Defections: The limits of log-rolling
Sometimes when I am unhappy, I begin to write. The body metabolism needs balance. The normal body temperature is constant at 98.4. This must balance with blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol levels and other biochemical needs. On November 17, 1981, after I completed my MBA from ABU, I did my first article published in the New Nigeria. The caption remains “Time Delay and the Nigerian economy”. My MBA thesis was on network analysis of the maintenance of the turbine generator in the power plant of the Kaduna refinery. Then my SBS school mate Muhammad Haruna (Kudu) and my Nupe shoe cleaner was the acting of Editor of New Nigeria. I was pretty much unhappy with no work after the MBA, though I was asked to return to my job at the NNPC/Kaduna refinery. So I thought within the transition should put pen to paper. The NPN/UPN zero sum game was at play then. The Nigerians were and still remain the losers from the log-rolling games of the shallowminded Nigerian politicians.
Log-rolling put simply is scratching my back and I too scratch your back. Even animals accept log-rolling but with a difference. In July 1980, I was away in London and US for a break during my MBA course. What was striking was that I watched a TV programme on the log-rolling relationship by a British herder with his cows. The herder made an innovation whereby he placed a rotating wheel called “scratch my back and I scratch your back” any time he was milking his cows. The result was that he had better milk yield than before! See that a cow is better than most Nigerian ruling class and elites. Technically speaking, scratching the back of the cow was giving her more incentives akin to promoting a Nigerian with increased package. Under these scenarios, however, the cow would appear more rationale than the Nigerian elite ruling class.
Now compare the Nigerian ruling class as the cows that the common man is scratching their backs. For the wheel that rotates and messages the cow is the wealth they preside on their behalf. That is to say those in the three arms of government and the downsides. The poor workers in Benue State under Ortom and anti-grazing law bigots do not have salaries and other obligations. The bad governance in Benue has resulted in as they say 10 months and no infrastructure. The rotating wheel has broken no maintenance. The generator as the prime mover is unable to rotate again because some jokers have diverted the petrol elsewhere. Here, the poor masses have to contend with “religion as opium of the masses”. Unfortunately, the powers that be are using religious sentiments like the contrived anti-open grazing laws in Benue, Taraba and Ekiti states.
The destruction of his flocks through withholding their salaries and benefits was unacceptable and Ortom’s behaviour of using the religious card will not solve. Salary payment in management and administrative practices is not even a motivator in increased productivity.
The allocations from the Paris Club refund, intervention funds given by the federal government to relieve the back log of their salaries and pension have disappeared elsewhere. The notorious Benue among other states shifting their failures on religious and tribal prisms and orchestrated by the southern papers is an indication of the unreasonable log-rolling tendencies by parasites within the system.
The log-rolling menace of course came to a head when the PDP government of Olusegun Obasanjo came to power, effective May 29th 1999. In the first 8 years, the noise was that a Grand Old Party, the PDP, the “largest party” in Africa is destined to rule Nigeria for over 60 years. By implication, they were so amused and confident that, the federation account, the holy water was there for them forever to logroll between themselves. The logrolling stalwarts all they needed was the blessing from Obasanjo and state governors, the “Emperors”, to enjoy with no sweat. The rule of the game was scratching my back and I scratch your back.
What will explain the missing $16 billion or N5.84 trillion allocated for power projects than the logrolling agenda? All we know such a colossus amount of money missing should not be close issue, just like that. The cows have been messaged with this colossus amount of funds to deliver the milk (or electric power) but not a drop in the herder’s container. Now we have an amalgam of these questionable characters defecting in a wave of fear to get away with unexplained wealth. I have a solution that was decided by Murtala regime. Assets were valued to reflect the incomes of the civil servants.
Asset declaration should be observed before one takes public office and after. That is where some politicians have manifest contradictions between the opening balances and the closing balances and some log-rolling politicians abuse the court process to loot. Just calculate the true income of the indivisual for the period spent in government service and discount 50% as what he should have spent as his living expenses in the period. Thereafter take the individual net worth after tenure and match it with the balance from his services. If say one had total benefits up to N200 million any assets above N100million should be forfeited to the federal government as a product of corruption. Unless he proves in a court of law the legitimacy of the excess. Any wahala here?
If one does not understand the damage of log-rolling just consider once more the news report in the Daily Trust of Tuesday May 22, 2018 page 3 with headline: “FG: 15 agencies refused to remit N8.1 trillion under Jonathan”. It is not fairy tale but the log-rolling PDP again. The good news is that voters are becoming of age. As they say, one can take people for a ride for some time but not all the time.
Engr. Fari wrote this piece from Kaduna