Wickedness in High Places
There is a sinister narrative that has gone viral on social media which laments that major world leaders do not have children but they are making decisions about the present and future of the world. The logic behind the post is that a grossly disproportionate number of people currently making decisions about Europe’s future do not have direct personal stake in that future. The correlation between (in)ability to have children and decision making is not up for discussion today: what I am perturbed about is that Africans, Nigeria in particular, who seem to care about their posterity care less or not about the future of their children.
Recently, the Enugu State House of Assembly passed into law a bill approving that pension be paid to all former governors and deputy governors. This includes salary, medical, furniture and accommodation allowances and cars which are replaced regularly. Their cooks, chauffeur and security are also well provided for, all at the expense of the taxpayers. It is on record that Lagos State was the first to pass this obnoxious law which has since been replicated by 21 states of the federation, Enugu being the latest entrant. This controversial law is currently being challenged in court. One wonders why Enugu State would choose to go the path of infamy and controversy when one considers that many states have had to rely on hand-outs from the federal government to ensure their viability. The other more pertinent question: is this the priority of Enugu State residents at the moment? Undoubtedly, the answer is in the negative.
Our lawmakers may need to be reminded of their primary assignment in the chambers. Clearly, many of them are oblivious of their primary assignment, or have chosen to deliberately derail from the honourable path of making laws for the citizenry. I am baffled as to how they have decided to repudiate core important matters of nation-building that can positively affect the lives of their people, while vigorously pursuing contentious matters capable of self-destruction.
By this act, the state House of Assembly would be denying the majority of people of the state funds meant for development, thereby draining the state and denying the citizens of meaningful development. As if this is not bad, generations yet unborn would have been raped of resources which could be harnessed to better their standard of living.
The average salary of the Nigerian worker based on the national minimum wage remains N18,000. So the annual salary is N216,000. After serving the state or federal government for 30 years, his gratuity and pension is a paltry sum which often times is not paid regularly.
On the contrary, a governor or deputy governor who served the state for eight years is entitled to hundreds of millions of naira on a regular basis. According to reports early in the year, a whopping sum of over N37 billion has been spent on 47 former state governors and their deputies spread across 21 states in just four years. This is simply immoral and unjust! How do we then want the civil servant to be dedicated to work, knowing that his take home after active service is a miserable sum?
Yinka Adeosun, yinkadeosun@gmail. com