GIVE THEM AN INCH
In my last write up, I made bold to say that I am yet to see a serious contender out of all the candidates aspiring to be Nigeria number one citizen come 2011.We already know PDP’s candidates for this exalted position. Other party’s contestants are coming out in trickles. For instance Mr. Nuur Ribadu has come out under ANC and Retired Major General Mohammed Buhari is running under CPC.
The truth is wether we like it or not the incoming president will come out of the PDP.This explain the exchange of banter between the incumbent president and the former vice president. Only a fool will not subscribe to this assertion. Even if PDP decide to relinquish power vis-à-vis various positions both at state and national level, they would want to hold tenaciously to the Presidential position by using the incumbency power. forget about the current saying as to creating enabling environment for a credible election, it is all farce. Election was recently held in Ekiti state, we had reports of how it went. Snatching of ballot boxes and thugery was the order of the day.
This only implies that the issue of security is yet to be properly addressed by INEC as the election is fast approaching. Unfortunately we are still going to make use of our police force as law enforcement agents to make sure there no security lapses as well as breech of security. But this has never worked. The situation is always the other way round. Our law enforcer always team up with party agents thugs, and some unscrupulous INEC officials on the election day to perfect the art of rigging. This is the exact situation of things throughout the country during election period. The stealing of the DDC capturing machine at the airport only shows how porous our entire security network in this country is. It also shows the do or die attitude of the political class in Nigeria. Some people have already been arrested for this crime, but we would never be surprised if eventually the matter is swept under the carpet, because it was the politician themselves that are behind the theft. They only wanted to still the machine to perfect their rigging plans.
The Abuja bombing blast in October 1st this year is still fresh in our memory. Nigerians expected that the culprit ought to have been brought to book by now. Why foot-dragging on it? The result of the foot-dragging is the result of multiple bomb blast that just occur in Jos and Maiduguri. Arrest have been made already, I belief if this people are subjected to serious scrutiny we will get to know that the crime was not committed based on religious ground. The fact is people committed heinous crime in this country hiding under the cloak of religion. The real reasons are politically and economically motivated.
The skirmish in all states’ of house of assembly, house of representative and the national assembly has to do with allegation of financial impropriety leveled against the leaders of these chambers. It is difficult to hear that our honorable men are fighting each other in the house over an issue that will bring succor to the teeming masses of Nigeria. Rather they were busy fighting for their own interest. We still remember the case of Dino Melaye group against the speaker Dimeji Bankole.At the state level the house of assembly members are always neck deep with their governors over monetary issue.
It is very disheartening to point out that over the past twelve years since the advent of this political dispensation, our nations’ yearly budget has failed in terms of implementation both at the local, state and national level. It is a shame. Both the legislative and executive arm of government does not want to take blame for this. It is important to point out that, despite the non full implementation of the budget at the three tiers of government our honorable men always make sure that current, concurrent/recurrent expenditure are always implemented to the latter at the expense of the capital expenditure thereby making them criminally wealthy.
The Central Bank Governor came out badly to accuse the national assembly members of gross financial indiscipline. The man stood by his claim as he refused to be cowed to render an apology to the already shaken house. How could one explain a situation whereby 288 people be accounted for 25% of the nations yearly budget .You people are stealing us blind.
The speaker of the house of representative also came out with a counter accusation that the executive are also responsible for about 50%.This is an interesting scenario.
Probably Mr. speaker failed to realize that most of the executives’ members are professional except the ministers and so many government officials that are political appointees. If the speakers claim is true then Nigeria is in serious trouble going by the virtue of the kind of people that were entrusted with leadership position in this country.Hmm,I think the honorable speaker is trying to tell us that both pot and kettle are black. Sir we are not blind and neither are we deaf.
