BETWEEN COMMON SENSE AND POPULISM SEUN AWOGBENLE argues the need to cushion the impact of oil prices on the most vulnerable in society Look, make no mistake about it, we are currently in a fight for SEUN AWOGBENLE argues the need to cushion the impact of oil prices on the most vulnerable in society Look, make no mistake about it, we are currently in a fight for the soul of our nation.
The contest is between those of us on the right of the argument who are opposed to the reversal of fuel subsidy and those on the left who are looking to take the country back to the biblical Egypt.
But to reduce the argument to merely ideological would be to miss the point; it is more roundly a contestation between common sense and dangerous populism.
I have always believed that in building a nation there must be issues that are outside the remit of politics, irrespective of where you belong on the political spectrum.
But I am also under no illusion about the divisive nature of politics, so while it is okay to diverge on the approach to development, there are times when national interest must trump personal ambition or the visceral quest for power and put the nation first. And there is no issue that mirrors this situation more accurately than the dangerous refrain by some opposition figures to take Nigeria back to the ruinous fuel subsidy regime. The real danger is not just in them saying it as an attempt to poll better or sway voters to their side. When you consider the relentless determination with which they are defending this reckless proposal, one begins to wonder if they truly mean it or if it is only drama taken too far.
MSEApp News is publishing an original rewrite of this tip for readers, based on reporting associated with THISDAY.