I come from a country where a lot of government workings are marred with irregularities and blatant corruption. Everyday we wake up to bogus sums of tax payers' money budgeted and spent on frivolous items that does not make any difference to the average Nigerian on the streets.
Overtime, there have been allegations and accusations of budget padding, with many items on the budget inflated by the different MDAs and the National Assembly, with the excesses embezzled and siphoned for personal enrichments. These have left core and important areas that require proper attention to be left scraping reeling in mediocrity.
One of the most fraudulent areas of the yearly Nigerian budgets that leaves a lot of room for questioning is the issue of subsidy. The Nigerian federal government has been engaged in this shady practice since oil was first discovered in the southern part of the country. The concept of subsidy involves the government offsetting part of the importation cost of fuel for the companies importing the products.
With the three refineries in the country left in ruins, the country exports its crude oil to foreign companies, and then in turn import the finished products from these foreign companies. The budget for subsidy always runs into trillions of naira yearly, and could sometimes take as much as 25% of the total budget.
This always leaves essential areas such as education, health, and general infrastructure disadvantaged with regards budget allocations. The trillions of naira invested in subsidy could be used to develop both the infrastructure and human resources of these other essential areas of the society.
The most important here for me is the education sector. It is believed that education is the anchor upon which the fate of a society hangs. Without quality education that meets up with global best practices, any society is set up to be doomed. The Nigerian education sector has been in coma for a very long time now and is gradually losing its breath as the system keeps getting worse by the day.
Starting from the very grassroots of nursery, to primary, to secondary, the education system is left in tatters as the basic needs like tables, chairs, writing materials, textbooks, etc., are unavailable for pupils and students to make use of. In the Nigerian education system, a kid's has to provide lockers for their children to be able to write in school, which shouldn't be so.
Numerous times primary and secondary school students are seen sitting on the floor to write tests and exams, or standing under tree shades to have classes. These are harsh conditions that are tantamount to the conditions for best learning.
If the monies that are constantly pumped into the subsidy program are redirected into the educational sector, then this country would be in a better position than it is today. The Nigerian government should remove the subsidy and invest it in other essential areas like education, that's what it is.
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