Nigeria plagued not by poverty but priority setting -Reno Omokri, speaks on NLC nationwide strike

Khalid ABRAHAM

Social media influencer Reno Omokri has identified priority setting as a major problem in Nigeria rather than poverty noting statistics show Nigerian citizens spend billions of dollars on frivolities and non-profitable ventures.

Omokri a former aide of President Goodluck Jonathan made this observation in his Twitter handle – @renoomokri- on Monday.

He stated against the backdrop of removal of fuel subsidy that Nigerians fritter away $1.8 billions on gambling every year and waste billions of dollars on pools and sports betting, watching pornography films, and MMM ponzi schemes.

He posited this indicated misplacement of priorities deepening poverty asserting the amount wasted on gambling is equivalent to what is paid on fuel subsidy annually.

This is as he stressed the industrial action set to be commenced by the Nigeria Labour Congress is a misdirected venture maintaining resetting of priorities will be much beneficial.

“Before you conclude that Nigerians need fuel subsidy because petrol is too expensive, please be aware that according to Gallup Polls, Nigerians spend $2 billion (not Naira, dollars) annually gambling on sports betting, of which we only win less than $200 million. In other words, we are pudding away $1.8 billion. This is about the same amount of money our government was spending on fuel subsidy annually.

“Please research it by yourself. Sixty million Nigerians spend $8 daily on pools and other forms of sports betting.

“We also spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on porn sites, and three million Nigerians invested and lost $30 million in the MMM Ponzi scheme.

“If you remove emotions and study pure empirical data about how and where Nigerians spend their money, you won’t even listen to the Joe Ajaero-led Nigerian Labour Congress’s calls for a nationwide strike.

“Yes, Nigeria is not the wealthiest country on Earth, but our major problem is priority, not poverty. And fuel subsidy removal will force us as a people to prioritise our monies to achieve better outcomes in our lives, as well as give governments at various levels an opportunity to spend public funds on infrastructure and social services, like education, that will help Nigerians make better financial decisions than spending our monies on gambling, pornography, and Ponzi schemes.

“I know you are angry now. But am I lying? Truth is bitter, but better!”

insightonline.com recalls that President Bola Tinubu removed the subsidy on fuel while delivering his inaugural address on May 29, a move that forced increments in prices of petrol on two occasions. A litre is now being sold at between N580 and N650.