Greed will be the ruin of us
I received an email from a friend the other day. I found the contents hilarious but, sadly a true reflection of why millions of Nigerians will continue to wallow in poverty while the politicians they supposedly voted for live in affluence.
The email is about the monthly salary of an average Nigerian Senator and other lawmakers. A Nigerian senator earns more in salary than President Barack Obama of the United States of America and Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom.
In United States, while the minimum wage is $1,257 (N191, 667), a US lawmaker earns $15,080 (N2.3m) per month. In the United Kingdom, a lawmaker earns $8,686 (N1.3m) monthly while the gross national minimum wage is $1,883 (N283, 333) per month.
Also, Nigerian lawmakers earn higher than their counterparts in Sweden. With a monthly pay of $7,707 (N1.2m), a lawmaker in Sweden will need to work for over 12 years to equal what a Nigerian senator earns per annum.
My friend described the lawmakers as wicked and ungodly especially in the face of biting fuel scarcity that is ravaging the land.
The email was brilliant piece of satire. Again, very hilarious and, again, sadly true!
I always say that Nigeria is only one country where a political appointment is a dream ticket to the kingdom of wealth and influence. The immediate priority, on attaining power, is to enrich yourself, your family and cronies. As if that was enough, the ill-gotten gains are stashed away in foreign banks that create wealth for host countries.
My experience while in United States of America recently showed that corruption is practiced in most, if not all the countries, but the difference with our dear country is that their proceed are invested within those countries, thereby creating wealth for their economies. At least, the banks in which those funds are stashed will have enough to lend to companies to create jobs and by so doing provide revenue to the government, which in turn receives more funds to build infrastructure to promote economic activity and growth, and provide social services, like school and healthcare.
Since coming back from United State recently, I often asked myself why I came back. Every week, Nigerians are suffering with long queues at every filling station. Our country has no electricity, no food, and no light; there is no money and yet, lawmakers are collecting the biggest salaries in the world.
It is time for all Nigerians to know that these politicians are their common enemy and not the party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or All Progressives Congress (APC). Karl Marx must have seen Nigeria when he penned that history of the world is a class struggle between the rich and poor.
