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    January 09, 2012

3 Killed as Nigerians Strike Against End of Fuel Subsidy

   Nick Loomis | Dakar, Senegal
   A protester holds a banner during a demonstration against a fuel
   subsidy removal in Lagos, Nigeria, January 9, 2012.
   Photo: Reuters
   A protester holds a banner during a demonstration against a fuel
   subsidy removal in Lagos, Nigeria, January 9, 2012.

   Mass strikes and protests against the end of a consumer fuel subsidy
   took place as planned Monday in Nigeria, despite an emergency session
   held in the House of Representatives on Sunday to avert the economic
   shutdown. The protests sparked clashes with police that have killed at
   least three people.

   Thousands across Nigeria observed the beginning of an indefinite strike
   called by Nigerian unions to pressure the government to reinstate the
   subsidy, which many Nigerians saw as the only benefit they received
   from the country's oil wealth.

   Delta State University lecturer Julia Obgede participated in the
   protest in Warri, where President Goodluck Jonathan has enjoyed
   popularity in the past.
   'So we are seeing the government as very, very mean. Not just
   insensitive, but mean and wicked to people, after we have supported him
   so much. I am ready anywhere, any time, so to hell with Jonathan,' said
   Obgede.
   Like most protest, the Warri event was peaceful, although 18 people
   were reported injured in Kano when police opened fire on a protest
   there.
   In addition to an increased security risk, the strikes threaten to hurt
   the economy as well. In an effort to avoid any impact, the House of
   Representatives held a special session and produced a motion asking the
   federal government to reinstate the popular fuel subsidy. The majority
   of legislators cast votes in line with popular opinion, and heckled
   those who defended the removal during the rowdy session.
   Representative Samson Osagie does not oppose deregulation through the
   subsidy removal, but he said that with rampant poverty and a growing
   sectarian conflict, now is not the time to raise fuel prices.
   "You must first of all have a country that is united, strong and alive
   before you can talk of economic policies. The truth of the matter is
   that this is a country that is on the brink of collapse - socially,
   economically and otherwise. Imposing additional economic hardship at
   this point in time, when people are killing, it is very ominous," said
   Osagie.
   The Jonathan government says the fuel subsidy was a sink of corruption
   that consumed 25 percent of the national budget. It has not, so far,
   responded to the House's motion.
   Opponents say the government should punish those who abused the system,
   not the general public.
   Dino Melaye is a former member of the House of Representatives and the
   leader of Occupy Nigeria, a group that has been camping in the streets
   in the style of the U.S. Occupy movement.
   "What we are losing to corruption in this country is about three times
   what we are losing to the subsidy. So let the president fight
   corruption and ameliorate the loopholes in government," said Melaye.
   Central to the subsidy issue is Nigeria's inability to refine the 2
   million barrels of oil it produces daily. The government says it can no
   longer afford to subsidize the refined fuel it imports and estimates it
   will save more than $7 billion this year, which it says will reinvest
   in the country's infrastructure, including oil refineries.