Akpabio’s jumbo payoff and Nigerian legislators

For some time the media has been abuzz over the governor of our beloved Akwa Ibom State – Godswill Akpabio, who routinely parades his administration as one that invented ‘uncommon development’ in the state. The issue this time is that he has extended the same streak to self aggrandisement. In a real life drama that […]

For some time the media has been abuzz over the governor of our beloved Akwa Ibom State – Godswill Akpabio, who routinely parades his administration as one that invented ‘uncommon development’ in the state. The issue this time is that he has extended the same streak to self aggrandisement. In a real life drama that defied even the most outlandish public expectation, a 16 year old law granting lifelong post-service benefits to former governors and their deputies, was amended to feature additional perks to guarantee among other goodies, enough funds to purchase longevity, if ever and wherever it could be found.
Granted that Akpabio met the law as a bill pursuant to the amendment of an existing 1998 edict by a past military administration, it is the grotesque additions to it under his brief that form the basis of contention by sections of the Nigerian public. Beyond other provisions Akpabio’s version of the law initially provided for a life-long annual medical bill of N100 million for an ex- governor and N50 million for the deputy.     
The spate of public outcry over the initiative assumed such a crescendo that prompted Akpabio and his pocket parliament which the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly allowed itself to evolve into, amend the law even if  marginally. To many observers the difference between the old and new versions is more ominous than that between  twelve and a dozen, since the amendment only removed the ceiling on medical bill and allowed the discretion of an incumbent governor to decide.
However given that such legislations in Nigeria, which no matter how anti-people they may be, are never rolled back, it still serves a good purpose to draw as much lessons from the experience as is possible. One of these is the despicable fawning role played by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly. While the governor may be blamed for driving such changes  to the old law, the real culprit in this rape of the public good remains the state legislature, which in passing it threw overboard all considerations of public interest that should have been its guiding concern. The Constitution grants them the powers to make laws including that of changing the name of man to woman, just as it also assigns to them the responsibility of acting always in the interest of public good. And the official plunder of the state’s resources in the name of padding a comfort zone for any governor out of office, is clearly outside the most obtuse definition of public good.
The question some are asking is why would a legislature that has some of the most informed members of the Nigerian society allow itself to turn out this piece of most insensitive legislature, which even with serial amendments still comes out unwholesome? Many people suspect at least two factors as the reasons.
Firstly there is the factor of overbearing self interest ( the ‘I Before Others’ syndrome) among the collaborating state legislators who expect to grant the governor his wish and in turn be compensated with their own round of public loot, since he will be needed to facilitate such. However as history has shown, politicians in the executive arm especially, do not always operate on the ’give and take’ principle, but on the ‘use and dump’ as well as ‘winner takes all’ framework. Otherwise why does the complement of beneficiary past leaders of the state not include the Speakers and Deputy Speakers as well as Chief Judges? Are they not also leaders of the other equal and separate arms of government being the legislature and judiciary? While Chief Judges may be seen as having traditional (less than jumbo) retirement benefits from the judiciary, Akwa Ibom State legislators  should look at the national culture of denigration of past leaders of the various legislative chambers of the country – the National Assembly inclusive, to see where they shot themselves in the foot.
Secondly, given the imminence of the 2015 general elections, it is no surprise that electoral permutations and the associated expectations often becloud the reasoning of many politicians. For those members of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly who hope to be rewarded with future political relevance by the sell-out of public trust through this law, only time will tell the wisdom of their action.  
Meanwhile for now, Akpabio and the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly can still make amends by ensuring that their magnanimity for post-service officers spreads around to the easily forgotten good people of the state – the civil servants especially, who are normally robbed to pay political leaders at the various tiers of government. After all, the state ranks high in the ratio of civil servants to the general population in Nigeria. This implies that it has an army of government retirees, who will be too happy for good news with respect to Akpabio inspired, enhanced pension benefits.