Political Issues
A Filthy Cap In Hand -By Ike Willie-Nwobu
One would think that Nigeria’s dire circumstances would force government officials to cut costs at all costs. But it appears it is business as usual for most of them, with the outrageous cost of governance being aggravated by the ridiculous excesses of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (Agencies), and the committees set up from time to time to work alongside them.
According to memos leaked from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF),Chief George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, recently asked the Federal Government to approve one billion Naira for the deliberations of a thirty-seven man tripartite committee on the review of the National Minimum Wage in a country scalded by hunger and scorched by poverty.
As expected, the request whipped up a cyclone of controversy in a country where inflation continues to rip bread off the tables of the poorest with ruthless regularity. But the SGF won’t really mind that he did not get his way, as President Tinubu slashed the sum by half to only five hundred million for the committee. He will most likely get his way with such other ludicrous requests that may never become public knowledge. In a country where accountability and transparency are rarities, that is bound to happen one way or the other.
Little by little, the eyes of Nigerians are being gradually opened to the deal they struck on February 18, 2023,that fateful day on which they filed out all over the country to cast their votes in presidential polls. There are several caveats, though. It may be too early to describe the deal as one with the devil, just as many will argue that their votes were misappropriated on that day by complicit staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). However, the protests that have recently convulsed Kano, Niger, and even Nasarawa State over the rising cost of living tell a spellbinding story of what life has become for Nigerians under an administration in which Akume is a principal figure.
Before he became the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Akume was a Minister in the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, an administration so disastrous and dysfunctional that Nigerians lived decades in only eight years. He was also governor of Benue State in north central Nigeria for eight years from 1999 to 2007 and later served as Senator representing Benue Northwest Senatorial District in the National Assembly. So, Akume knows about privilege, political office and the perks that come with it.
The insecurity which almost eviscerated Benue State in the last decade may not have started while the SGF was in office as governor, but it was strange that he could do nothing about it even though he was a prominent member of the ruling party from the state.
The SGF is a career Nigerian politician who would rather be served than serve, the archetypal Nigerian public servant who balks at any suggestion to cut the cost of governance.
There should be no mistake about it. The committee is no ordinary committee. It has on it some of Nigeria’s rich who include state governors, government ministers and representatives of prominent organizations, within the country.
Ordinarily, these people should be able to take care of themselves while serving their country. But no. Every opportunity to serve Nigeria now also translates as an opportunity to fleece her.
The SGF who made the request to the president is a man who knows how rewarding it is to serve. A former governor, minister, senator, and the serving secretary to the Government of the Federation, he has occupied a slew of prominent offices in Nigeria, and set up many committees in the process. He surely knows just how rewarding public service in Nigeria can be, especially the mechanics by which public servants line private pockets.
In the face of Nigeria’s despairing dive into the clutches of insecurity and poverty, especially food insecurity, reviewing the current minimum wage has become a matter of critical national importance.
One would think that Nigeria’s dire circumstances would force government officials to cut costs at all costs. But it appears it is business as usual for most of them, with the outrageous cost of governance being aggravated by the ridiculous excesses of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (Agencies), and the committees set up from time to time to work alongside them.
Nigeria’s current minimum wage stands at N30,000 per month. That is beyond low in the face of current economic realities.
It is why the committee for which the SGF made the outrageous request was set up. Given the circumstances, it is rather ironical that a committee that was set up to review the minimum wage made such an insensitive beeline for the maximum wage.
There is the danger that the committee would lose sight of the urgent task at hand because it is more concerned with what is or what is not approved for it.
One of the great ironies of life in Nigeria is that those who work the hardest receive the lowest remuneration. Perhaps,there is no greater injustice than this. This is reflected in the fact that the Nigeria Labour Congress is planning a nationwide protest over the rising cost of living.
Today, Nigeria’s many problems stems from the fact that no one wants to serve the country anymore.
Until Nigeria can cut the cost of governance at all levels, the country can expect to remain stuck in the same spot where it has been for decades now.
Ike Willie-Nwobu
ikewilly9@gmail.com
