State Police and a multi-ethnic Nigeria

By ODUNAYO JOSEPH



If there is any quixotic issue that has generated an unending controversy in Nigeria in her 52 years of existence as a sovereign nation, it is the continued agitation for state police. Proponents and opponents have come up with brilliant reasons in pitching their tents either for or against this issue.


So far, the 1999 Constitution recognises only the federal police; this thus constitutionally empowers the Federal Government to have absolute control on policing in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.


The proponents strongly believe that citizens’ lives and properties would be better secured by state police. Obviously, this is likely to make them familiar with the people at the grass roots vis-à-vis their historical background, tradition and culture, leading to the effective policing, with the attendant security of life and property of the people.


On the other hand, those rooting for the retention of the federal police will be quick to argue that it is suicidal for Nigeria to introduce state police, considering the volatility associated with the use of religion as a means of achieving parochial interests by power-hungry politicians. Worse still is the crude and uncivilised winner-takes-all syndrome that has remained the hallmark of governance, irrespective of the political party in power in a state. They may cite Kogi State as an example, where one senatorial district has been lording it over the other two since the creation of the state in 1991. During the tenure of ex-Governor Ibrahim Idris whose administration was brought to an abrupt end by the Supreme Court on January 27, 2012, the workforce was 31,000; but out of this figure, the East Senatorial District had 26,000 (84 per cent), while the remaining two senatorial districts – West and Central – had 5,000 (16 per cent). For now, the predominantly Yoruba-speaking Okun people of the West Senatorial District and the Ebira/Ogori people of the Central Senatorial District wait to see if the new Governor Wada Idris will reverse the trend by giving the West and the Central senatorial districts a sense of belonging in the state.


Ordinarily, state police is not a bad idea in states that are peopled by one ethnic nationality and where there is religious tolerance such as Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Ogun states, all in the South-West. The same applies to the South-East geo-political zone comprising Anambra, Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states, which are predominantly Igbo.


Considering the rampant threat to the unity of Nigeria, as exemplified by the wanton killing of Christians in some parts of the north by Boko Haram which currently threatens the unity of the country, having a state police may not be advisable; at least for now.


The of Oba Lagos, Rilwanu Akiolu, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, when asked whether he would support state police in an interview in the Saturday PUNCH of March 19, 2011, seemed to suggest that Nigeria is not ripe politically for state police. He said: “Up till when I was Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Lokoja, I still believed and advocated that we should have one united, vibrant police force; but the event of modern Nigeria has proved otherwise. Most of the requirements of the police are not provided by the Federal Government. They are now being provided by state governments and, as the saying goes, ‘he who pays the piper calls the tune.’ I’m in full support of state police so that you know where you pump in your resources, but at the same time, it should not be used as a political weapon.”


There is no doubt that one important lesson could be drawn from the Oba’s response, and it has to do with the dire need to pay more attention to adequate equipping of the police by the Federal Government, instead of the present arrangement where the burden has been passed to the state governments and private individuals and corporate organisations.


The harrowing experience of helpless Nigerians and foreigners who often take refuge in police stations and barracks during upheavals and religious strife in some states can be understood if the control of police were to be left in the hands of state governors, especially where the Federal Government had declared state of emergency.


Since Nigeria has adopted the federal system of governance in the 1999 Constitution, and considering the fragile unity in our country, having a state police may be a catalyst for the disintegration of our nation.


Source: punchng

NBA IKEJA PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE



The Good people of Nigeria.






The Nigerian Bar Association Ikeja Branch strongly and unequivocally disassociates itself from the recent announcement of the suspension and truncation of the protest and strike of the Nigerian people against the hike in fuel price by the NLC/TUC. Even before Monday, the 9th day of January 2012, the Ikeja Bar had started a campaign against the said hike in line with the directives of the National Executive Committee meeting of the NBA held at Eket in November 2011. From the 9th till today the 16th January 2012, the Ikeja Bar was in the forefront of the protest against the fuel price hike using the platform of the organised labour as well as that of the Civil Society Groups whilst not losing our lawyers identity.






Much to our chagrin, grave disappointment and unimaginable shock, labour which had appeared seemingly resolute in the stand against the hike in fuel price suddenly capitulated, dramatically somersaulted and shamelessly backpedalled on the very popular stand that the pump price of PMS remains N65.






We make bold to say that the announcement by Labour that it has accepted the N97 per litre price of PMS as unilaterally fixed by the repressive Federal Government of Dr Jonathan is completely unacceptable to us. We consider the acceptance by Labour to be a betrayal of the masses of Nigerian people and an unholy compromise of the sovereignty of the people of Nigeria with a Government that has shown gross insensitivity to their needs, demands and yearnings.






Our position on this matter is that the Nigerian masses should ignore Labour and continue their peaceful opposition to the increase in the pump price of PMS. We have said it before that Government cannot be above the Governed since the former is the servant of the latter and the vast majority of the Nigerian people after listening to all manners of argument on the issue have remained resolute that pump price should remain at N65. We call on all other professional groups whether blue collar or white collar to join us in continuing the peaceful protest and resistance to the increase in pump price. Nigeria belongs to all of us and not only to the cabal and their cohorts in Government who believe that they have a monopoly of wisdom and are the Encyclopedia of knowledge. The blockade, the invasion and unlawful occupation of the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Square Ojota and several parts of Lagos like Yaba, Ojuelegba, Palmgrove, Anthony and Maryland by military personnel and other security forces is unconstitutional, oppressive, obnoxious, abuse of power, reckless, provacative and a disturbing throw back to the fascism of the military years. Likewise, the tear gassing of our colleagues, Bamidele Aturu, Ebun Adegboruwa and other citizens this morning whilst in a peaceful procession along Ikorodu Road as well as the prevention of Femi Falana from accessing Gani Fawehinmi Park Ojota and the NLC Secretariat, Yaba by the military is equally unconstitutional and condemnable. Nigerains have a right to go to every part of Nigeria in peaceful assembly and without participation in any criminality. Both Sections 40 and 41 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 supports this contention.


