By LEWIS OBI, 08173446632 sms only, [email protected]
THE question about the National Assembly is not whether it has fallen on the job, but since it has, what is the way forward? It is glaring to most Nigerians that the body needs reformulation. It is not just about its corruption. In performance, it bears no resemblance to its counterparts in the world. No one would see “Q|uestion Time” in the House of Commons or C-SPAN live casts of US Congress and not realize that Nigeria needs a real legislature.
That the National Assembly awarded to itself eight times more than what the US Congress earns would be bearable if it did half as much work. It is so obsessed with its privileges it spares no thought to the welfare of Nigerians. It does not respect the rule of law. In fact it continues to demonstrate its disdain for the rule of law. Contrary to its claims that it is the foundation of democracy, it is the only legislature in the world which hides its earnings from the people it is supposed to represent. It is the only parliament that distrusts the judiciary so much it does not want its leaders to appear in court when they have been indicted for violations of the law. It has such a sense of guilt and siege it went through a rumpus early in the week seeking immunity from prosecution. Early in the week and after its long recess, the only issues that were of importance to it were as usual the expansion of its powers and the extension of its privileges. Threatening to impeach President Buhari as it did this week reminds me of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter to the leaders of the National Assembly a few months ago, some excerpts reproduced below:
“While in government, I was threatened with impeachment by the members of the National Assembly for not releasing some money they had appropriated for themselves which were odious and for which there were no incomes to support. The recent issue of cars for legislators would fall into the same category. Whatever name it is disguised as, it is unnecessary and insensitive. A pool of a few cars for each Chamber will suffice for any Committee Chairman or members for any specific duty. The waste that has gone into cars, furniture, housing renovation in the past was mind-boggling and these were veritable sources of waste and corruption. That was why they were abolished. Bringing them back is inimical to the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.”
The National Assembly went ahead and spent roughly N7 billion on extra luxury cars at a time the Nigerian economy had gone into recession and many states are unable to pay salaries to teachers and civil servants. “The purpose of election into the Legislative Assembly particularly at the national level is to give service to the nation and not for the personal service and interest of members at the expense of the nation which seemed to have been the mentality, psychology, mindset and practice within the National Assembly since the beginning of this present democratic dispensation. Where is patriotism? Where is commitment? Where is service?”
“The beginning of good governance which is the responsibility of all arms and all the tiers of government is openness and transparency. It does not matter what else we try to do as long as one of arm of government shrouds its financial administration and management in opaqueness and practices rife with corruption, only very little, if anything at all, can be achieved in putting Nigeria on the path of sustainable and enduring democratic system, development and progress.” “It must not be seen and said that those who, as leaders, call for sacrifice from the citizenry are living in obscene opulence. It will not only be insensitive but callously so. It would seem that it is becoming a culture that election into the legislative arm of government at the national level in particular is a licence for financial misconduct and that should not be.”
Mr President of the Senate and Hon. Speaker of the House, you know that your emoluments which the commission (Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission) had recommended for you take care of all your legitimate requirements: basic salary, car, housing, staff, constituency allowance. Although the constituency allowance is paid to all members of the National Assembly, many of them have no constituency offices which the allowance is partly meant to cater for. And, yet, other allowances and payments have been added by the National Assembly members’ emoluments. Surely, strictly speaking, it is unconstitutional.
“There is no valid argument for this except to see it for what it is – law-breaking and impunity by lawmakers. The lawmakers can return to the path of honour, sensitivity and responsibility. The National Assembly should have the courage to publish its recurrent budgets for the years 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. That it what transparency demands.
“With the number of legislators not changing, comparison can be made. Comparisons in emoluments can be made with countries like Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and even Malaysia and Indonesia that are richer and more developed than we are.” A report by Elombah. com on a study done by the Economist magazine states that “Nigerian federal legislators receive much higher salaries than their counterparts in wealthier countries and key developing nations, according to an analysis published by the Economist magazine.”
“A Nigerian legislator receives an annual salary of about $189,000, equivalent of N30 million, which is 116 times the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per person, says the publication which was posted on the magazine’s website in 2009 and did not include the 17 different allowances that are paid to members of the National Assembly.) “The figures put salaries collected by Nigerian senators and members of the House of Representatives way ahead of those received by fellow parliamentarians in the 29 countries whose data was analysed by the Economist.
“In terms of volume of cash earnings, the Nigerian legislators beat their counterparts in Britain who take $105,400 yearly, as well as those in the United States ($174,000), France ($85,900), South Africa ($104,000), Kenya ($74,500), Saudi Arabia ($64,000) and Brazil ($157,600). In terms of lawmakers’ salaries as a ratio of GDP per capita, the gap is even much wider. While the salary of a Nigerian lawmaker is 116 times the country’s GDP per person, that of a British member of parliament is just 2.7 times.
“The report said Britain’s legislators pay is “relatively parsimonious” when compared with that of their counterparts in poorer countries, including Nigeria, who “enjoy the heftiest salaries by this measure.”
“According to the data, only Australian lawmakers, with $201,200 annual salary, receive higher amounts compared to Nigerian legislators, but their salaries are only 3 times their country’s GDP per person.
Other yearly salary details published by the Economist are those of lawmakers in Ghana ($46,500), Indonesia ($65,800), Thailand ($43,800), India ($11,200), Italy ($182,000), Bangladesh ($4,000), Israel ($114,800), Hong Kong ($130,700), Japan ($149,700), Singapore ($154,000), Canada ($154,000), New Zealand ($112,500), Germany ($119,500), Ireland ($120,400), Pakistan ($3,500), Malaysia ($25,300), Sweden ($99,300), Sri Lanka ($5,100), Spain ($43,900) and Norway ($138,000).”