2023: Time again for “Carry go!”

These days, Nigerian political office holders are busy either scheming how to be part of the incoming government, or “settling” themselves with public funds so they can continue to live lives of luxury after leaving public office. 

While all indices point to the fact that the outgoing Buhari administration failed to deliver on election promises or improve life for the majority of citizens, its members have no compunction about rewarding themselves for their failure. Pointing out their many shortcomings is an unnecessary waste of time as history will recount them. It simply suffices to say that Buhari will leave Nigeria much worse off than he met it in 2015. No matter what arrant nonsense his spin doctors or ardent supporters spout as evidence of the nation’s “forward movement” under his watch, the gloomy Christmas faces at long petrol station queues, or markets where the prices of goods spiraled out of control, indicated that 2022 was a miserable year for Nigerians.  

Although in his New Year message our outgoing president said he had done his best, history will recount all the atrocious bloodshed, increase in food prices, lack of fuel, lack of electricity and endless corruption scandals, which he presided over while praise singers massaged his ego. The release of disgracefully sub-standard new currency notes, and a Central Bank unable to state clearly how much money was printed and at what cost was the icing on the cake of failure!  

Former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili says no one should be shameless enough to defend the failures of the Federal Executive Council and state governors.  

As far as voting for the incoming president is concerned, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah urges Nigerians to be wary of politicians who make sweet promises during campaigns but fail to fulfill them after getting into office. In his opinion, fixing the nation requires humility, truth, honesty, expertise and firm commitment, all of which have been palpably lacking in recent times.  

While concentration is focused on the Presidency, the 9th National Assembly (NASS) is winding up. They passed their highest ever NASS budget to reward themselves for their failure in oversight functions! The initial budget of N20.51 trillion allocated N169 billion for NASS, who before approving it unconscionably increased the total to N21.82 trillion and their share to N228 billion. Budget padding is still alive and well despite having to borrow to fund the budget! Despite the nation’s dire financial circumstances, the outrageous sum of N30 billion is budgeted for legislator’s severance packages. This is N7 billion higher than what was approved by the previous 8th Assembly. Last minute “self-settlement” and treasury depletion is not restricted to the NASS. The president and the governors are also set to depart and in the process bequeath to themselves mammoth gratuities and outrageous pensions in addition to public property. In the next few months, buildings owned by government will become personal property, while everything from official cars to refrigerators, TV’s, air-conditioners and furniture bought with public money will be removed from government premises and become personal property of the former office holder. As has become routine, these assets will be replaced at public cost only for incoming political office holders to also leave with them when their tenures expire. Attempting to buck this trend, the new Osun State governor is trying to recover not less than 11 exotic SUV’s and other vehicles valued at N2.9 billion owned by the state, which he claims are in the possession of the former governor and his wife.  

Nigeria should not expect to recover from economic recession as long as political actors keep bleeding the treasury dry before departure. The payment of pensions to former governors and their deputies, and the outrageous severance packages for NASS members is unjustifiable, immoral, unpatriotic and condemnable. While thousands of retired civil servants who worked patriotically for 35 years, retired soldiers and retired policemen wallow in poverty, former state governors who were in office for only eight years cart away millions in indefensible pensions. Even former governors who are paid to be in the senate or have taken ministerial appointments still shamelessly collect the pensions they brazenly appropriated to themselves. All this, in spite of the unconstitutional opaque “security vote” running into hundreds of millions per month, which governors do not account for and permits them to bleed their state treasuries dry. Payments to former military Heads of State who committed the biggest crime against the nation is clearly unjustifiable. 

In his 2022 Christmas message titled “Nigeria: Let us turn a new page” Bishop Kukah said we have paid the price of nepotism entrusting power into the hands of mediocrities. He called on all Nigerians who have been given custody of public trust and commonwealth to rise up to the duties for which they have been so handsomely rewarded. Although outgoing President Buhari lives in denial, Nigerians feel betrayed by his poor performance and are looking forward to wholesale changes in leadership. Public opinion polls suggest that this current bunch of failures should quickly round up because, in the hope that serial failure can be turned into success it’s far more important that they leave quickly, than that they give inventory of what they are taking away. Or in local pidgin-english “make dem carry go, as long as dem quick commot!”