Finally, our passionate appeal is that the protest against increase in pump price MUST continue. N65 or nothing!



DATED THIS 16TH DAY OF JANUARY 2012.



ADEBAMIGBE OMOLE. (CHAIRMAN)
ADESINA OGUNLANA
(GENERAL SECRETARY)

Jonathan grapples with expanded protest agenda

By kunle fagbemi
President Goodluck Jonathan has not only united his opponents against himself in a way no president or head of state before him has done, he now faces the distinct possibility of either being impeached or swept away through a revolutionary wave of popular protests. From Lagos to Abuja, Ibadan to Kaduna, and in many other cities in Nigeria, West, North, East and South, hundreds of thousands of protesters stormed venues designated for rallies against the removal of what the Jonathan government described as fuel subsidy. The protests were both remarkable and eye-opening, not only for the revival of Fela’s music in Lagos, and its restoration to its place of genius and primacy as protest music, but also for the seething public disdain for government’s ineptitude.
The call for change was less strident in Abuja than in Lagos, but it was no less meaningful and poignant. From Femi Falana to Tunji Braithwaite, from Ganiat Fawehinmi (Gani’s widow) to Pastor Tunde Bakare, and to hundreds of well-to-do professionals, musicians, and Nollywood actors, the message was the same, as if by a prior consensus. Braithwaite and Falana put it very eloquently and forcefully that the protest had gone beyond the reversal of the fuel price to N65/litre. It was time to reclaim the people’s mandate so that power could reside with the people, they thundered. From one speaker to another, it was call for Jonathan to resign. If the call takes root, Jonathan may find himself fighting battles on three fronts – Boko Haram, fuel price hike, and calls for his resignation.
In Abuja, though rally speakers were more restrained in calling for the kind of revolutionary change that is sweeping through the minds and sentiments of the Lagos protesters, they left no one in doubt that their frustrations with the inertness of the Jonathan government were equally volatile and intense. There seems to be a sense of apprehension in both Lagos and Abuja that the Jonathan government had misread the mood of the moment, and might also have underestimated the anger of the people. Speakers drew attention to the government’s subsidy arithmetic and undermined its basic assumptions. They followed this up by pointing at the very many contradictions in the system, the decadence and laxity in government, and they then summed up their presentations by demanding the restoration of subsidy before any negotiations could take place.
The mere fact that the protest rallies were attended by mammoth crowds of the young and old, and male and female everywhere it held should underscore both their popularity and the depth of alienation in the system. The Jonathan government obviously failed to appreciate and measure the anger out on the streets. Many government officials reportedly poured scorn on analysts who condemned Jonathan for poorly timing the fuel subsidy measure. But it is now clear that the burgeoning menace of Boko Haram terrorism and the yet-to-abate Arab Spring have deeply influenced and inspired the Nigerian protests. Many speakers in some of the rallies made references to both Boko Haram, which is on the verge of instigating a civil or sectarian war, and the Arab Spring, from which the battle cry of Occupy Nigeria was coined.
If Jonathan heeds the House of Representatives motion asking the president to reverse the price hike, he may still be able to douse the incipient calls for his resignation. This is, however, only a possibility; it is not assured. But if he fails to take the window of opportunity opened by the Reps and decides to stick to his fuel subsidy plans, the call for his resignation or impeachment, which is still limited to whispers in many rallies, could start to blossom into non-negotiable calls for the fall of his government.
The massive protests have presented Jonathan two terrifying and unnerving dilemmas. First, if he fails to revert to the old fuel price, it seems clear he will not be able to govern well again or at least do it in an atmosphere of calm. He was really never in his elements even in time of no protests, what with series of goofs and gaffes. In times of crisis, he has even more difficulties. Worse, if the protests continue, his government may very well be swept away, for even now, the organisers are finding it difficult to keep a handle on the protesters who are yearning for a firmer and more assertive show of force. Second, if Jonathan reverts to the old price of petrol, the positions of members of his economic team would become untenable. The reason is that leading members of the team have sworn that without subsidy removal, the economy would crash. With the return of subsidy, it would sound contradictory to entrust the management of the economy into the hands of those who have concluded that the economy could not be salvaged without subsidy removal.
Just as no one could tell where the Arab Spring would lead when it began, it may be difficult on this first enthusiastic day to determine how it will all end for both the protesters and to the increasingly unpopular Jonathan government. It is, however, beyond doubt that the massiveness of the protest in some parts of the country showed the popularity of the cause. It is indeed a historical first to find Nigerians from all professions and from all corners of the country unite against an unpopular policy, and to some extent, an unpopular government. Jonathan has not inspired anyone; it is hard to see anyone inspired to defend him when the chips are down, for in the end, the people have drawn a line between Jonathan and democracy.

Protests Paralyse Nigerian Cities

Nigerian cities were groaing yesterday under a crushing weight of strikes, protests and rallies to force a reversal of petrol prices.


The protests were staged in more than 30 state capitals and towns.


Professionals, activists, workers, students, artisans and ordinary Nigerians hit the streets, carrying placards and singing anti-government songs. They heeded calls by the Nigeria labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which asked workers to shun work indefinitely, in response to the sudden withdrawal of subsidy on petrol on January 1. The government’s action sent petrol price jumping from N65 per litre to between N138 and N200.

The government said the cash to be saved from the subsidy that has been withdrawn will go into infrastructure, jobs and diversification of the economy. Labour disagreed.


