Senatoring for exotic jeeps

The 10th Wonder of the world story of the Nigerian Senators and their 108 Exotic Jeeps has dominated not only the pages of the Nigerian newspapers, international broadcast media but for sure it has also created global attention given the rather bizarre and absurd manner in which some of the key principal officers are defending […]

The 10th Wonder of the world story of the Nigerian Senators and their 108 Exotic Jeeps has dominated not only the pages of the Nigerian newspapers, international broadcast media but for sure it has also created global attention given the rather bizarre and absurd manner in which some of the key principal officers are defending the position despite the public outrage.
It is rather disappointing that one of the senate spokesperson Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi in attempting to justify allocating the top-end and class of the world luxury jeeps was reported to have gone to extent of saying that the Jeeps were “a necessity and not a luxury”. I have no idea from which part of Nigeria Abdullahi comes from and it does not really matter to me at this point but I can bet my life that somewhere, somehow there must be a community in his area where the amount meant to purchase just one of those jeep will make a lot of difference in their lives either in providing portable drinking water, access road, drugs for hospital use or primary school basic requirements such as Exercise books, pencils, tables and chairs etc.
One will always continue to wonder why the same generation of people who benefitted from free education from primary to University level and equally enjoyed free health care services in just not distant past are today closing their eyes based on greed and selfish interest allowing millions of Nigerians to suffer in abject poverty and want in the midst of plenty.
To say that Nigeria is rich and blessed by God with mineral and natural resources is an understatement, but the country is equally blessed with a reservoir of unprecedented number of cabals, egocentric, naïve and self-centered leaders whose vision is so elusive and thus cannot see beyond their nose and their head appears to be completely stacked with mud instead of brain. Or how else can they justify the huge amount of money they are stealing from public funds. 
It is glaringly clear that the distinguished senators are either not aware of the public perception of them or they have just decided to damn the consequences and ignore the perception in total arrogance, disregard and disrespect of the people that elected them into that exalted office and rather than serving them they are now preoccupied by serving themselves.
My mind is still being haunted by my experience of meeting an accident a couple of years ago of a 911 Lorry carrying passengers, goods and cows to a very popular market in Soro village of Ganjuwa Local Government area of Bauchi state. The lorry somersaulted and so many people including the animals were seriously injured. I joined a team of Samaritans in the recue mission and when we reach the Darazo General Hospital with over 15 injured persons, the staff were just staring at them and could not do anything.
One of them just spotted my rather mild but neat appearance and approached me and then politely asked “are you the leader of the rescue team” and I replied, “is there any problem and he reluctantly said “we will not be able to attend to this accident victims (majority of them were by then crying in pains) because we do not have even hand gloves in this facility at this time talk less of syringe, needles or any form of infusion”. We had to contribute from our pockets to by the materials when we asked them to give us a list of what they need to attend to the accident victims.
One can imagine this sordid situation of a General Hospital on a “truck A” road connecting Abuja, Jos, Bauchi, and Damaturu to Maiduguri. And here we are submerged in this kind of ugly and dehumanizing situation while our representatives are feasting on our nations resources building huge mansions and buying Exotic Jeeps in the name of official vehicles which we all know that it has become a norm that vehicles assigned to political office holders most often end up as their personal property in no distant future.
Worst still, all these ungodly behavior is happening in a country where nearly over 95% of the 170 Million populations are championing the cause of Islam or Christianity and we all see them in Mosques and Churches parading themselves as God fearing. In which chapter or verse is stealing allowed in the two holy books?
Surely Nigerians are gradually been compelled to the reality that these people are not ready to do what we elected them to do for us. So again where lies the conscience of the senate?

Hamzah wrote this piece from Abuja. He can be reached at [email protected]