A VOICE OF REASON?

FORMER MINISTER OF THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY MALLAM NASIR EL-RUFAI

The public comments made recently by Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, have attracted some fairly harsh attacks. But, in his latest article at least, there is little justification to be found for these.

In his analysis Mr el-Rufai for the most part sticks to clear-headed examination and practical suggestion, steering clear (most of the time at least) of personal attacks or unfounded accusations.

He first repeats his earlier call for increased transparency, pointing out that those in power cannot justify their actions by reference to details which they then refuse to make public. Surely every Nigerian would agree that this is the case.

In the following paragraphs, el-Rufai effectively deflates the arguments of those critics who have attacked him on the grounds that he is now apparently anti-deregulation – yet while in power was one of its leading proponents and implementers.

This attack is nullified by drawing a differentiation between fuel subsidy removal and deregulation. It will only be true to say that the oil and gas sector is being deregulated, el-Rufai argues, when the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is enacted into law. The government has repeatedly stated its commitment to pushing through this bill, and in fact agree with el-Rufai on its importance.

A rather more sensitive issue may be el-Rufai’s critique of the amount budgeted for government operations – an amount which, he says, cannot be justified given the daily struggle faced by so many Nigerians, a large proportion of whom live on less than $2 a day.
Again, it is difficult to find cause for disagreement here, and again, this is an issue that the federal government has already acknowledged. Earlier this month, President Goodluck Jonathan announced a 25% salary cut for all employees of the Executive. It remains for the Legislature to follow suit, and for concerted efforts to be put into reducing operational costs wherever possible.

This will be essential in order to secure the good faith of the people, particularly as there may be more hardships to come before the full benefits of deregulation begin to be felt. Nigeria will only make it to the other side of that river if the people see that those in power are willing to lead by example.

Finally, el-Rufai calls on all Nigerians to study the budget for themselves – participating actively in the creation of a more transparent, equitable, socially just society. This is indeed everyone’s responsibility, and surely analysing the facts of the situation is a better use of time than another article focusing on individuals and scathing put-downs, rather than addressing the real issues.

So, as el-Rufai puts it: “let us debate the issues and cut the patronising crap!”