One country, two leadership styles
About 1963 or so when there was some problem with Nigeria’s economy with consequential fall in revenue intake, the government of the Northern Region promptly cut the salaries of political office holders by 10 percent, to reflect its concern. Those affected included the Premier, Ministers, members of the Regional House of Assembly and Permanent Secretaries. […]
About 1963 or so when there was some problem with Nigeria’s economy with consequential fall in revenue intake, the government of the Northern Region promptly cut the salaries of political office holders by 10 percent, to reflect its concern. Those affected included the Premier, Ministers, members of the Regional House of Assembly and Permanent Secretaries.
Nigeria’s dire economic situation today arouses no comparable reaction: the leadership insists on its perks and perquisites, including SUVs and allowances that equals the annual salary of the US president. Nigerians, instead, daily receive tidings of increases in current taxes and the promise of new ones. To rephrase the Minister of Finance’s refrain “Our problem is revenue (income), not consumption.” To maintain consumption at current levels governments are also taking all manner of loans, arguing that the debt to GDP ratio is not yet unsustainable.
2020 will be a tough year economically for the country. It’s important that the leadership empathise with the general public by making the same demands on itself as it does on the rest of the citizenry.
M T Usman