"If you reason this country matter too much you fit craze"

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Suddenly, my brother blurted out, "Guy, Shey, you know say if our refineries dey function, subsidy no go dey o". Well, spending a few days in Lagos and having to go back and forth on double the transport fares will make you have such thoughts. So, I fully understand where my guy was coming from. 

Sometimes you get so angry at the system, and how things can be better done, and after some time, you calm down and then try to rationalize how powerless you might be in the grand scheme of everything. But anything for national development, right? If you can find a way of positively changing the thoughts of those in your immediate ecosystem, then all hopes might not be lost. 

Although another factor to consider is how unhelpful it is that you are dealing with some of the most optimistic sets of people you can ever meet. No matter how terrible a government policy might be, there will always be its defenders. Even if the consequences of such actions are laid bare at the end of the day, the standard retort is "We Move", but newsflash, we are not moving anywhere. 

There are the standard ways of doing things and the Nigerian way of getting things done. I can give you so many instances of this that if you decide to deeply think about each of them, my guy, "You fit actually ment". What is seen as jokes around here, what we wave aside, and see as usual, is so bizarre that only Nigerians can be pretty content with Nigeria. 

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Tell me, for instance, why the New Commander-in-Chief made a blatant statement without recourse to the protocol or consulting the concerned sector's major stakeholders? What were we all expecting? What are we all thinking? At least before any new government action is floated, isn't there supposed to be a form of plan in place? 

Where are the systems to enforce compliance? All we have is a whole country running on vibes, its politicians moving with the latest SUVs, making videos with trending songs, posting them on Twitter, and showing us just how "Tough" governance is. Many Nigerians are already aware that what is known as subsidy payments is just organised crime in all its elegance. 

We knew it would be removed one day; we even tried it in the past, but "Progressives" latched on to it, organised protests, and released statements on how the then government was bent on compounding the woes of the poor but aren't we at full cycle now? Anyway, we all knew it would be one day removed, no; no one just expected the mindless way it was done.

Well, our new commander or, better still, the "Presidency" has assured us that implementation will not start immediately, but we know the market reacts differently. Anyway, away from the current subsidy hullabaloo, and back to why you fit just dey craze dey go, if you too reason this country matter". 

That dream of having functional government refineries is a long one now. We have four refineries, but all have been left idle and non-operational due to a chronic lack of management. Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, but it has fully metamorphosed into a refined oil importer. And as expected, this has left the oil sector in crisis, which has motivated calls for the diversification of the economy. 

There have been talks of the erection of modular refineries to improve the sector. Billions have been earmarked in successive budgets to revamp the existing refineries, but oil prices remain high, prompting calls for urgent action to be taken. Trillions have been spent on subsidies in over a decade, and the situation remains the same. 

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The concept of Oil subsidy payments is excellent; if only it was done with due process in mind. But this is Nigeria, and we know that nothing is ever as straightforward as it should be. The central idea behind subsidy payments was to cushion the direct social consequences of having the crude oil refined by independent oil marketers. 

According to the Nigeria extractive industries Transparency Initiative, the government has spent over 13 trillion naira on oil subsidies in the past 15 years. That is a humongous amount of money, considering how this could have been reinvested in different citizen-centred initiatives that will directly have a direct impact. 

Anyway, that due process was thrown to the winds, and folks were registering companies with their sitting rooms as "Head office". Billions were paid in subsidy payments, which have caused different issues in the Nigerian political space. The central idea was for refined oil to be supplied by independent oil marketers and then subsidised by the government so the people buy it at reduced rates. 

Our refineries need to be functional, but they have not been for years now, despite the billions that are always earmarked for its revitalisation, as we call it around here. The concept of modular refineries is only as glowing as we have them on paper. In that case, do you only get to import refined oil, allow independent oil marketers into the space, and then directly subsidise oil prices so that the people do not feel its direct impact. 

It should be this simple right, but when the cost of running the government keeps increasing. There is no will to reduce this in any way; inflated contracts are the order of the day, where thousands of abandoned government projects are scattered around the country. Lastly, your foreign debt commitment keeps increasing to the extent that you use almost all of your revenue to service them. 

So, when it gets to this point, what do you do? Of course, you find ingenious ways to further break the backs of the people. Increase the cost of living with no commensurate increase in the minimum wage, and they have to just keep grumbling and make do with what they have. So, you see why I say if you try to deeply reason the country's issues, "you fit craze for real". 

Around here, we always act before planning. It is straight on putting the cart before the horse. Remember that the former president presided over 8 years, including two recessions, hyperinflation, high-level insecurity, a very high debt profile, and a non-existent national carrier. Then we act like everything is all fine and good while praying the new government favors our individual families.

Our obsession with individual prosperity instead of the collective has always puzzled me; That could be how we are all built; it has something to do with everything we hear in the religious houses. Despite how hard everything might be, I will have my way. Irrespective of how that "Way" comes through, a way is a way, right?

Lest we forget that in the past 8 years, we have heard the news of "Snakes swallowing Money" I think there was one of the monkeys too. Then there were one of the hundreds of millions used to clear bushes (You know we are trying to keep the country clean), and so many insane issues that we are grateful that we have humor as our coping mechanism. 

In the last national elections, the independent national electoral commission budgeted 355 billion to conduct the polls we recently witnessed. Judging by the quality of those elections, you can then conclude if you saw a democratic process that was done with over 300 billion as its budget. No other words for real. 

I could go on highlighting issues, but I honestly do not like to be this person. Despite this country's hydra-headed problems, we can do better, and the country can be positively repositioned. But to do this, we need a plan, a solid one at that. Despite our differences, we need to agree on the best way forward as citizens. Enough of the focus on strong men and the consistent emphasis on politicking instead of governance. 

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Only a credible leader with a strong governance pedigree can help us. One that can strengthen our governance systems to the extent that they are only loyal to the Nigerian people and must not be any individual. The rule of law needs to be positioned as that. Enough of the many issues of "Technicalities". The law can be clearly interpreted, and every action should be met with the appropriate consequences, or we are all still playing.