Following the declaration announcing the removal of fuel subsidy on January 1st 2012, Nigerians took to the streets as immediately as January 2nd protesting the sudden fuel price hike which they deemed unreasonable. The people could not fathom how corruption and the expenses of government officials will be so high while the citizens continue to struggle under the weight of poor policy-making.
It was also strange enough to Nigerians that the crude oil that is exported from Nigeria is being re-imported as refined petrol and sold for bogus amounts. That the same petrol is being imported by corrupted oil marketers and cronies of top government officials also sounded crazy to them. It was not helpful that the only excuse the Federal Government had was that fuel subsidy propagated corruption in the oil industry and the local refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri produced at a capacity that was insignificant to the fuel needs of the nation hence, the need for imports.
The agitation against the increment was hot and it rose so fast that labour unions had to declare a nationwide strike almost as immediately as nationwide protests began. People took to the streets, blocking off minor roads and creating bonfires with tyres on major roads while the more intellectual citizens had a galore of analysis and criticism of the government in diverse media. The media also helped greatly to mobilise protesters as people used Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and other channels to the maximum.
The Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress (NLC/TUC) coalition had succeeded in mobilising enthusiastic Nigerians into downing their tools and totally shutting down the country. There was no economic activity, neither was there any movement into or out of the country.
The response was unprecedented by the Jonathan-led Federal Government. His ministers, Okonjo Iweala and Diezani Madueke, struggled to no avail to reason with the people and ensure the pressure on the government to reverse the subsidy removal would not be successful.
Until recently, when the subsidy scams have even worsened, Nigerians have always seen petrol subsidy as a relief on the badly performing economy. Many citizens have held the fear that their economic fortunes, or the lack of it, would get worse if fuel subsidy was ever removed. The fuel subsidy removal which the Jonathan administration proposed then indicated a rise from N65 to a bogus N141 – which is more than 100%. It was the boldest and most drastic policy move since the start of the 4th Republic.
By January 14th 2012, after a lot of consultations, negotiations and meetings, lest the government be totally crippled and violence continue, the administration ceded to pressure from all quarters and agreed to declare a new partial subsidy price of N97 for a litre of petrol. Surprisingly, Nigerians took the midway approach to the conflict with their government and reluctantly agreed to the new price regime for petrol. The Labour Congress and all other protesting bodies decided to call off their action.
The agitation which built up to a recognizable stage of violence did not go down without claiming its own share of innocent lives lost by the action of overzealous government armed personnel. In all, about 17 lives were said to have been lost while several more were injured in clashes which ensued with security forces and towns such as in Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Ilorin, Ibadan amongst other parts of the nation.
In as much as a lot of Nigerians will agree today that they were wrong to have opposed the fuel subsidy removal back then, many still see fuel subsidy as a necessary government handout to placate the suffering of the citizenry. But as is evident in the subsidy scams which still continues to rock the nation even until today, almost 6 years after #OccupyNaija, it is evident from all indications that Nigeria would have been better for it down the line if we had allowed the subsidy removal to swing.
#OccupyNaija was a period of severe citizen participation in a matter of public policy, it was a golden opportunity Nigerians had to maintain the momentum of their intervention at the time. One can only hope that going forward, Nigerians would be ready to stand together in a time when patriotism is needed and demand for what is their fundamental civic right- their voices.
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