The seat of government in Abuja was grounded by the protesters who prevented government officials, including ministers, from getting to their offices. The rally was addressed by labour leaders.


In Kano, the protest was hijacked by hoodlums, who attempted to break into the Government House. In the ensuing melee, a 15-year-old boy was reportedly killed. Many others were injured, hit by stray bullets, it was learnt.

Four people, including three in Benin City and one in Lagos, died.


Two ex-governors - Balarabe Musa and Hamid Alli-led the protest in Kaduna.


Protests and rallies were held in Abeokuta, Minna, Ibadan, Ado-Ekiti, Osogbo, Awka, Enugu, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Makurdi, Bauchi and Gombe and Oyo, among other state capitals and cities.


Businesses were shut down in Lagos. Airports and seaports were grounded.


The economy lost billions of naira.


The Federal Government pleaded for peace, saying dialogue remains the best way to resolve the matter.


In Lagos, the Labour team took off from the NLC Secretariat in Yaba with a fairly large crowd, which grew as they trekked along, sensitising the people on the reason for the protest.


The team was led by NLC Deputy President Joe Ajaero. TUC President General Peter Esele was represented by Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) President Sunday Olusoji Salako.


A Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) ambulance with registration number FST 564AA followed the crowd.


The crowd was massive but it was little compared to those already at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, where the long walk terminated and speeches were delivered.


The Save Nigeria Group (SNG) organised the rally at the Gani Fawehinmi Park. The crowd gathered there as early as 8.00am.


They moved through Ojuelegba to Jibowu, Fadeyi and Palmgrove, where a group of hoodlums tried to cause trouble, pelting the protesters with stones and other objects. But they were prevented by the police who employed force to stop the protest from being hijacked.


Save for the face-off with the hoodlums, the police were civil as they accompanied the protesters.


The SNG team was led by Pastor Tunde Bakare, the vice presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in last year’s presidential election.


Apart from Bakare, there were pro-democracy activists, such as Lagos lawyer Femi Falana, activist Yinka Odumakin and Dr. Joe-Okei Odumakin, Chief Dele Momodu, elder statesman Tunji Braithwaite, Mrs Ganiat Fawehimmi and her son, Mohammed, among other activists. There were musicians and actors – its members. Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Wasiu Ayinde, Ras Kimono, Dede Mabiakwu and others.


The crowd was so large that it stretched as far as the Maryland Bridge.


Ajibola Wahid, a lawyer, could not understand why the government could not arrest its members.


“I am protesting because the government cannot punish us for its inability to arrest 41 Nigerians who are behind the subsidy rackets.”


There was a huge podium from where the leaders addressed the crowd. A big electricity generating set was installed. The protesters threatened to remain at the Park for days to come, should the government fail to revert petrol price to N65.


At a point, a helicopter hovered over the crowd of protesters. But they were unmoved.


Songs of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was booming from the giant speakers and the crowd sang along.


Bakare said with or without subsidy, poor Nigerians would still lose out. He urged the government to tell the people how much the country is making from oil daily and make available the cost of daily production.


He said successive administrations paid for Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of refineries with nothing to show for it.


“The problem is corruption. More than 70 per cent of Nigeria’s earning is spent on their salaries and emolument. The corruption has to be removed,” the pastor said.


Salako said he could not say how long it would take but he knew that the people’s will would prevail. He warned banks against opening during the protests.


To Ajaero, reversal to N65 per litre is not negotiable.


Lagos Lawyer Femi Falana, accompanied by his son Folarin, said the people are angry because successive administrations have denied them the benefits of democracy. He said if they resolved to revolt, nobody can stop the revolution. He insisted that the people have the right to protest, saying inspite of having to address protest rallies for over 35 years little had changed in the polity.


Elder-statesman and Second Republic presidential candidate Dr. Tunji Braithwaite said “the revolution has started” and it cannot be stopped”.


“We have been ruled for a long time by mosquitoes. It is not only about fuel price, what about corruption. This is going to be a mother of all revolution. We will re arrange our affair,” said the 76-year old lawyer.


The widow of the late activist, Chime Ubani, Ochuwa, also attended the rally.


There were also leaders of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and Air Transport Workers, among many others.

