Reduce corruption and political costs|Tony Marinho
We want an end to tanker crashes and explosions and loss of lives. The National Orientation Agency animated ‘anti-scooping petrol’ campaign must get to every Nigerian needy citizen. The high climate change temperatures may cause tyres to burst and also increase the pressure in the tanks making them potential bombs. Good, qualified responsible driving and quality maintenance of the hugely expensive vehicles, and good roads, not for increased and dangerous speeding, but for a smooth drive, are essential.
Following the closure of USAID etc., developing countries must quickly grow up and become self-sufficient through higher standards of political and private sector financially accountable and conclusive anti-corruption investigations to find funds to fill the huge financial hole created by disasters like the earthquakes in Bangkok, Thailand and Mandalay, Myanmar, with over 1,600 deaths. These demonstrate life’s fragility and are tragic for the millions affected.
In Nigeria, we claim to be relatively natural disaster free. Nigeria has witnessed worldwide, stories of devastation and misery caused by droughts, floods, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and now another earthquake. Please add the huge cost of man-made conflicts and wars. However, we have our own problems costing us more than the cost of the above-mentioned natural and manmade disasters.
We are all aware of the sad and distressing half century of oil pollution. We do have floods. There is also the plight of our IDP-Internally Displaced Persons even though many have helped ameliorate their suffering. Thanks, but more is needed to empower them to return to former social respectability and economic empowerment in their ancestral homes. This can only be done with successful, effective and permanent elimination, not mere interstate relocation, of terrorism and the widespread herder-caused conflicts with local farmers causing such high tensions resulting apparently in the killing of herders said to be in transit. The armed forces have been empowered but they need more support in equipment, drone coverage and personnel, in welfare, medical care of the wounded and family support. Hopefully all pension arrears have been met by recent presidential directive. PENSION PAYMENTS SHOULD START THE MONTH AFTER RETIREMENT, NOT 6-12 MONTHS. DELAYS ACCUMULATE AND BALLOON PENSION DEBT.
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Even without many natural disasters, our Nigerian governments and Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, have still not all lived up to the fiscal responsibility and financial fundamentals for governance repeatedly sworn to when taking office. Why are politicians boastfully blind to the responsibility for payment of legally-binding outflows for pensions, salaries and running cost like utilities? When did they stop being a sworn and sacred duty and monthly, first line deduction, responsibility of accepting to serve or lead, depending on the mind-set of the political climate. It was a disgraceful abandonment of responsibility for governments and MDAs in the past to have failed to pay pensions resulting in a mountain of debt to armed forces and other pensioners. Yet the past leaders have escaped without censure or even explanation. Nigeria is just recovering from the shocking exposure of officials refusing for years to pay electricity charges for years, plunging many government arms including military formations and teaching hospitals into darkness precipitating misery and mortality-CITIZENS DYING IN DARKNESS IN A COUNTRY WHERE BANKS DECLARE TRILLION NAIRA PROFITS?????
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Most Nigerian doctors have operated with torches on pregnant women or performed abdominal surgery for gunshot wounds. Hospitals require electricity 24/7 to run theatre, laboratory and blood banks and darkness is synonymous with death and demonstrates impotence to help save life – thus failing the very reason the hospital was provided. The serial failure, over years, of hospital management or the supervising ministry to pay past electricity bills immediately, month end, or as-and-when-due is a crime against Nigeria’s patients and the medical personnel condemned, without medical tools, to care for sick citizenry from conception to the cemetery. Modern warfare requires 24/7 electricity to power combat equipment and installations.
Nigeria is reeling over the dismissive attitude to payment of land use dues in Abuja as revealed in the recent past. Government and private sector impunity seems to know no bounds.
Of course, we, the non-politically connected, pre-pay through A,B,C,D extortionary electricity bands. Remember we produce a microscopic 5-7000 Mw of power for 160+million, not 200m+, when other counties have more than 60,000Mw for a 60+million population elsewhere in Africa. China adds power to its grid at the rate of 30,000MW/year. Nigeria cannot afford to continue to carry the huge corruption burden or the huge price tag of Salaries and Perks of political office. The destruction of a building, costing millions in state citizens’ money, just to prevent legislators from sitting, is an unacceptable price to pay in steps to solve political problems. Converting it temporarily to an orphanage would have been a wiser move, but probably illegal. The excesses of political office and the unlimited budgets are counterproductive considering our poverty level. POLITICIANS – PUT A POVERTY PHOTOGRAPH ON YOUR WALL.
The struggling Nigerian citizen demands a reduced cost of governance with such savings applied directly to poverty alleviation strategies especially improved and widespread education facilities and electricity access- keys to development and self-empowerment jobs. Politics and the private sector must deliver more fiscal discipline with wider population impact and not just Forbes Africa Rich List winners and trillion naira bank profits while we have fiscal losers like 18million Out-of-School youth denied quality education-a birth-right required for future empowerment.
Credit:The Nation