Our girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. Pray.
National Assembly ( NASS ) has less than four weeks, 25 days, to the Nigerian People’s Deadline For Budget Passage by NASS ‘1-1-2018’. NASS should not say ‘no’ for whatever reason. Everything is possible in politics- even rarely correct decision making!! Was it not NASS which passed, was it, 67 bills in one day? It is to get results like this that we are being forced to pay NASS between N125 and 150,000,000,000 – to do our will, not its will. In the opinion of many, NASS is truly an unproductive highly extractive industry for little tangible returns. It is payback time. The budget is not a matter of life or death. It is only a matter of differing opinions on facts, fiction and figure. NASS should do our will to see the budget passed by 1-1-2018, warts, mistakes, differing estimates of oil income, differing guestimates of oil prices and all differences are speculative. The accolade ‘The first NASS to pass a budget by 1-1,’ will be a far greater crown than a litany of quibbling questions and blowing hot and cold with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Judging from all the multibillion ‘corruption-gates’ in and out of NASS, NASS has no leg to stand on by delaying the budget.
Note that every million naira stolen results in X number of deaths from inability to afford medical treatment for family and poor diet and impoverishment from absent jobs making the thieves actual murderers by their actions. Political science and social science departments and must research this as stealing billions makes the thieves mass-murderers.
Let NASS pass the budget by 1-1-2018 for our children. We all know that a lecturer can fail even a professor in any examination if she wants to or if the price is right. So also with NASS which could delay or fail the budget forever on genuine and spiteful technicalities. It pays many to see this government fail just before the elections, as they again jump ship. Nigerians are on to their game, inflicting shame on Nigeria while our youth suffer in pain and are sold into Libyan slavery and used as bush meat for body parts. We the voting public all see through this filibustering/delaying shameful smokescreen. Such grandstanding and time-wasting politics may be okay for developed countries which deliver every comfort like power, water and sanitation, no matter which political party is in power.
Our situation is shamefully different and cannot afford such political tactics. However it is such ill-conceived activities which fuelled the mass migrants’ movement. Why did these same MDAs have plain sailing since 1999 but are suddenly found wanting! Nigerians need their budget now for the year Jan-Dec. Should we not prepare a ‘Thank you NASS’ Card as NASS gives Nigeria this Christmas and New Year Present, although NASS would merely be doing its job.
The Nigerian outcry from multimillionaire politicians about the ‘Migrants’ Misery Trail’ through the Sahara and across the Mediterranean Sea to drown in the sands or the sea off Lampedusa amounts to crocodile tears. The migrants and many resident Nigerians lament the needless absent infrastructure across Africa and particularly in our country where common electric power is ‘multi-billion naira corruption-ridden nuclear physics’ –killing citizens -murder. Yet China, the new big cheese worldwide, adds 30,000+Mw, to their grid annually even as more people in authority in Nigeria are discovered with more billions of our commonwealth. Of course we should have 150,000Mw by now and all heads of state should be ashamed and stop talking. They dropped Nigeria into this bucket of powerlessness.
I have a simple yardstick for Nigeria’s development that affects every one of our citizens -power. That test is positive in every other country in war-torn Africa demonstrating Nigerian leaders’ collective colossal ineptitude. The test is the ‘One Year No Blackout Test’ – if I can turn on a switch with uninterrupted power every time for a year. Only then will I know that Nigeria is developing to the barest minimum expected by those youth forced to search for ‘the human right to 24 hour power’ by fleeing our country and risking life and limb and crazy organ donor doctors.
Do you know what it means to be held down, perhaps put to sleep, and have a kidney or two and a cornea or two and even a heart removed just because your country’s leaders have stolen the money, murdering jobs, roads, health, and pensions, making life unliveable and a death sentence at home or abroad? And then the murderers blame youth for migrating to add insult to operation injury. Nigerian politicians have failed so many millions and should do more than apologise.
Let nobody tell you that you have failed Nigeria if you did not steal – murder, or misguide, or cheat Nigerians and Nigeria. You are not responsible for Nigeria’s failures unless you took funds or made selfish decisions, denied others their rights to education, health and pensions and good elections by you actions and mis-actions. It is not about the electorate getting what it deserves because you see how much elections misspend with the odds stacked against honest candidates.
- NB: Nigerians uncover ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019 -SDG 16