source: thenation newspaper

Nigeria Will Rise Up Again By Pat Utomi

New Dawn for Nigeria?
Fifty years of nationhood, a golden moment to behold. A time of jubilee. But the land is somber. It seems the celebration is for and by a powerful few. In most of Nigeria it is just another day. But we need not despair. In spite of how things look, the signals are actually encouraging, the omens good and the prospects bought. Nigeria will rise up again and the labours of our heroes past will not be in vain.
It is easy to be despondent when you are unemployed as many of our youth are, angry when your relative has been kidnapped for no just cause or you are in debt or unable to find finance for this great small business idea that will make the misery index not an experience lived but a story of the lot of abstract personages. I have struggled to contain the emotion of personal displeasure of being a victim in many of the games that leave Nigeria prostrate, and to, as objectively as is possible for a human, there being no such thing as complete objectivity in these matters, to immerse myself in the data.
The growth numbers of different economic institutions at home and abroad, the Failed States index, the Jobless Growth study of the World Bank; the Generation Next report, the Newsweek report on the misery centres of the planet in which only Burkina Faso ranked worse than Oil rich Nigeria; and I come away greatly encouraged that Nigeria will rise up again and be paradise dreamt of in 1960.
All things considered, as one European Ambassador to Nigeria who served in China said to me recently, Nigeria keeps reminding him of China 15 – 20 years ago when he wrote reports about the likelihood of China’s take off and people at the home office politely filed away his reports. I can feel it in my bones that Nigeria is set to explode unto the global scene with outstanding economic growth, a new sense of pride and commitment to its natural leadership role in Africa.
As I review things, I see a huge population living abroad, broadening skills and supporting relatives in a way that has made for the strong domestic demand that drives above the premium annual GDP growth rates; combine that with the Youth population that can yield massive demographic dividends as our democratic effort begins to produce leaders whose objective is advance of the common good, not the pleasures of power, and the pillage of the commonwealth. I can project growth that makes China look like modest accomplishment. I know, therefore in my heart that Nigeria will rise up again.
Indeed I think it self-evident that if our elite can discover its mission and decide in the Franz Fanon sense not to betray it, that we will go from de – industrialization in which manufacturing collapsed from 13 per cent of GDP to less than 3 per cent of GDPs to one in which our factor endowment yields value chains into global markets where we are extremely competitive creating millions of quality jobs. Here I pay tribute already to such initiatives by people like Pedro Egbe in Oil and Gas in the Niger Delta but expect same for Gum – Arabic and Chemical Industry corridors in the North West, Food Processing in the North Central and Rubber in the South West. Surely Nigeria will rise up again.
It is not by accident that I fell in love with a song and appropriated it is my personal anthem.
Nigeria will rise up again, Nigeria will rise up again, (twice)
God will heal our land, restore us anew,
Nigeria will rise up again.
But it will rise not in the acrimony of self first in search of personal comfort-zones. It will rise in the realization that “I am because we are”, and that all can work together for a win – win outcome. Nigeria seems like a crippled giant because of a zero – sum mentality. We can all win if we work together. The trouble with the speed of the spirit of Nigeria soaring in flight remains a challenged middle class too wrapped in the pursuit of individual comfort zone that they forget that “ I am because we are”. The Nigerian spirit in ascent has to draw strength from new thinking that gives up the zero – sum mindset in which someone else’s success is seen as the loss of another. A win – win logic in which we discover the mission of our generation and collaborate in its pursuit will quickly see Nigeria rise again, a new set of values, replace this present times of a collapse of culture. The urgency of now is getting all to work together for advance of the common good rather the dominant way of plotting the end of the dream of your neighbour as assurance of your victory, Nigeria will rise up again.
As we celebrate 50 years of Independence and we seem separated between those in power and positions of privilege who celebrate and most of the rest are left wondering what is going on, a sense for the possibilities which profit all, especially as it is clear the present modus vivendi is not sustainable, should bridge the imagined divides between stakeholders, that Nigeria may rise up again. Surely we can overcome the many injustices that mark Nigerian history and God will heal our land that Nigeria may rise up again. The peace and prosperity symbolised by our flag should rally all to a common vision so that Nigeria will rise up again.
• Utomi, Political Economist, Professor of Entrepreneurship, and Business Angel was candidate for President in 2007.