I think it is high time the government of this country evolve a political system that will downplay money politics in the nation’s political settings. The nation’s political system should be demonetized. The government should find a way to make elected positions in this country less attractive. By doing this, we will be left with people of impeccable character that will be ready to serve our country and people very well. Then nobody will have to remind us that pot and kettle will act as a check on themselves thereby correcting the imbalance in the nation’s economy.
Honestly if you ask me something is wrong with us as a people and a nation. This really portend a great danger. It is as if there is a virus that is ravaging our leadership position. Wether elective or appointed positon, once they assume the mantle of authority, their conscience died. It remained dead they left office. Those that regain theirs are those that came out clean after leaving office. Very few anyway. For those that came out with the spoils of office, their conscience remains dead.
What am I trying to point out? Why are our leaders so wicked? Don’t they realize that they are committing a great crime against the people of this country through their nefarious activities all in the name of wanting to have political power and gain recognition? It is sad. Let me make something clear. Nigerians are not ignorant. We know what is going on. The fact is Nigerians are confused seeing that the people that have mounted the mantle of leadership have Suddenly become very bad. Nigerians have never had it so bad. Both the leaders and followers are putting the blame on the existing system. The system that has suddenly become systemic and compromised. Sooner the same system I belief will become self regulating and self sanitized.
Our leaders does not care about the welfare of people of this country, once their needs are met. Is it their jumbo pay, juicy allowances and huge amount of money been voted for each committee set up to look into ministries and federal parastatals that we are going to talk about? How can one explain a situation whereby our national assembly members earn more than their counterparts in developed countries, United State of America for instance? For crying out loud how can these people justify their
earning of #240 million/#204 million as their take home per annum for a senator and house of representative member. What are the yardstick used in measuring this? To make matter worse the house leaders are yet to affirm or refute this claim. Let us reaffirm the claim of CBN Governor and that of the Speaker of the house of representative by juxtaposing their claim. In the final analysis it means, the remaining 25% of the nation’s budget is left to the judiciary and the rest of Nigeria to benefit from. Bearing in mind that the Budget has never been fully implemented since the advent of this political
dispensation.Infact the implementation of 2010 budget was an act of misdeed and misconduct.
I am happy that the chartered institute of bankers (CIBN) has lend credence to the claim that the nation’s foreign reserves have been depleted greatly from $62 billion dollars to about $34 billion dollars or there about.
This is a good development. Nigerians need to wake up. speak up and stand up against unwholesome act of these politicians. We are aware of where most of our leaders are coming from in terms of their primary constituency. We haveprofessosrs, doctorate, retired military soldiers and lots of professionals who have passed through university communities and military abode where normalcy is practiced. Unfortunately things that are considered as immoral acts like cultism, thuggery, financial indiscipline in their primary constituency now pervades this government. Most of our politicians have at one time or the other had fraternized with leaders of most of the different type of organized group that now constitute greater security risk to our country. This group of people have suddenly become too hot for the government to handle. Now that the election is fast approaching this the time our politicians will tend to patronized these gangsters in order to perfect their rigging plan. This is the confusion we are currently facing in the polity. We are far away from the politics of the past where ideology thrives far above the mediocrity and shenanigans that we are now experiencing.
How do one explain a situation whereby a party leader will lead an army of thugs to attack their assumed or purported enemies in a state house of assembly? The resultant effects is usually death or maiming of their perceived enemies. All these are not supposed to be happening in a sane society. I hope the President will do something about all these in the next dispensation. Hopefully he will scale through his party primaries and eventually win the presidential election, if its not scuttled.
On a final note, Nigerians are hoping that the incoming president will revert back to an inch all the miles that have already been taken by our politicians. I belief in the assertion that men that have all the resources of the nations at their disposal tends to be limited in understanding as to how to make judicious use of them to better the lot of the people who reposed their trust and confidence in them to take care of their affairs. Rather they go to sleep leaving the citizen to grope in darkness.
This is the situation we are facing in Nigeria now.
Thank you.
Quadri Ayobami Kazeem
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19898366-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName(
})();
</script>
