Letter To My Friend, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, Honourable Minister Of Information And Culture, Federal Republic Of Nigeria.
Honourable Minister, Kindly accept my belated congratulations on your appointment as the Information Minister. It has been long overdue.
As a matter of fact, my joy was full when the announcement came that you have been appointed as the Minister of Information and Culture of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I told the members of my family and my friends both far and near that you are the best person for the job. My reason for giving that assurance and commending you to them was as a result of our relationship as far back as 1978 when we worked together at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, during the construction and maintenance of the Airport. You were the Public Relations Officer with the Nigeria Airport Authority and I was the Commercial Manager with a German Establishment. Our relationship started when I wrote an article which was published by the Punch Newspaper in 1979 concerning some lapses at the International Airport. As a Public Relations Officer then, you took the trouble to come to my office and you were able to explain to me those who were responsible for the lapses at the airport at that time. You were humble, lovely, gentle and hospitable. There wasn't a day I came to your office that I regretted. You and one of your staff, Mrs Bewaji were lovely. You were always wearing a smiling face. Everybody loved to associate with you. A reminiscent of that throws me in a state of nostalgia.
But then, my Honourable Minister, you have greatly changed. Those days, you could hardly hurt a fly. I never heard a foul language from you. You never slandered anyone. But I must tell you categorically today that I am disappointed. Politics has changed you a lot. Things started going wrong when you became the Publicity Secretary of the APC. There were some utterances against the former President, President Goodluck Jonathan and his government which was embarrassing. A lot of insults and foul language was released on him by you ; which you would not have done when you were the Public Relations Officer at the airport. Is there any demon behind Nigeria politics.
A lot was even said concerning the First Lady, the wife of President Jonathan, yet neither the president nor the wife uttered a word. APC used hate language against the PDP and the President with various media and communication channels. Even on the issue of the increase in price of fuel during President Jonathan 's government. I remember the part you and the Labour Union and other so called Activists played. But when your government came and did worse on the increase of the fuel price, the so called Labour Union the Activists and your very self defended your your government stand.
One embarrassing thing which I am not comfortable with is the way you are being labeled as a liar. You have often defended your government blindly, encouraging the government to believe that they are on the right path. I want you to realize that your APC government has failed the nation. Nothing is really working. I was dumbfounded to hear from you that the herdsmen killing people all over the country cannot be branded as terrorist but the peaceful IPOB are. Probably it was a slip of the tongue from you.
It is in your government that the Press has been sanctioned and any truth spoken against Buhari government is regarded as HATE SPEECH. Jonathan 's government never sanctioned anyone, neither did they clamped down on anybody despite the hate speech on his government. As a Minster of Information, I would like you to give correct information to your government. Let mistakes be revealed and corrected. This government cannot continue to live on lies. Enough is enough! How can I continue to defend you as a friend when you have left your first love. The suffering of the masses is too much. You cannot continue to put the blame on the previous government. It is almost two and half years since the APC government came to power, does that mean you don't have competent hands to put the economy on its feet? Only a bad workman quarrels with his tools. Enough of lies. What tangible economic measures has this government taken to normalize things. I also want to advice your government over one sided anti corruption war. The way the government is being run reminds me of Ghenghis Khan c 1162 - 1227, the great Mongolian Warrior ; he said " The greatest pleasure in life is to conquer your enemy, seize their horses and goods and hear the women crying ". This government has taken everyone who is not on their side as enemy and inflicting untold hardship on them and happy seeing the women and the little ones crying.
Why should corrupt people from the PDP and other parties rush to APC and get a cover from the APC government. It has become a situation of go and steal and bring the money to our party, you would be covered.
The corruption General Buhari came to eradicate has reached its peak. It has galloped. Yet the government which you are in as the Minister of Information continues to deceive the masses that we are out of economic recession. Which economic recession? Professor Ayodele Awojobi writing about Udoji, in his article "NEGATION OF NATIONAL OBJECTIVES "which was published in Sunday Times of January 1975 said " The economics of running the home at a typical Nigerian family is very elementary to any man of the people. The income invariably falls short of expenditure even for their subhuman standard of living that there is scarcely a need to preach the existence of a National Federal Saving Scheme when life reduces to living literally from hand to mouth. When a member of the family is ill, an emergency meeting of elders would be summoned to raise funds to meet cost of medical care whether in a government hospital or private nursing home. The beginning of a new school year comes and the poor father is finding expression to hide from the children his inability to pay the school fees in the first week of term. Many a mother wakes up in the morning not knowing whence money would come for marketing in order to feed the family. Hundreds use chewing sticks as breakfast, drink gari for lunch, eat eba at night and lay their weary bodies on tattered hints spread over hard floors in overcrowded dilapidated house in our city slums. Against this background of squalor and abject poverty of common citizens of Nigeria existing in parallel with an extremely small affluent minority. What are the alternatives to Udoji in the building of a land of full and equal opportunities for all its citizens? Nigeria cannot survive as a Capitalist nation because it lacks the wherewithal such as the abundance of opportunities to every is not indolent. In Nigeria it is an understatement to say that many potentially hardworking citizens cannot just get the job ".
