CURBING THE EXCESSES AND GREEDINESS OF THE LEGISLATURE

CURBING THE EXCESSES AND GREEDINESS OF THE LEGISLATURE

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Recently last week, this writer stumbled on an editorial published in The Punch newspaper, dated 17^th May, 2016. The editorial was titled ECONOMIC HARDSHIP AND SENATE GREEDINESS. It revealed a shocking and saddening fact _the plan by senators to spend N1.3 billion on 36 sport utility vehicles for themselves. This development is a sad one considering the fact that Nigeria is experiencing severe economic hardship which has forced the Federal Government to deregulate petrol prices.

The editorial explained the plan as that of insensitivity to the plight of the suffering citizens when the senate had initially decided buying luxury SUVs for 108 senators but so far has proceeded to purchase the said number of vehicles as stated at the beginning of this article. So, Nigerians condemned it as it was thought unreasonablespending N4.7 billion at a time the country was broke and most states could notpay workers’ salaries. Sadly, the senate has not discarded the idea.

Furthermore, the editorial cited a comment credited to the chairman of the Senate Committee on services, Abdullahi Gobir denying the purchase of 36 so far. He was quoted as saying that the car that was bought is Land Cruiser VXR V8 and not v6 which to that extent they have fulfilled the reasonable and sensible purpose of the purchase. The editorial condemned the statement as being totally unreasonable and perverse. Indeed this writer agrees with the stance maintained by the Punch editorial. What is difficult to understand about the excess expenditure by the National Assembly is why they care much about their comfort.

It is sad that there is no activism to check the excesses of these incompetent and rapacious law-makers. For one thing the editorial rightly noted the reason behind the extravagant and lavish lifestyle of the members of parliament_ a docile and an unconcerned populace which makes no effort to check the activities of law makers who claim to represent them. The citizens gnash their teeth under the harsh economic realities facing the country and no thanks to an administration that is moving at snail-speed. The uncaring legislators do nothing but debate infantile and irrelevant matters. They sponsor bills that favor the government’s cause rather than what can benefit the populace. An example is the Communication Service Tax Bill 2015 that is before the House of Representatives. That bill seeks a 9% tax to be levied on a number of services enjoyed by consumers through the use of the internet, in addition to the 5% Value Added Tax which they already pay. The bill spells grave consequences for Nigerians if it successfully passes the stages and finally gets assented.

Surely the legislators deserve to get paid for their statutory duties but when it is about taking austerity measures to reflect the true position of the economic state of the country, they need face the bitter truth_ that critical times call for critical decisions. There has to be some reasonable adjustment in their salaries and allowances cum expenditure so that the nation’s purse can have some available balance to solve critical economic challenges which the country is experiencing. No individual is bigger than Nigeria. Nigerians therefore should rise and oppose the excesses and greediness of the legislators in a lawful and reasonable way. The legislators should cut their coats according to their cloths.

The hard times herald the very change which the All Progressive Congress (APC) has been professing with their lips while their hearts are far off. It is time that rigorous changes be effected in the style of administration, management and utilization of public funds. Forinstance, what do members of the Senate find difficult using their own cars forwhich they had statutorily obtained car loans? Why can’t they pool buses for their duties rather than purchase SUVs for each as “pool cars”? And if indeed they purchase the said SUVs, wouldn’t it be prudent that the cars be returned as public property for the use and comfort of their successors at the expiration of their tenure? Sadly, this is not the position but it is the reason for the nation’s dwindling economic resources and which results in the paucity of funds which should be used to better the lot of the populace. Also no kobo is accounted for as to how the funds have been spent by predecessors who managed different committees. This senseless and visionless, corrupt lifestyle must end. No wonder one foreign leader described Nigeria as fantasticallycorrupt. Analysts, social commentators and columnists retorted by casting serious vituperations on him, describing his comment as undiplomatic. But how does one expect the international community to respond when Nigeria’s senators are the highest paid in the world whereas their nation wallows in extreme poverty by 70 per cent? Is it not disheartening that unemployment and underemployment combined is 29.1 per cent in Nigeria (to the National Bureau of Statistics)?

President Muhammadu Buhari may be thought as making progress in his campaign against corruption. The Number One Citizen of Nigeria deludes himself by making a fallacy_ that the judiciary is his biggest headache. While this writer agrees that there is some stench of corruption oozing from that arm, more serious stench oozes from the legislature and chokes the nostrils of the nation. It seems the president and his anti-corruption warriors are fighting off more than what they consider ascorruption. The corruption is like a hydra-headed monster which continues to grow more heads when chopped off.  He cannot win this war alone. He needs the full support of his citizens. Nigerians should unite and face the people they claim to have elected in order to stop the bleeding of the country. The legislative members would stop at nothing to suck the country dry if left unchecked. After all, there is strength in numbers.

Professional bodies such as theNigerian Medical Association, the Nigerian Bar Association, civil society groups and labour unions should unite to prevail on the National Assembly to spend within the nation’s means. The business of the legislature is essentially to make laws for the peace, progress and good governance of Nigeria.

………………Reporting GWD