parliament in the world that cedes a right of choice of leadership to the executive would not be able to performe optimally. They are suppose to work together – parliament and executive, but there’s some degree of independence. When your legitimacy as a leader comes from your members, when you know that you can come in as a speaker or Senate President, and go back as a normal member, because you are first among equals. But when what sustains you belong to the other arm of government, it can never! So it didn’t start from the 10th Senate, it started from the 9th Senate, the 9th Assembly.
In the 8th Assembly, look at the contest between Dogara and Gbaja. APC anointed Gbaja, they were both of APC, but we stood our ground and elected Dogara. So when you have genuine, passionate, patriotic desire, the environment cannot allow you operate because, you have leaders who are looking over their shoulders, not to be seen as being paid evil with good because somebody extended olive branch to help you. Even when that decision you’ll take would be of good to the Executive, you don’t know how they’ll take it. So you now find people on the floor who want the executive to see them as being good boys.
So the 10th Assembly to me, has not been able to be what it should be because of the manner it came. Unfortunately too, the quality of men and women who are being recruited from the Nigerian society, is a reflection of where we are as a people, our values. So they didn’t come from Ghana, they’re Nigerians. So the quality has been on a decline. Every year, those who are coming are ill-equipped and the expectation of Nigerians too, because they are misplaced, put pressure on them not to do the right thing. An average Nigerian, once you win election, is about my wife gave birth yesterday, children school fees, what have you. But when they are criticizing you, they talk about the road. But when they’re enjoying you, they talk about those things. So they talk about the things that make people feel they want development, when they enjoy you, it’s about personal benefits. If you cannot throw the largesse, you’re not a good man. So the man who wants to do a good job, must be in the good books of the Executive to get things, so he can have resources to take. So that’s why you find a lot of good men loosing election and not come back.
On the passage of the Bill to revert back to the old national anthem by the senate, Hon Yusuf said, if in their wisdom they looked at it that the present national anthem does not really project us, as no nation makes tangible progress without a form of indoctrination. So I’m of the opinion as a people, from primary school, let’s teach ethics and values, and indoctrinate ourselves. This virtues we can’t change at the top. So maybe it’s their own cosmetic approach to trying to do those things. I can’t totally condemn it because, is “Arise, O Compatriots”, that inspiring or do we go to the old one, I don’t know? But I think we need some reorientation as a people. But I don’t think it should be at the top. It should start from School. A child should know that hey; I have a responsibility to make Nigeria a better place.