2011: Nigerians angry as Senators double jumbo allowances By Patrick Okohue

2011: Nigerians angry as Senators double jumbo allowances By Patrick Okohue
Nigerians are angry; many are getting frustrated and are screaming on top of their voices. Their frustration is all geared towards the same direction. They are miffed that in a country where hunger,
lack and squalor are the order of the day, its National Assembly seem to be insensitive to their plight.
Their outrage stems from recent report from the upper chambers of the National Assembly, the Senate, where Senators are demanding for an upward review of their basic allowance from N43Million quarterly to a staggering N100 Million each, to enable them tackle perceived and real opponents ahead of the 2011 general elections.
Many Nigerians are saying that what the take home of the Senators presently is outrageous, yet the lawmakers seem not content and are asking for more.
Many are now asking the rationale for Senators asking for so much. Speaking on the demand, a concerned Nigerian said, “the lawmakers care more for themselves than the masses that voted them into power, I wonder if we have sat down to access the performance of the Senators so far, how many bills have they passed that have enhanced the lives of the masses that voted them, how many of them really know their senatorial district, how many of them do go home to know how their people are faring.”
“They are all in Abuja, buying land in Abuja, building houses in Abuja and looking for areas to invest and even outside the country, it is very unfortunate and if I have my way I will say let all of them go and face the EFCC, because they don’t have anything to offer, can you compare what they are demanding to the number of bills they have passed on education, now education is going down every day and nobody cares about that.”
That only represents the feeling of many Nigerians who are concerned about the type of representation they get, but the Senators are not disturbed by the outrage, provided they can get what they feel belongs to them, because according them, the House of Representatives have already shared theirs, why not the Senate.
According to a source, the Senators quest is in line with their findings that members of the House of Representatives are being well financially rewarded by their leadership and have wondered why that same cannot also happen in the Senate.
In a text message that went round among Senators, the arrow head in the push for the allowance increment is called on his colleagues to put pressure on the leadership of the Senate to increase the allowance of members because “this is election year.”
According to the text message: “My distinguished, each member in the House of Representatives has improved earnings from N25million to N43Million. This is an improvement of forty percent. Reps members are also getting on Prado 4 by 4. This is election year. We should rise up and demand from the leadership what is due us. Our entitlement in the budget is nothing less than N100Million per Senator. David Mark leadership will open up if we request for it. N100 million or nothing”.
If the proposal sails through as expected, it means the Senators would be sharing the sum of N10.9 Billion from the nation’s treasury. These figures do not include non-regular allowances—vehicle loan, furniture allowance, estacode, duty tour allowance and severance gratuity—which are paid separately to each legislator as they become due.
The present demand will make each Senator to be entitled to N100 million per quarter and N300million per annum, each principal officer will be entitled to N450 million, Deputy Senate President N600 million and Senate President N900 million per annum.
This is coming on the heels of alleged recent increase in the allowances of members of the House of Representatives from N25 Million to almost N40 Million from the same source, representing the sum N14 Billion shared by the lawmakers.
According to remuneration package released in 2009 by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), each of the 107 senators besides the Senate President and his deputy will receive N11 million in basic salaries and regular allowances every year while a member of the House of Representatives will get N9.9 million. Previously, a senator was getting N17 million while a House member was collecting N14.99 million.
The new agitation by the senators for an upward allowance review is not in line with the remuneration package prepared by the RMAFC.
An analyst wondered why the lawmakers will deceive Nigerians, making them believe that they conceded to a reduction in their remuneration last year because of the hardship in the system, only to turn around to demand what is far in excess of what they conceded.
Sources within the Senate noted that already some members have started mobilizing their colleagues to arm twist the Senate leadership to approve the increment.
A Senator from a North Central state is said to be leading the pack of Senators making the demand.
According to findings, quarterly allocation to each member of the House of Representatives has increased from about N25Million to close to N40 Million in the last three years while those of senators have remained in the neighborhood of between N35 million to N45 Million within the same period.
Putting it in perspective, another concerned Nigerian, Andrew Pinneh while responding to an online news report on the issue noted, “we have to put things in perspective first and try and understand the kind of politics we are building and encouraging in Nigeria, whether we are promoting good governance that supports the rule of law and order or we are promoting political decadence or political industry?”
“You see the country we had fashioned our democracy after does not pay as much as what our House of Representatives and the Senate are currently being paid. Currently, the file and rank of the US Senate and House take home a year is $174,000 (N26,274,000), the Majority and Minority leader $193,400 (N29, 203,400) and the Speaker $223,500 (N33,748,500).
“Compare this figures with what our own House and Senate are asking for. Mind you all other benefits paid to these guys are in line with the federal civil service scheme, which is similar to our own civil service. How much does a Permanent Secretary or top civil servants take home a year in Nigeria? Is this in line with what these politicians are asking for? Are we supposed to use the taxpayer’s money to induce party polity and campaign or they are supposed to source their funding by themselves! It is a shame for our dear nation the way the polity is playing out.
“In the UK, a Member of Parliament takes home a year £64,766 (N14, 896,180) about half of what its Nigerian counterpart is receiving. In fact, the Nigerian political office holders are about the most highly paid. But how do we benchmark their performance in relation to their counterpart around the world, we can say that the comparison is infinitesimal to their colleagues around the globe. The results speak for itself.
“We need to ask ourselves, how credible and capable are these politicians seeking re-election for 2011; we all need to draw a checklist of their performance and evaluate to see how many of them are actually capable or credible of being re-elected to the House or Senate. Can you imagine some of them seeking pay rise to help them get re-elected? This is unheard of any where in the world, what parameters do we have in place to checkmate this kind of mindset within our political elite? This calls for concern for all of us,” he said.
He is not alone, Yusuf Olayinka was even more sarcastic in his remarks, to him the demands of the politicians can only be likened to insanity, “these politicians to me are just lunatics. They talk about sharing public fund like is nothing, where an average Nigerian can not afford to eat three time a day.”
“Where degree holders will be forced to serve the country for a year (NYSC) and be kicked out after that and leave them with nothing. A country where all roads are death trap, a country where police rob innocent people of their belongings in broad day light.”
Another respondent shares Olayinka’s sentiment when he said, “this democracy is a demonstration of craziness. Lunatics are never aware of their immediate surroundings where poverty, ignorance and disease are the trade mark.”
But, M S Daura sees the demand as a challenge that all Nigerians will have to address through prayers “I call on all right thinking Nigerian to engage in prayer, may the almighty God take care of our oppressors. May them be oppressed by the lord for what they are doing to us. They are a bunch of lunatics and need to be controlled.”
