How to consume our children’s future (1)

To underscore my point, investigative journals in Nigeria have it that Suntai bought the private plane involved in the mishap, from a member of the House of Representative, Honorable BalaIbnNa’Allah.  Should we commend him for his humility in buying a ‘second-hand’ plane from Na’Allah, whose state of Kebbi is rated as one of the poorest […]

To underscore my point, investigative journals in Nigeria have it that Suntai bought the private plane involved in the mishap, from a member of the House of Representative, Honorable BalaIbnNa’Allah.  Should we commend him for his humility in buying a ‘second-hand’ plane from Na’Allah, whose state of Kebbi is rated as one of the poorest in Nigeria?  Or can we even begin to blame the governor for buying planes, when many of his colleagues in government and outside government fall over themselves to purchase $50million Gulfstream private jets as if it was going out of fashion?  So-called ‘churches’ are not even left out of the crass display of madness, with get-rich-quick pastors displaying the highest levels of profligacy and attachment to worldly chattels.   It is important to bring to the notice of readers, that the real reason why ‘big men’ in Nigeria are falling over themselves to purchase private jets, is because they know that one day, with the way they are running and milking the poor country, everything may ‘scatter’, and they want to ensure they get out fast to any neighbouring country, on their private jets, from their private air strips.  That is the truth. Even Governor Amaechi confirmed this recently when he stated that if Nigeria should implode he will be among the first to jet out to Ghana.  Of course, he also just acquired a state of the art private jet.

Last week, I stated that a major proportion of Nigeria’s budgets goes on vanity projects.  Ultra-modern this and that.  We are not in short of these ultra modern vanity projects.  What we are seriously in need of, are sustainable infrastructure that can assist the majority of our people to live better lives befitting of human beings in today’s age.  The flood ravaging a whole lot of our people presently is an eye opener, to the conditions under which our people live; the squalor, the poor quality of houses, the ignorance of hygiene, and so on.  Yet our governments at different levels, power on with vanity projects. Five, ten years ago, last year, this year and next year, items such as ‘ultra modern state secretariat/governor’s office/governor’s lodge’, ‘Hosting of African/World/First Ladies/Summit on this or that’, purchase of ‘ultra-modern’ vehicles, renovation of ultra-modern building for Senate President e.t.c. – e.t.c. make it into our budget.   As it goes on at the federal level, so does it at state and local government levels.  In fact, the president last week, went to Akwa Ibom State to commission, among other things, a new ‘ultra-modern’ governor’s office!  I say, why can we not ‘manage’ and maintain the old structures? For new, ultra-modern governors’ offices and governors’ lodges bring nothing to the people other than colossal wastes!

Can someone whose priorities are screwed up so badly hope to make progress in life?  If someone who should invest in his brain by attending school, decides to use his school fees to hang out at beer parlours and to pay women of easy virtues while his colleagues learn science and arts, would he have anyone but himself to blame when his life turns into a nightmare? Yes, that is my beloved country Nigeria for you.  While other countries are investing in their own futures, Nigeria is busy spending on vanity projects like no man’s business.  No, Nigeria is busy consuming what it should reserve for generations unborn.  Our budgets look rosy on the surface but in the end, we keep budgeting to achieve the wrong objectives.  Nigeria is like a proverbial head of the family, who spends his salaries in beer parlours, in throwing parties and ‘spraying’ fuji musicians, in paying women at brothels, in buying the latest voile laces to make babbanriga, while his children starve to death.

Of note is the kind of monies Nigeria spends on Muslim and Christian pilgrimages year in, year out.  In the Islamic injunctions, pilgrimages are meant for those who think they are successful and can afford the journey. Nowhere was it said that governments should sponsor people.  Nigeria has turned that upside down, and used even the holy pilgrimage to increase the sense of entitlement among our people.  Say, how can one criticize a government that has sent you on a holy pilgrimage that you could ill-afford?  But perhaps successive governments in Nigeria have only used these pilgrimage businesses to deceive our people.  Why not empower the people, build them hospitals that work, give them health and proper education, why don’t our leaders communicate proper values to the people they purportedly lead, rather than sponsor the opium of the masses – religion?  Is it that they want us to feel permanently intoxicated?

The other day, Zamfara government reportedly spent N2billion (about $15million) on Ramadan gifts.  Just last week, it was reported that Kano State spent N1.7billion ($12million equivalent) on Sallah Rams!  The point is that governance in Nigeria has lost its focus, permanently.  Otherwise, government will not spend so much time and resources, appealing to the base sentiments of our people, through religion, tribalism and what have you.  Whereas people can be religious, there are definitely better ways of spending the monies I have mentioned above, in today’s dying Nigeria, and that if we are unsure of what to do, that will edify us as a people and cause our children to pray for us when we are departed, we should simply save the money.  It is important to note that these kind of spendings permeate the length and breath of Nigeria, and are not restricted to any section or the other.  Why, for crying out loud would we have whole ministries in charge of sending thousands of Nigerians abroad each year, on government budget, to merely go and boost the tourism potentials of Italy, Israel, and Saudi Arabia? How come no other government in the world sponsors their own people to come and spend money in Nigeria?

The experiences of the 1,000 women deported from Saudi Arabia a few weeks ago readily comes to mind.  If the Saudi authorities were correct, that means Nigeria even sponsors unqualified people to pilgrimages.  If the Saudis were just being wicked and wanted to embarrass Nigeria, it calls to question why we as a people go to places where we are despised.  Still, Nigeria had to‘re-sponsor’ many of the deported ladies back to Saudi a few weeks after.  Imagine the cost of doing all these.  These are what we budget for year in year out, and we wonder why we are not making progress.  Even the holy books ask ‘Shall we continue in sin and expect the Grace to multiply?’