There is always a right way of doing things and that is what the Nigerian government should have done before subsidy removal.
You see, subsidy is gone, but it will leave scare on the financial standings of many Nigerians.
Those who are prepared and know what to do will have less effect. unfortunately, those who are not prepared for the storm would have trouble weathering it.
Ever since the subsidy removal was announced, people are still trying to figure out what would happen to the price of their food items.
While they look for the best approach, there is something a Public affairs analyst, Matthew Olukwu, believes could help.
He says this his suggestion should have been done to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.
Mr. Olukwu gave insight into what the Nigerian government should have done earlier today while appearing on iBrand TV’s flagship programme ‘iBrand DayBreak’
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Cushion Effect Of Subsidy Removal
There is a lot that happens from the beginning of a farming season to the period that the produce or processed product will get to your table as a meal.
One of the variables in this chain is transportation. But the government did not give attention to this transportation thing before removing subsidy.
Nigeria is not an economy grounded in ‘work from home’ opportunities.
We are a people that love that our workers are in the office even when they can work from home.
As a result, people must move around and that will mean they must bear the rise in cost of transportation. Sadly, this transport increase will affect the cost of other food items.
Gas Vehicles To Replace Petrol Cars
But the public affairs analyst wants the government and Nigerians to look at converting vehicles that use fossil fuel to vehicles that use compressed natural gas.
According to him, it is an alternative to the transportation problems Nigerians are facing in this season.
Mr. Olukwu wants the NLC to add another demand to their request to the Federal Government.
They should ask the government to provide alternatives to fossil fuel. This could be done by converting vehicles that run on fuel to gas, he insisted.
Expanding his view, the public affairs analyst, said “go and check Kerosine, it has been deregulated long before now.
“Check diesel also, it has been deregulated long before now, the price of kerosine as we speak is around ₦700 to ₦800 per litre.
“Yet people are not complaining because there is alternative, they are using natural gas to cook.
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“So if we make vehicles that run on natural gas available as alternative to vehicle that run on fuel, nobody will be complaining about subsidy removal.
Blessed With So Much Gas
“Do not forget that Nigeria is so blessed with natural gas a resources that we are always flaring gas”.
According to the NNPC, Nigeria has about 202 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of untapped proven gas reserves
Olukwu, encouraged the NLC to insist that the government should make provision for converting vehicles that run on fossil fuel to compressed natural gas.
It is a way of resolving the issues around transport hike.
He submits that this is what should have come first as a measure to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.
Indeed, it should precede the removal of subsidy that is gradually plunging Nigerians into untold hardship.