In anger, Henry Stolly sees the demand as daylight robbery, describing the lawmakers as “dare devils, Constitutional robbers, greedy gluttons. Worse than this, is a silent nation consenting to this nonsense. These robbers live in affluence and luxury, whereas the majority of the populace lacks the basic amenities to live a comfortable life.”
“Oga Senator, do you think N100 million is enough? What about N500 million, or may be you guys should even be paid in dollars or pounds sterling. I foresee a revolution coming, judgement is coming and its coming fast and by the grace of God there shall be a national cleansing in the leadership. May THE ALMIGHTY GOD put zeal in the hearts of men in this nation to hasten this revolution; it is long awaited.
“Every thief in power shall not be spared. How I pray that a “Jerry Rawlings” would be born in our generation. Ah! I think enough is enough of this looting. Let God arise and His enemies be scattered. I think this time their agbada don hook barbed wire. Woe betide the man or whosoever that would approve such proposal. You are proposing an increase to bribe yourselves back to power.
For Yerima Waka, “they were never voted in to office” and therefore described them as “gangsters and treasury looters,” praying that, “if they succeed in this their ungodly looting, may peace not be found in what ever they do. May God expose them to shame and disgrace and may all kind of calamities be fall them.”
Another respondent, Isacco noted that “in the abundance of water the fool is hungry.” He urged the lawmakers to go home and rethink if this period of our nascent democracy and decide whether such request is necessary.
Yinka Adedayo, said, “if this is the kind of money available to these guys, why won’t they marry 13 year olds from Egypt? This is a sick country and the more we, the citizens sit back and accept this rubbish, then the more it will continue....... It’s enough for a call to arms!! I am a pacifist, but if I think this way, then the MEND way seems to be justified.”
Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Gabriel Giwa-Amu, described the situation as pathetic, “the case of the Senate is a pathetic situation, people in the first place who were never elected, if you look at the spate of tribunal judgements and all that.”
“These are people who had no visible means of income before some of them rigged their way into where they are, these are people who went there determined to plunder. Do you know that when a man says that he has N50million in a decent society, it is taxable, but here you have Senators and House of Reps members who avoid taxes, who flaunt stolen money, they act with impunity and enjoy immunity.
“When Festus Keyamo made a complaint of the car scam against Bankole, what was the result, it is only recently that people are saying that that scam was actually true, meanwhile Keyamo was hounded, harassed over that matter, the death of Bola Ige nobody knows who pulled the trigger till now, so when you have a system that cannot check itself, you will still have these problems, because the psyche of the people is now programmed to going there to embezzle.
“A teacher who rigged election to become council chairman can now boast of four houses and over ten cars, because everything is tailored towards corruption, but for the forthrightness of the press, I will say even judges fear you the press, there are some judges who would have given judgements one way, but when they see the avalanche of report , they quickly pretend to be impartial, but at the end of the day, provided the judgement is what it ought to be. So it is the press, not even the EFCC or ICPC, it is the fear of being revealed that has made these institutions at least tilt towards decency, if not don’t be surprised if you hear that your Senate President goes away with N20billion, there is nothing you can do about it, but for the fear of adverse publicity,” he said.
The demand has also not gone unnoticed by the opposition, the Action Congress (AC) in a release signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, accused the lawmakers of looting the national treasury, “and trashing the Constitution by unilaterally awarding themselves huge perks that far outweigh what was approved for them by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the only body Constitutionally-mandated to fix public officers’ pay.”
The party called on the RMAFC to speak up on the issue and the anti-graft agencies to immediately launch an investigation into it.
“The amount approved as monthly pay by RMAFC, including all allowances, for each Senator is N929,000 per month or just over N 11 million per annum. For each member of the House of Representatives, the approved amount is N917,000 per month or about N11 million per annum.
“But the lawmakers unilaterally allocated to themselves, as allowances, N27 million per quarter or N9 million monthly for each House of Representatives member, and N45 million or N15 million per month for each Senator, in addition to the amount approved by the RMAFC. It is public knowledge that they are now seeking to raise the allowance even higher.
“With the illegally-approved sums of money, each Senator will pocket N720 million in four years, while each House member will get N540 million. These sums do not include the approved pay by RMAFC which they also collect. Apart from being illegal, it is obscene, in a country where a huge chunk of the population lives on less than 1 US dollar per day,’’ AC said.
The party said when this over-sized perks are put side by side with the equally humongous allowances of principal officers in both chambers of the National Assembly, it is clear that the federal budget is largely being used to service our lawmakers, who are now acting like the ‘Pigs’ in the book ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell.
“Yet-undenied media reports said Senate President David Mark gets N250 million per quarter; Deputy Senate President, Ekweremadu N150 million; and each of the eight remaining principal officers N78 million. Little wonder that Nigerians are yet to see the dividends of democracy, over 10 years later.
“Ours must be the most expensive democracy on earth, and if nothing is done quickly to stem this looting tide, it may come to a time that there will be no money to run the government beyond paying the bloated salaries and allowances of our public office holders,’’ it said.
Also speaking on the vexed issue at a recent media interaction, President Goodluck Jonathan promised to discuss the issue with the leadership of the National Assembly with a view to having a proper understanding of the matter and also finding a way around it.
His words: “Not too long ago, the former chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Commission noted that the Nigerian President is the least paid President, but our late President then felt that this is not the time to increase wages and remuneration, because people will misunderstand it.”
“My self and the leadership of the National Assembly discuss from time to time at various levels informally, if this issue is becoming so topical I will again discuss with them, I also think that probably there may also be some misconception.
“I think people are looking at the total budget of the National Assembly and dividing it per head and that is a very wrong way, as if all the money they require is for them to spend for themselves, no, the National Assembly even though they are not meant to do roads, they are not meant to handle capital projects, but they furnish their offices, they buy some operational vehicles, communication equipment and things like that.
“There capital budget may not be much, but the overhead, off course they travel a lot, quite a number of their operation has to do with their oversight function, they travel out of the country, they travel within the country, they sit from Tuesdays to Thursdays, Mondays and Fridays they don’t sit, committees sit at will conducting town halls and all that, probably people are beginning to take funds for overhead as if they are funds for allowances, that is my ordinary thinking,” he said.
But, it will be noted that neither the Senate President, David Mark nor the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole has publicly made any statement with regards to the issue.
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2011: Nigerians angry as Senators double jumbo allowances By Patrick Okohue

