This happens to be the second piece in my ternion of thoughts on the legislative arm of government. As I previously inferred, the usefulness of this arm of government is not an inscrutable phenomenon or too taxing a dilemma to boldly confront; it is one that needs to be overhauled to bring it into relevance so that it may begin to live up to its Constitutional responsibilities and intended purpose.
The House of Representatives, as a Constitutional entity, has always been an organ for self-preservation rather than that of improving the lives and livehood of their constituents and the country as a whole. I've often wondered how many of these guys aren't undeserving multimillionaires at the expense of Nigerians who daily wallow in unspeakable, and undeserved poverty, amidst an ocean of wealth being wickedly hoarded by these selfish, cruel and opportunistic members of the House of Representatives.
As a matter of fact, I challenge any member of this mob to explain what his/her political philosophy is! I guarantee you, dear reader, that you could count on one hand how many would even understand the question talk less of providing a coherent and intelligible answer. When we have largely politically unlettered and knavish individuals taking up seats in the House, should we have a high expectation of them doing any good (apart for themselves, of course)? What do they do apart from bickering with each other when the object of their ire against one another is the uneven distribution of money among members. Does anyone remember a notable policy debate on the floor of the House? When they are not busy 'padding' the budget, they holler about their individual 'constituency projects' funds that never see the light of day, the funds rapidly disappearing into a black hole that terminates in their pockets. Pecuniary matters provoke the angriest and loudest voices on the floor of the House, not policy considerations. They are, figuratively, an albatross around Nigeria's neck, a barnacle on its soul and a remora on its feet.
There is no point preaching to these guys. Any attempt at doing so would only attract ridicule, stigmatisation, or in the worst case scenario, a hole in the back of the head. How could they be reticent in the face of opprobrium? After all, they're lawmakers, and that confers on them an aura of inscrutability! The only relevant question right now is for how much longer could Nigeria weather this horrendous storm of misfortune, and the upkeep of this good-for-nothing claque of mammonists?
Our democracy has long been defaced by the virus of political ignorance and the cancer of intransigence among this lot. Hardly do they realise or care that, in the words of Edmund Burke (1729-1797) ".... the cement is gone; the cohesion is loosened; and everything hastens to decay and dissolution." What on God's earth would make these people have a collective epiphany? Your guess is as good as mine: NOTHING. As long as the gravy train continues its smooth ride to its destination of inevitable national ruination, nothing would stop the rot. Without the fear of sounding like a broken record, I reiterate my prior conviction, that only the appropriate and urgent Constitutional amendments could stop the gravy train in its tracks and halt the country's descent into an intractable chaos, upheaval and mayhem. Nigerians would be the losers otherwise, because most of these suckers have the ways and means of a clean getaway to their various châteaux abroad.
The vast majority of these members, unfortunately, do not even pretend to have a soul. How do they look Nigerians in the eye and not even acknowledge their immense suffering? Bilking and milking the system is their overriding preoccupation; sating their insatiable thirst for unearned and unmerited riches is their only desire.
Maybe a few clear and common sense comparisons ought to be made with the United States of America which most closely resembles our own political structure (in name only, of course!)
There are 435 members in the USA House of Representatives and 360 in Nigeria House of Representatives. USA's current population is 332,690,850 and Nigeria's is 211,400,708; meaning in the US, one Rep covers 765,000 citizens while in Nigeria, one Rep covers 587,000 citizens, which is obviously considerably less.
USA's GDP is $20.93 trillion and Nigeria's GDP is $442.98 billion (both figures for the year 2020) My very limited understanding of numerics tells me that the US economy is roughly 48 times larger than Nigeria's.
A US member of the House of Representatives earns a basic annual income of $174,000; in Nigeria it is N111,600,000, which is around $270,000 (at the rate of N413.40 to the $), that's almost $100,000 per annum more than a US House of Representatives member!! In addition to that lunacy, Nigeria's House of Representatives members are 'entitled' to wardrobe allowance, ludicrously expensive chauffeur-driven Jeeps, furniture allowance, and suchlike. All this in an economy that is dense with unemployment, abject poverty and extreme misery. Sheer madness and unimaginable wickedness cohabit in our House of Representatives.
See what I'm trying to get at? Juxtaposing these figures exposes the ludicrousness of Nigeria's cost of governance. It is like something out of a horror movie, but sadly, this is a movie not! It is a lot more than that to Nigerians because this is real life and it is playing out daily in their lives. How our economy could be expected to withstand and sustain that level of profligacy falls out of the realm of reason. It is simply insane! Insanity of an indeterminate order.
It is for these reasons, and a host of others which time and space preclude me from highlighting, that our political structure must be given a root and branch once-over before the gravy train runs out of track. That train must be forcefully derailed and replaced by one that all Nigerians can joyously ride on, and happily sing the songs of hope, freedom and true democracy on.
The Constitution in its present form MUST go and this House of Mammonists must be fired into oblivion!!
Thank you, my dear reader, for your time and not a little patience.
May the good Lord bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
