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Them crazy, them crazy –
We gonna chase those crazy
Baldheads out of town;
Chase those crazy baldheads
Out of our town.

The above is an excerpted lyric from the late Bob Marley’s song, “Crazy Baldheads”. And that’s exactly what has come to my mind since the mess of the gluttony of our federal legislators hit the fan in the last week or so. We need to chase them crazy baldheads out of Abuja. 

In the last one or two weeks Nigerians have risen up with one voice, more than we’ve ever done, to declaim the National Assembly (NASS) – Senate and House of Reps – over what is simply their excessive and inordinate self- aggrandisement. Each member of the House of Reps, we are told, carts home over N204 million annually, aside some other perks and unimaginable creatively determined allowances; a Senator (the senior member of NASS) takes away about N240 million. Multiply that by their number (some 460 federal legislators) and you get a figure that simply beggars belief – a staggering N136 billion per annum. 

It was a rightly miffed governor of the Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (SLS), who characteristically blew the whistle on the legislators in a Convocation Lecture he delivered at the Igbinedion University, Edo State, wondering how much longer the country could carry the weight of such burden on her treasury, a burden Lamido calculated to be 25% of the country’s overheads. 

Nigerians rose in anger the following morning, wasn’t this the same country pussyfooting over a minimum wage of N18,000 for her workers? Put plainly, the carry-home wage of each legislator would pay the salary of 25,000 workers at the N18,000 they are begging to get. And that N18,000 is no more than the cost of a senator’s meal in one go.

Our big-headed legislators felt Sanusi set out deliberately to ridicule them. So they called him to a session aimed at getting their own back by ‘setting the records straight’. Was Sanusi wrong? No, that’s not the point. Sanusi’s figure was right but his percentage was wrong, they insist. 

Nothing could be sillier. I don’t care if the percentage came to 0.001%, N136bn to 460 people in a country where citizens are dying every day for lack of good roads, lack of good health, lack of electricity, lack of potable water, and unemployment is in the scary 25%, is simply ridiculous. 

But Sanusi wasn’t saying anything new; he has only echoed more strongly the alarm that General Obasanjo (yes, of all pots that could call the kettle black) and Prof. Itse Sagay before him had raised. 

Our legislators pride themselves for their oversight functions, who will oversight these oversighters? The impunity and recklessness with which our legislators have so far carried on allotting to themselves all sorts of allowances and funds for their so-called constituencies is a challenge to any of the other arm of government to cast the first stone. And, indeed, some of the legislators have so loudly wondered why we are picking on them when the Executive-arm enjoys even far more perquisites. No wonder the Executive has acted particularly deaf and dumb to the raging outcry.

The truth need be told. And it is a truth some of us have harped on so often in the past, in different names, from “true federalism” to “restructuring”, etc. Only a country like Nigeria, only a place ruled by ‘black’ minds, will not recognise that the system of government whereby over 25% of her resources go on emoluments with ‘needs immediate and drastic reworking. Importantly, the National Assembly membership doesn’t have to be so large. Secondly, they do not have to be full time on it, let each have other means of livelihood. Thirdly, it is a national service, not any greater than our NYSC. Their remuneration must not be any more than that of a Level 16 officer in the Civil Service. Fourthly, the “Constituency Project” rubbish must stop. Fifthly, the federal government should not continue to be responsible for Local Governments. At best, let there be an increase in what goes to each state from the federation account, and let each state take care of its own Local Government by whatever name or number it chooses to create such. Enough damage has already been done by the largely arbitrary creation of states by the military. Sixthly, the Executive-arm needs to be pruned down considerably. 

Time to get serious as a nation. And if those we have there are not going to do it, then it is time the people take their own fate into their own hands and move to get rid of bad rubbish. The 2011 Elections is an opportunity not to miss. Let us chase them crazy baldheads out of town! 

And that’s saying it the way it is! 

Photo Credit: commons.wikimedia.org

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