Nigerians are angry; many are getting frustrated and are screaming on top of their voices. Their frustration is all geared towards the same direction. They are miffed that in a country where hunger,
lack and squalor are the order of the day, its National Assembly seem to be insensitive to their plight.
Their outrage stems from recent report from the upper chambers of the National Assembly, the Senate, where Senators are demanding for an upward review of their basic allowance from N43Million quarterly to a staggering N100 Million each, to enable them tackle perceived and real opponents ahead of the 2011 general elections.
Many Nigerians are saying that what the take home of the Senators presently is outrageous, yet the lawmakers seem not content and are asking for more.
Many are now asking the rationale for Senators asking for so much. Speaking on the demand, a concerned Nigerian said, “the lawmakers care more for themselves than the masses that voted them into power, I wonder if we have sat down to access the performance of the Senators so far, how many bills have they passed that have enhanced the lives of the masses that voted them, how many of them really know their senatorial district, how many of them do go home to know how their people are faring.”
“They are all in Abuja, buying land in Abuja, building houses in Abuja and looking for areas to invest and even outside the country, it is very unfortunate and if I have my way I will say let all of them go and face the EFCC, because they don’t have anything to offer, can you compare what they are demanding to the number of bills they have passed on education, now education is going down every day and nobody cares about that.”
That only represents the feeling of many Nigerians who are concerned about the type of representation they get, but the Senators are not disturbed by the outrage, provided they can get what they feel belongs to them, because according them, the House of Representatives have already shared theirs, why not the Senate.
According to a source, the Senators quest is in line with their findings that members of the House of Representatives are being well financially rewarded by their leadership and have wondered why that same cannot also happen in the Senate.
In a text message that went round among Senators, the arrow head in the push for the allowance increment is called on his colleagues to put pressure on the leadership of the Senate to increase the allowance of members because “this is election year.”
According to the text message: “My distinguished, each member in the House of Representatives has improved earnings from N25million to N43Million. This is an improvement of forty percent. Reps members are also getting on Prado 4 by 4. This is election year. We should rise up and demand from the leadership what is due us. Our entitlement in the budget is nothing less than N100Million per Senator. David Mark leadership will open up if we request for it. N100 million or nothing”.
If the proposal sails through as expected, it means the Senators would be sharing the sum of N10.9 Billion from the nation’s treasury. These figures do not include non-regular allowances—vehicle loan, furniture allowance, estacode, duty tour allowance and severance gratuity—which are paid separately to each legislator as they become due.
The present demand will make each Senator to be entitled to N100 million per quarter and N300million per annum, each principal officer will be entitled to N450 million, Deputy Senate President N600 million and Senate President N900 million per annum.
This is coming on the heels of alleged recent increase in the allowances of members of the House of Representatives from N25 Million to almost N40 Million from the same source, representing the sum N14 Billion shared by the lawmakers.
According to remuneration package released in 2009 by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), each of the 107 senators besides the Senate President and his deputy will receive N11 million in basic salaries and regular allowances every year while a member of the House of Representatives will get N9.9 million. Previously, a senator was getting N17 million while a House member was collecting N14.99 million.
The new agitation by the senators for an upward allowance review is not in line with the remuneration package prepared by the RMAFC.
An analyst wondered why the lawmakers will deceive Nigerians, making them believe that they conceded to a reduction in their remuneration last year because of the hardship in the system, only to turn around to demand what is far in excess of what they conceded.
Sources within the Senate noted that already some members have started mobilizing their colleagues to arm twist the Senate leadership to approve the increment.
A Senator from a North Central state is said to be leading the pack of Senators making the demand.
According to findings, quarterly allocation to each member of the House of Representatives has increased from about N25Million to close to N40 Million in the last three years while those of senators have remained in the neighborhood of between N35 million to N45 Million within the same period.
Putting it in perspective, another concerned Nigerian, Andrew Pinneh while responding to an online news report on the issue noted, “we have to put things in perspective first and try and understand the kind of politics we are building and encouraging in Nigeria, whether we are promoting good governance that supports the rule of law and order or we are promoting political decadence or political industry?”
“You see the country we had fashioned our democracy after does not pay as much as what our House of Representatives and the Senate are currently being paid. Currently, the file and rank of the US Senate and House take home a year is $174,000 (N26,274,000), the Majority and Minority leader $193,400 (N29, 203,400) and the Speaker $223,500 (N33,748,500).
“Compare this figures with what our own House and Senate are asking for. Mind you all other benefits paid to these guys are in line with the federal civil service scheme, which is similar to our own civil service. How much does a Permanent Secretary or top civil servants take home a year in Nigeria? Is this in line with what these politicians are asking for? Are we supposed to use the taxpayer’s money to induce party polity and campaign or they are supposed to source their funding by themselves! It is a shame for our dear nation the way the polity is playing out.
“In the UK, a Member of Parliament takes home a year £64,766 (N14, 896,180) about half of what its Nigerian counterpart is receiving. In fact, the Nigerian political office holders are about the most highly paid. But how do we benchmark their performance in relation to their counterpart around the world, we can say that the comparison is infinitesimal to their colleagues around the globe. The results speak for itself.
“We need to ask ourselves, how credible and capable are these politicians seeking re-election for 2011; we all need to draw a checklist of their performance and evaluate to see how many of them are actually capable or credible of being re-elected to the House or Senate. Can you imagine some of them seeking pay rise to help them get re-elected? This is unheard of any where in the world, what parameters do we have in place to checkmate this kind of mindset within our political elite? This calls for concern for all of us,” he said.
He is not alone, Yusuf Olayinka was even more sarcastic in his remarks, to him the demands of the politicians can only be likened to insanity, “these politicians to me are just lunatics. They talk about sharing public fund like is nothing, where an average Nigerian can not afford to eat three time a day.”
“Where degree holders will be forced to serve the country for a year (NYSC) and be kicked out after that and leave them with nothing. A country where all roads are death trap, a country where police rob innocent people of their belongings in broad day light.”
Another respondent shares Olayinka’s sentiment when he said, “this democracy is a demonstration of craziness. Lunatics are never aware of their immediate surroundings where poverty, ignorance and disease are the trade mark.”
But, M S Daura sees the demand as a challenge that all Nigerians will have to address through prayers “I call on all right thinking Nigerian to engage in prayer, may the almighty God take care of our oppressors. May them be oppressed by the lord for what they are doing to us. They are a bunch of lunatics and need to be controlled.”
