ONE QUARTER OF NIGERIA'S REVENUE FOR FEW NASSMEN?
More Periscope Stories http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/periscope/index.htm
You must have followed the charge made by boss of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido, that 25 per cent of Nigeria's revenue goes to the 109 senators and 360 House of Representatives' members, that is 469 persons, in the National Assembly. That is to say that whatever you have there as Nigeria's revenue, one quarter goes to 469 men, while the rest 150 million of us share the rest.
And it also goes with the legislators asking for more, bullying the executive, agencies of government, ministries and parastatals, to give way, so legislators could lay their hands deeper into the coffers of the nation.
Well, the other time, when I reviewed a similar development, one of the MPs called to say that he was sure I was being jealous. But he failed to erase the fact that the MPs, doing nothing as it is now, giving nothing to Nigerians, churning out one embarrassing incident after another, signposting their gluttony, and repeatedly acting like the typical drunken parliament, Nigerians are still amiss on what value they have added. He got more furious at me.
As always the case, NASS officials are screaming blue murder, calling for the heads of Sanusi, talking about summoning him and threatening hell and hell-fire if there was no immediate retraction. Isn't this democracy any more?
Since we all accept that Sanusi, an authority on money matters, could not have spoken at the drop of the hat, why not pray he elaborates on what he brought on the front burner? Or has our NASS become a sacred institution, a deity sort of, that nobody can dare question it without being regarded as blaspheming? That is delusory.
In a way, the chieftains of NASS may think they have presented what stood as the fireproof truth by inundating Nigerians with the claim of less than five per cent of the national income. Even at that, five per cent for a few hundreds against 150 millions is, indeed, outrageous.
So, they have not achieved anything. We know about such funds, which they claim are not personal, can be, and indeed, are hidden, under projects and constituency bla…bla…bla, to deceive Nigerians.
If NASS men think they can convince Nigerians on their real incomes and how they affect the national purse, let them tell us the source of the funds they apply, as in the case of one NASS member buying hundreds of motorcycles for some constituents on the approach of elections. The other time, one bought a brand new 406 Peugeot car for each of his coordinators, in six of the local government areas in his district. The other distributed over 700 electricity-generating sets (though the 'I pass my neighbour' type), while another arrived his constituency with two container loads of hair clippers.
The very annoying thing is that these are drawing these huge takes, doing nothing and keeping mute as governors who swim in unspeakable excess crude revenues have refused to pay university teachers so that Nigerians would be educated.
It is actually a wonder, as it is laughable, watching the distinguished senator sweat as he denied that he and his colleagues were not fleecing Nigeria .
But he didn't need to do that. We know the truth. We know that what they give is typical statistics. Like bikini, it shows what has to be shown and hides what has to be hidden.
As they do this, they forget that they work with civil servants; those smooth men who mumble and smile as if they want to cry.
They are in the trade they know so well, far better than the distinguished senators and reps can comprehend, and they will always tell.