"Reverse Robin Hood": Tinubu Under Fire Over Electricity Tariff Hike, Subsidy Removal

• Professor Farooq Kperogi has told President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that "there is no courage in kicking" Nigerians who "are already down"
• Kperogi lamented that the masses are "down in the dumps" as a consequence of being "serial victims of a steady succession of cruel and self-serving governments"
• The social critic asked the Tinubu administration to rethink its electricity tariff hike which has spurred a range of reactions

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering public journalism.

FCT, Abuja - A US-based Professor, Farooq Kperogi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for bragging about his decision to remove subsidies on petrol at every opportunity.

Kperogi, in his weekly column on Saturday, April 6, 2024, said "there is no courage in kicking people who are already down".

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The scholar, who expressed his disappointment with President Tinubu accused the Nigerian leader of 'cowardice and callousness'.

Kperogi wrote:

"There is no courage in kicking people who are already down, people who are down on their luck, and people who are down in the dumps as a consequence of being serial victims of a steady succession of cruel and self-serving governments who are servile errand boys of the racist sadists at the IMF.

"There is no courage in oppressing the oppressed. That's cowardice. That’s callousness. It’s unrelieved maliciousness. And it’s not something to be proud of, not something to make a song and dance about. On the contrary, it’s something to be mortally ashamed of."

Kperogi kicks against electricity tariff hike

Furthermore, on the recent decision by the Tinubu-led government to increase electricity tariffs in the country, Kperogi said it is a bad choice.

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He wrote"

"Since Tinubu came to power nearly a year ago, he has never implemented any policy that gives even an ounce of solace to the poor. Instead, like Muhammadu Buhari before him, he is a proud reverse Robin Hood who takes from the poor to enrich the already rich, with the recent IMF-directed astronomical increase in electricity tariffs—which makes electricity in Nigeria more expensive for “Band A” users than I pay in the United States—the latest example.

"The only people who will benefit from the latest tariff hikes are Tinubu’s friends who own power generation and distribution companies. As a Tinubu-supporting friend pointed out to me on Friday, 'This is a government of the elite, for the elite, and by the elite.'"

What to read about electricity tariff hike:

• “Electricity tariff hike”: Step-by-step guide to checking if you’re on band A, B, C, others
• Like band A, Tinubu’s govt to extend electricity tariff hike to other customers
• Band A customers: List of Lagos communities affected by electricity tariff hike

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Electricity tariff hike: Northern elders lambast Tinubu

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) expressed disappointment with the recent decision by the Tinubu administration to increase the electricity tariff.

NEF described the hike as a complete disregard for the well-being of Nigerians.

The group said the breakdown of the new tariffs revealed an alarming burden that the average Nigerian will face in affording electricity daily.

Source: Legit.ng