In anger, Henry Stolly sees the demand as daylight robbery, describing the lawmakers as “dare devils, Constitutional robbers, greedy gluttons. Worse than this, is a silent nation consenting to this nonsense. These robbers live in affluence and luxury, whereas the majority of the populace lacks the basic amenities to live a comfortable life.”
“Oga Senator, do you think N100 million is enough? What about N500 million, or may be you guys should even be paid in dollars or pounds sterling. I foresee a revolution coming, judgement is coming and its coming fast and by the grace of God there shall be a national cleansing in the leadership. May THE ALMIGHTY GOD put zeal in the hearts of men in this nation to hasten this revolution; it is long awaited.
“Every thief in power shall not be spared. How I pray that a “Jerry Rawlings” would be born in our generation. Ah! I think enough is enough of this looting. Let God arise and His enemies be scattered. I think this time their agbada don hook barbed wire. Woe betide the man or whosoever that would approve such proposal. You are proposing an increase to bribe yourselves back to power.
For Yerima Waka, “they were never voted in to office” and therefore described them as “gangsters and treasury looters,” praying that, “if they succeed in this their ungodly looting, may peace not be found in what ever they do. May God expose them to shame and disgrace and may all kind of calamities be fall them.”
Another respondent, Isacco noted that “in the abundance of water the fool is hungry.” He urged the lawmakers to go home and rethink if this period of our nascent democracy and decide whether such request is necessary.
Yinka Adedayo, said, “if this is the kind of money available to these guys, why won’t they marry 13 year olds from Egypt? This is a sick country and the more we, the citizens sit back and accept this rubbish, then the more it will continue....... It’s enough for a call to arms!! I am a pacifist, but if I think this way, then the MEND way seems to be justified.”
Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Gabriel Giwa-Amu, described the situation as pathetic, “the case of the Senate is a pathetic situation, people in the first place who were never elected, if you look at the spate of tribunal judgements and all that.”
“These are people who had no visible means of income before some of them rigged their way into where they are, these are people who went there determined to plunder. Do you know that when a man says that he has N50million in a decent society, it is taxable, but here you have Senators and House of Reps members who avoid taxes, who flaunt stolen money, they act with impunity and enjoy immunity.
“When Festus Keyamo made a complaint of the car scam against Bankole, what was the result, it is only recently that people are saying that that scam was actually true, meanwhile Keyamo was hounded, harassed over that matter, the death of Bola Ige nobody knows who pulled the trigger till now, so when you have a system that cannot check itself, you will still have these problems, because the psyche of the people is now programmed to going there to embezzle.
“A teacher who rigged election to become council chairman can now boast of four houses and over ten cars, because everything is tailored towards corruption, but for the forthrightness of the press, I will say even judges fear you the press, there are some judges who would have given judgements one way, but when they see the avalanche of report , they quickly pretend to be impartial, but at the end of the day, provided the judgement is what it ought to be. So it is the press, not even the EFCC or ICPC, it is the fear of being revealed that has made these institutions at least tilt towards decency, if not don’t be surprised if you hear that your Senate President goes away with N20billion, there is nothing you can do about it, but for the fear of adverse publicity,” he said.
The demand has also not gone unnoticed by the opposition, the Action Congress (AC) in a release signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, accused the lawmakers of looting the national treasury, “and trashing the Constitution by unilaterally awarding themselves huge perks that far outweigh what was approved for them by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the only body Constitutionally-mandated to fix public officers’ pay.”
The party called on the RMAFC to speak up on the issue and the anti-graft agencies to immediately launch an investigation into it.
“The amount approved as monthly pay by RMAFC, including all allowances, for each Senator is N929,000 per month or just over N 11 million per annum. For each member of the House of Representatives, the approved amount is N917,000 per month or about N11 million per annum.
“But the lawmakers unilaterally allocated to themselves, as allowances, N27 million per quarter or N9 million monthly for each House of Representatives member, and N45 million or N15 million per month for each Senator, in addition to the amount approved by the RMAFC. It is public knowledge that they are now seeking to raise the allowance even higher.
“With the illegally-approved sums of money, each Senator will pocket N720 million in four years, while each House member will get N540 million. These sums do not include the approved pay by RMAFC which they also collect. Apart from being illegal, it is obscene, in a country where a huge chunk of the population lives on less than 1 US dollar per day,’’ AC said.
The party said when this over-sized perks are put side by side with the equally humongous allowances of principal officers in both chambers of the National Assembly, it is clear that the federal budget is largely being used to service our lawmakers, who are now acting like the ‘Pigs’ in the book ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell.
“Yet-undenied media reports said Senate President David Mark gets N250 million per quarter; Deputy Senate President, Ekweremadu N150 million; and each of the eight remaining principal officers N78 million. Little wonder that Nigerians are yet to see the dividends of democracy, over 10 years later.
“Ours must be the most expensive democracy on earth, and if nothing is done quickly to stem this looting tide, it may come to a time that there will be no money to run the government beyond paying the bloated salaries and allowances of our public office holders,’’ it said.
Also speaking on the vexed issue at a recent media interaction, President Goodluck Jonathan promised to discuss the issue with the leadership of the National Assembly with a view to having a proper understanding of the matter and also finding a way around it.
His words: “Not too long ago, the former chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Fiscal Commission noted that the Nigerian President is the least paid President, but our late President then felt that this is not the time to increase wages and remuneration, because people will misunderstand it.”
“My self and the leadership of the National Assembly discuss from time to time at various levels informally, if this issue is becoming so topical I will again discuss with them, I also think that probably there may also be some misconception.
“I think people are looking at the total budget of the National Assembly and dividing it per head and that is a very wrong way, as if all the money they require is for them to spend for themselves, no, the National Assembly even though they are not meant to do roads, they are not meant to handle capital projects, but they furnish their offices, they buy some operational vehicles, communication equipment and things like that.
“There capital budget may not be much, but the overhead, off course they travel a lot, quite a number of their operation has to do with their oversight function, they travel out of the country, they travel within the country, they sit from Tuesdays to Thursdays, Mondays and Fridays they don’t sit, committees sit at will conducting town halls and all that, probably people are beginning to take funds for overhead as if they are funds for allowances, that is my ordinary thinking,” he said.
But, it will be noted that neither the Senate President, David Mark nor the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole has publicly made any statement with regards to the issue.
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