Honourable Minister, you need to advice President Buhari to start the anti corruption crusade from the National Assembly and then to the ministries. The hul-la-ba-loo about Dezieni is enough. Let him move the crusade to the North and other parts of the country. No one is a sacred cow ; and no geopolitical zone is a sacred cow.
Do you know that some States of the Federation have not been able to pay the N18000 monthly minimum wage, yet dogs and cats are being fed with more than N18000 a day. Where then is your anti corruption crusade.
Professor Femi Ajayi, a Professor of Policy, Management and Conflict Resolution, Babcock University, quoting from the Economist Magazine revealed the following :
SENATOR'S SALARY AND ALLOWANCES.
Basic Salary, N2,484,245.50
Hardship Allowance 50% of Basic Salary N1,242,122.75
Constituency Allowance 200% of Basic Allowance N4,968,509.00
Furniture Allowance: 300% of Basic Salary N7,452,736.50
Newspaper Allowance :50% N1,242,122.70
Wardrobe Allowance 25% N621,061.37
Recess Allowance 10% N248,424.53
Accommodation Allowance 200% N4,968,509. 00
Utilities Allowance 30% N828,081.83
Domestic Staff Allowance 35% N863,184.13
Entertainment Allowance 30% N828,081.83
Personal Assistance Allowance 25% N621,061.37
Vehicle Maintenance Allowance 75% N1,863,184.12
Leave Allowance 10% N248,424.53
Severance Gratuity 300% N7,452,736.50
Motor Vehicle Allowance 400% N9,936,982.00
TOTAL N29,479,749.00.
A Senator earns N498,630.13 a day which a university professor does not make in a month. N20,776.28 per hour, N346.27 per minute.
House of Representatives earns N347,945.00 per day ; N341.00 per minute.
A Senator's daily pay is two times more than the annual pay of the least paid Nigerian worker. In addition, Nigeria Senators and House of Representatives are entitled to N500,000 per night for their local trips.
Let all allowances and salaries of the members of the National Assembly be reduced. The House of Assembly job should not be a full time job. It should be a part time job where only Allowance of N50,000 are to be given to them. When in January 1980, the then Bendel State House of Assembly passed a bill awarding to each of the members N500 a month as Accommodation Allowance, people rose against that. I remember Tola Adeniyi now Chief, of the Nigerian Tribune in his column "Till Death Do Us Part" wrote about this N6000. 00 Graft in the Nigerian Tribune of Thursday, January 17, 1980. He said inter alia "If Professor Ambrose Alli consented to the selfish demands of his government's Assembly men, the Bendel State might lose all public servants. There just would be no money left in the treasury to pay the workers salary. The parliamentarians in Benin should be reminded that they sought the people's votes on the promise that they ( the parliamentarians) were going to serve. And it is difficult to believe that exploitation is part of service to the people. "
The amount they were demanding per month was only N500. Now compare that with what the present members of House of Assembly are earning now.
My Honourable Minister you have a lot to do to give the right information to the Federal Government. The government has derailed in its policies. Corruption has gone up. Hypocrisy, Nepotism, Favouritism has set in.
With all the propaganda of seizing billions of dollars from XYZ, why is the government still going to borrow money from abroad. How do we know such money would be used judiciously. Would the money not be hijacked by the cabals? Are you not aware that the cabals have taken over the government from General Buhari? Are you not aware of the cry of the First Lady that the husband doesn't know what is happening in Aso Rock. Even the appointments there. How then can the president fix the economy. Trillions has been spent by your government since you came to power yet nothing is shown forth. Is it not true that it is the cabals ruling the country and not the president as stated by the First Lady and concerned Nigerians.
Mr Minister, we need urgent solution to the prevailing situation.
Thanks and God bless you.
Yours In His Service,
Pastor John O. A. Adedeji.