Nigerian Leaders and their Serve Yourself Party

By Murad S. Usman

Nigeria is a country that has had a history of political corruption and mismanagement. The Nigerian political class has been a topic of discussion for years, with many people pointing out their lavish lifestyles and disregard for the needs of the masses. One of the most noticeably obnoxious attribute of Nigerian politicians is the veil of secrecy that shrouds their emoluments. While the Nigerian constitution provides for transparency in the payment of salaries to public officials, Nigerian politicians have found a way to circumvent this law and keep their salaries shrouded in secret service grade secrecy.

It is no secret that Nigerian politicians live large. They travel abroad for vacations and healthcare, send their kids to the best institutions abroad while civil servants wallow in poverty and are owed many months’ salaries. This has led to an increase in the poverty level in Nigeria, with many Nigerians struggling to make ends meet. The Nigerian political class is made up of people who are supposed to be servants of the people, but in reality, they have become masters of the people.

One of the reasons why Nigerian politicians are able to live such lavish lifestyles is the lack of accountability in the political system. Nigerian politicians are rarely held accountable for their actions, and even when they are, the punishment is often not commensurate with the crime. This has led to a situation where politicians feel they can get away with anything, including stealing public funds and engaging in other forms of corruption, aided by the dunce-like mentality that it is better for a politician from your region to steal, than for those of other regions to do so.

The issue of secrecy surrounding the salaries of Nigerian politicians is particularly troubling. It is difficult to hold politicians accountable for their actions when the public is not aware of how much they earn. Nigerian politicians earn some of the highest salaries in the world, but the public is often left in the dark about the actual amount. This coupled the security votes they recieve should alarm any reasonable person. This lack of transparency is a major obstacle to holding politicians accountable for their actions. Without a documented number to work with, sources have tried to pinpoint the exact range of salaries our politicians receive.

Estimates put the salary of our senators at being something close to 15 million naira per month. While the actual salary is much smaller, the various allowances they receive every month add upto boisterously swell up their renumerations. These self centred leaders receive all sorts of allowances. Motor Vehicle Allowance, Hardship Allowance, Vehicle maintenance allowance (Remember that they already get paid a motor vehicle allowance), Furniture Allowance, Newspaper Allowance, Entertainment Allowance, Wardrope Allowance etc. The also get paid two different bonuses for Leave allowance and Recess allowance.

In Nigeria, each senator is given N200 million to work on constituency projects, which is not added to their salaries or allowances. An agency in the government handles the disbursement of the fund only when the senator identifies the project to be executed. If a senator is recalled or sacked, they receive a one-time severance gratuity of N7,452,736.50. In June 2019, reports surfaced that N4.68bn was shared among 469 lawmakers, tagged as a welcome package to address accommodation and furniture issues. Moreover, each senator reportedly receives N40.5m for three months as overhead allowance, and each member of the House of Representatives gets N30m for the same purpose. These are only a few examples of the many alleged hidden allowances given to the already affluent Nigerian senators. Of course, we have not factored in the “Forex Exchange” that happen behind closed doors.

Put together, we can expect that those guys are, at the very least, taking home a package of up to 150 million Naira Annually. Using the current black market conversion rate of 750 per dollar, that is around $240,000. For context, Xi Jinping, President of China, earns a base annual salary of just $22,000. Our senators have an annual income higher than that of the President of Russia and China put together.

The Nigerian political system is plagued by corruption and mismanagement. This has led to a situation where the masses are suffering, while the political elite are living large. The Nigerian political class needs to be held accountable for their actions, and this can only happen if there is transparency in the payment of salaries to public officials.

For a poor country like Nigerian with Millions of people living on less than a dollar every day, the cost of government is just too high. The wage gap between the Political elite and the common man is astronomical. Elsewhere, politicians actually serve the people, but in Nigeria, they just organise a resource sharing bazaar where all of them, irrespective of tribe and religion -two of the biggest causes of division in Nigeria- sit down to a buffet where they pick whatever they like of our National cake, in what we colloquially call “Serve Yourself”.

Politics in Nigeria is not for the masses. It is an oil well meant to be drained by a chosen few. The Nigerian political class, made up of people who are supposed to be servants of the people, has become masters of the people.

The annual cost of governance in Nigeria is high in relation to productivity. There is a long list of Governors, Ministers, Commisioners, Senators, Special advisors, and Personal assistant, all getting paid out of the federal pocket. Accompanying that is another list of past governors and presidents still receiving annual pensions running into millions.

The average cost of governance in Nigeria is believed to be among the highest in the world. A bit ironic, considering that the country itself is regarded as the “poverty capital” of the world, eclipsing India and China who are themselves seven times Nigeria’s outrageous estimated population.

In Nigeria, 40.1% of people are poor according to the 2018/19 national monetary poverty line, and 63% are multidimensionally poor according to the National MPI 2022. Multidimensional poverty is higher in rural areas, where 72% of people are poor, compared to 42% of people in urban areas.

These are alarming stats. According to Kelechi Deca, Multidimensional Poverty is like the senior brother of poverty. It is like the case of a man who is already on the floor. Now, ordinarily, such a man cannot fall further than that. But then, suddenly, the ground opens up and swallows him so that he falls even further. Such is the case of a man who is multidimensionally poor.

We are effectively the poorest country in the world and we do not seem really to be getting better. Infact, if we continue on our current trajectory the standard of living will only keep dropping.

In conclusion, Nigerian politicians have been a topic of discussion for years, with many people pointing out their lavish lifestyles and disregard for the needs of the masses. The secrecy surrounding their salaries is particularly troubling, as it makes it difficult to hold them accountable for their actions. The Nigerian political system needs to be reformed, and the political elite need to be held accountable for their actions. Only then can Nigeria move forward and fulfill its potential as a great nation.